Mississippi Pool 8 Ice Fishing Report 1/12/07

This weekend ice fishing started early with a trip to the hard water after work Friday evening for Steve and I to see if there was a bite going on in the dark. There was a lot of fish moving through the area but not a lot of action. A gusting North wind and rising barometer made for a tough bite with only a few nice takers at first and a dead bite at dark. Knowing there were plenty of good sized fish in the area the plans were made to be back on the ice in the same spot first thing Saturday morning, it was a good call. Mike C, Marlin, Steve and I were set up before light and the morning bite proved to be much better.

With less wind and a steady to dropping barometer we found a much better bite. Action was good from 7ish until 11:00am with a few takers into the noon hours. The fish we found were hanging out in a bay with a depth of 8 feet. The nicer crappies were coming through at 5 feet and up. There were a number of crappies hitting right below the ice. During the first 4 hours I had gone through almost 2 tins of waxies which were hanging on an Orange Moxy Jig. With murky water conditions the flash from the 2 little blades seemed to be the ticket. After a few attempts with other jigs it seemed the orange Moxy would always find its way right back on my line For all four of us orange or orange/yellow was the color to have on, I however won bragging rights for numbers and size using the Moxy jig on this day

There was no rime to reason for the presentation. Some of the fish would chase the jig up, some wanted the jig on the drop while others just wanted the jig stationary with some twitching. As the fish would show up on the LX-5 the trick was to watch there reaction to the jig and keep changing up the presentation until it triggered the strike. The majority of crappies were 9-11inches with some twelve’s thrown in the mix. Mike C had a hard time with a few pigs at the hole only to blurt out a few words as he watched them turn and swim away just under the ice

We were on 3 inches of solid ice with the sounds of popping all around us as it expanded As the weather starts to stable (staying cold I pray), a little more ice and a possible snow cover on the way, the crappie bite should only be getting better With the hopes of more ice on the way I will start targeting crappies in deeper water. Sharp drops into 20+ feet of water make a great hangout for crappies. Added with deep water, wood, rock piles, and other man made structures are better crappie hangouts yet. The night time bite should also pick up in a few weeks. I find February to be a good month for the after dark bite. Hope to see you out there, I’ll leave the light on

Bret