Slow going

Yesterday, Mike/HOF and I did the backwaters thing near Wabasha. Dyke road was our first stop. Hey not to worry about falling through the ice. Frozen solid right up the the shore line and a good two feet deep in most places.
Slow was the word there. Lots of tiny Perch, but nothing of any size. Constantly marked fish on our Vex’s, but no takers. Then we moved up to Lake City and fished off the Trailer Park point. Again, two feet of solid ice and we were out in 24 feet of water. Constantly marked fish all day from tight to the bottom up 4 to 6 feet. Had lots of lookers but no takers. Mike caught a small sauger and I caught two small crappies. Very frustrating to say the least. Saw all those fish come up and the signal was fire engine red hot, but they just wouldn’t take it. Tried a few different things and minnows. I can only think the fish maybe some what dormant. As soon as we get some thaw and melt, fresh water running down the hole and shore lines opening up a bit, should turn them back on again.
Think spring and open water.

Think spring and open water.

RHW,
I don’t claim to be an expert but I had the same lookers!
What I do is when they are red hot on the vex, pull the bait up about a foot and 90% of the time they come up and smoke it!
That is what I do when they are finiky.
Hope this helps and thanks alot for the post
Hollywood2

Good advice Hollywood! We did manage to get a few bites that way, but missed almost all of them. It was just one of those frustrating days when the fish were there, but we couldn’t figure out how to get them to bite. Guess that’s why it’s called fishing!

Good Fishing,
Mike

Hey Hollywood2, we tried that too. You are right, it works sometimes but not yesterday. Got a few nibbles, but they came from the high flyers. The ones up on top of the column. Even though the bit was not strong, if you stopped about 2 feet above them, you could see them peel off, come up and sit there for the longest time, just staring. Then either lower back down or fade of the screen. Still it was fun teasing them. I am sure they got a chuckle talking about the dummies on the other side of the ice.

This is what I try when they are finicky….I do the same thing….lift a foot or so, then drop it back down and jig it…you’ll be surprised at the hits