Hi I’m still new to ice fishing and I’m fishing a new lake this weekend and wanted to get opinions on where I should set up. I primary plan on jigging for pan-fish while I set two tip-ups for pike, not sure what depths to try locating these fish. I attached a lake chart of the lake I’m fishing, so if someone could analyze the map and give some tips that would be great. Thanks!
lake.jpg
lake-john.jpg
Start drilling holes in the basin the 23 to 18 feet of water working your way north. Then check every hole and if you don’t mark any fish, keep moving, then I’d try drilling from the basin in 23 feet to the northwest where it makes a bit of an inside turn and isn’t as steep. Doesn’t look like a large lake so you should be able to find them! Best of luck!
awesome thanks for the help!
I’d start in the basin and work my way W – SW to the steep break.
How deep is the weed line?
I’d start in the basin and work my way W – SW to the steep break.
I agree with epg.
But if I was getting there early in the day I would set my tip ups in about 12 to 15 ft for pike and set the sucker down 6 to 8 ft.
Then jig from the shallow west and move out deeper as the day progresses.
The tip ups would be on the steep break on the west side if I didnt make that clear. In 12 to 15 foot .
Nice sharp break next to a shallow flat on the SW side(as others have said) would be great for tippies-bait with cheese ‘sconi’ pike love cheese!
Nice sharp break next to a shallow flat on the SW side(as others have said) would be great for tippies-bait with cheese ‘sconi’ <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>pike love cheese!
Gotta add a chunk of hot dog on that cheese
Thanks for all the tips guys I tried to map the spots you guys were talking about in a red line. If any spots don’t look right please tell me.
howsthis.jpg
I’ve fished that lake before. Many years ago but I’ve been on it. Some other pretty neat little lakes in that area. From what I remember this one can be a bit cyclical where you’ll have real strong years followed by a few that are not so great and then it’ll rebound and start over. When lakes like these are “off” you go somewhere else and leave it alone….but when they are on you focus on them and if it doesn’t get much pressure you keep your trap shut. These are at risk of being overharvested because of their size….anyway….
Here’s a mapping tip/trick that works quite well. Take the map you have and color each depth ring in with a different color highlighter marker. Once you are finished flip the map upside down so south is up and north is down…or rotate it 90 degrees either way. Basically look at it in a way you’ve never looked at it before. Put a mark on the first 3 or 4 spots that jump out at you on the highlighted, upside down map and fish there. This mapping study approach has accounted for a pretty high success rate for me on muskie lakes I’ve never been on before. You see things you didn’t see before and quite often you pick up on areas that get overlooked because they are not obvious when you look at a map with north pointing up.
Between your north line and west line, those big turns are always a spit I check. But that steep break is where I’d want to start and explore my day if it were me
As others have said, start in the basin and move S-SW up the steep break. Your lines look like a good place to look for panfish. If you are getting there early, I wouldn’t be against starting the day along the shallower SW weed line looking for active northerns feeding on the flats in the low-light periods. Then transitioning back to the basin plan around 8-9AM after the morning bite cools. Best of luck!
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
