Ice cracking spooks fish?

  • protourbaits
    stillwater, MN
    Posts: 2466
    #1304845

    I was fishing today on a lake and the ice was cracking, gargling, and making all sorts of noises more than ever!! I had a lot of crappies and gills come through, but they seemed to stay away. The fish would slowly swim up to the bait and then turn around Usually the pike are really active when the sun is out too, but only caught one, and didn’t see any on camera. I usually see a lot of pike swimming through, but they were few and far between.
    Also, i have noticed that the crappie action shuts off when the sun is out, but can be fantastic when it’s cloudy.
    Can anyone answer these two questions?

    Tom Sawvell
    Inactive
    Posts: 9559
    #1131148

    Like boat noise on open water, I think the fish get acclimated to noise under the ice.

    As for the sun thing. A lot depends on the water you’re fishing with clearer water probably going to show a low light bite, but not set in stone. Today’s weather probably had more to do with your fishing than sun or noise.

    BBKK
    IA
    Posts: 4033
    #1131159

    If its just lake expanding ice I don’t think it matters at all. Fish hear it night and day for 2-3 months.

    If it is popping and sounding off because the lake is rising, so its relatively quiet through out the day/night then all of a sudden its going off like crazy for a day or two… I can see that spooking fish or at least turning them into a non feeding mood.

    mplspug
    Palmetto, Florida
    Posts: 25026
    #1131180

    You probably never raised fish. If you made a thump by a fish tank they’ll freak for about 2 seconds and then all would be normal again.

    rdwheeler
    Hudson WI
    Posts: 204
    #1131193

    Today was the most noise I have ever heard, I had about a 3/4″ crack pop directly through both of my holes in my shack and it scared the @$%# out of me!

    Fishing was still pretty good though!

    castle-rock-clown
    Posts: 2596
    #1131219

    I can see that spooking fish or at least turning them into a non feeding mood.



    There was this one time at band camp that i was ice fishing and i heard this loud crack and almost immediately I got this hankerin for a double cheeseburger.

    slipperybob
    Lil'Can, MN
    Posts: 1422
    #1132476

    Regular ice making – nope…I haven’t seen it affect fishing. Now a vehicle driving and making the ice crack, then yes.

    bigpike
    Posts: 6259
    #1132483

    My favorite local crappie hole is a sunlight bite, every body of water is different. Plan your fishing based on your observances. It pays, I’d rather wait for a sunny day to go fish my local crappie hole over fishing it on a cloudy day and watch the fish not bite

    broman
    Posts: 235
    #1132534

    Quote:


    If its just lake expanding ice I don’t think it matters at all. Fish hear it night and day for 2-3 months.

    If it is popping and sounding off because the lake is rising, so its relatively quiet through out the day/night then all of a sudden its going off like crazy for a day or two… I can see that spooking fish or at least turning them into a non feeding mood.


    Good point.

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