“In Depth” Flasher read - Rainy Lake - Rainy Lake

Alright gentleman I hope you can gather something from this thread to improve your fishing.

If I were to give one piece of fishing knowledge from my endless hours on the ice to you in which I believe would increase your fish on the ice it would be this; Understand what your flasher is telling you. Learn to immediately read what fish want based on the response they give you.

Let’s break it down like this; I used to be a big waterfowl hunter. The seperation between a good waterfowl caller and a great one was a guy that was able to listen to a flock of geese and talk back to them. The guy that simply blasted the same series of calls to each passing flock was more interested in dictating his game to the ducks or geese rather than sweet talking them home.

The same can be said for bringing in that big buck. Knowing when to bleet, grunt and even rattle can make all the difference when trying to bring that trophy close. All of these methods can trick the big guy….SOMETIMES!! Understanding when to employ a rattle or grunt can help increase your odds.

So….Yes to become great at catching fish I am saying much the same as with hunting; You need to be able to read what a fish wants.

To start I will try stack the deck in my customers favor. Lets of course try be on the biggest concentration of fish and understand how recent weather might effect the days bite. From there you focus on your underwater eyes. It’s the ice sonar of your choice that simply is your most important closing tool you own. Mastering what this tool is telling you is critical to increasing your catch.

Guys that have ONE technique PLEASE listen up. LOL!! I PROMISE YOU one technique is not the answer. I will say that I try read the mood of each fish that enters into the cone of my Marcum LX6 seperately.

Now what in the HECK are you talking about Granrud?!?!

Here you go!! How does the fish enter the water column and where is it located. A fish that comes 4 ft off the bottom or higher……I presume is in a feeding position. If it suddenly appears I know it’s moving fast. If my mark on my flasher starts with a light “Blip” before reading it solid I know it’s moving in slowly. Based on this initial finding I know how I am going to work that fish. A fast moving fish is in a chasing mood. I am going to work my bait in a fashion to promote the chase and hopefully trigger that fish. A fish that is slow and methodical will get a slow and methodical jig and hold with a slight rise. I am very quick to just move to a quiver should that fish not respond.

If I find the fish are just fluttering around the bottom and peeking up every now and again I figure the fish are not very active and will downsize a presentation and work it very slowly. Make it EASY for a fish that isn’t in a feeding pattern. Ripping jigs up the water column will rarely get inactive fish to bite.

Now let’s discuss what you see when you see that mark on your flasher. To a novice angler you see a “Mark”. To an angler that spends most of his life watching sonar you most of the time know the species of the fish and the mood of it.

Let me explain;

Perch; Normally come from the bottom because they realize they are NOT the top of the food chain. They are more concerned about protecting their underside than eating. A Perch will normally come from the bottom and eat or immediately return to the safety of the bottom.

Pike; Marks obviously bigger. Pike like to ambush a meal. they will sit and pulsate under your bait and then attack it with one swift motion.

Walleyes; Here on Rainy Lake can be found throughout the water column and simply move a bit slower than a Pike. When a Walleye chases your bait it will be slightly slower than a Pike chasing. This speed difference will allow you to determine what your marking.

Whitefish; Here is a fish most of our anglers aren’t able to immediately recognize. A whitefish is a “Swooper”. This fish is up and down and all around. It will nose your bait 10 times without eating and often travels in pairs.

Eel Pout; The ole “Lawyers” are swoopers as well, but rarely like to be more than 2 feet from the bottom. Will often times appear to be nailed to the bottom.

Crappies: The big slabs of Rainy Lake seem to slowly pulsate in and out as they smoothly rise to your presentation.

After you have have made a positive identification of what your seeing you can now proceed to working that fish.

Have to run boys……Just remember not every fish will be caught the same way. To maximize your catch rate of what you see; work each fish based on what it is and how it comes into your cone. Now read the mark on your screen, and how it is reacting to your presentation. This will tell you to change baits, Slow down, speed up……..It’s the key to your ice fishing success.

If anyones interested I will explain to you when I have more time how to read the body language of that fish you’ve marked based on the actual pulsation of that “RED MARK”. You might be suprised to know what those slight movements are telling you. BTW…Not always good. LOL!!