Beginning of season ice tactics

What are some of your favorite tactics for the beginning of the ice fishing season? Any favorite spots? Presentations?
One of my first things to try is a small orange tear drop with two waxies fished close to the bottom with the smallest bobber that will hold it. Seems to work well. I usually try the deeper spots that produced during the hot summer months. Lakes around Amery, WI. have worked the best for me.
Is it just me or is anyone else getting fired-up for the winter season???!!!!!

If it is a lake that has green weeds still present then that is where I head. A medium to small sized jigging spoon and dropper with a couple waxies is where I start for panfish, if eyes then I go outside the weededge and up the size of my search lure. If that fails, to the deeper brush and rocks I go. Once panfish are located, I switch to a gentz worm or gentz bug with a couple of waxies or maggots and work them over. Early ice they are the most active they will be until late ice, so dont be afraid to get aggressive with them!!!

goody

Sight fishing the bays with fatboys and toadies. Course its the same tactic I use most of the season. Even with Vex.

Hey Blu
I hear others talking about sight fishing; what are the depths you try to do that at? I know water clarity is a major factor but why the Vex? Locate them first, then watch the bite take place?
Don

I can’t even describe how fired up I am that fall is here!!!!! I will be coming to this page daily and trying to update when I can. Let it snow baby!!!!!!

Anyone else care to share their hot ice fishing techniques? Ratsos with waxies work great for gills. And if you want to temp walleyes with a ratso or another jig just hook the minnow in the tail so it is constantly fighting to get away from from the jig which attracks fish.
Thanks, Bill

For Gills I like to fish the shallowest water that still has good oxygen. How do you know it has good oxygen? Well, are there pike around? Are there weeds still present? Any perch roaming the area? That is how you tell. Odds are, once the pike leave the shallows, so have the baitfish.

A nice weedy bay or backwater is a perfect place to start looking for early season gills. If you are looking for early ice slabs, you will get a few in these areas, but the sure bet is the first steep, deep drop off these shallow areas.

Taking on a new lake can be an arduous task, but if you break the lake down it where the fish want to be at that given time of year, it becomes a little easier. However, to do this, it takes some understanding of the species you are after.

I wrote and article on this subject one time, maybe I can dig it out and type it up. It was on how to take on a new lake on the ice basically.

Thanks Scott. Sure would be great if you could scan that article and post it. Sounds like some really good reading for everyone.
Thanks, Bill