Smallies through the ice???

I’ve been fishing some cribs on a western Wisconsin impoundment and tearing up the panfish but I went out before work this AM and caught a really nice smallie and so did my buddy and when I got home heard about another friend getting a big bronze back just down the lake, never caught smallies through the ice EVER before, guess my question is why are they so elusive through the ice while largemouth are damn near suicidal in the winter

Careful….the total panfish limit on Cedar is 10 and the walleyes have a 14-18″ protected slot.

Never hit cedar before lol don’t plan on giving the dnr any freebies, extra funding might lead them to import Siberian tigers to control the deer herd or maybe prompt a statewide ban on all living aquatic life to effectively eliminate the VHS threat

very werid… never heard of catching smallies through the ice, I did however somehow manage to catch 4 small largemouts today and a walleye while crappie fishing. strange indeed, nice fish though