Mississippi River Pool 8 Ice Fishing Report 2/03/0

By bret_clark 0

I had a wild hair caught cross ways wanting to try a new location first thing Saturday morning. With temps well below zero and a west wind at 15+ mph we headed out and set up by 7 O’clock, we were out of there by 8 thirty. The only thing we found was a collection of shad for cat fishing AmWatson, JP Mason, Mike C and myself made a move to the other side of town and met up with George (Sign on George)! The target was going to be perch not numbers but maybe some size. It paid off for George; the 2 perch he is holding here are a true 14 inches I’m sure.

With a very tough bite we still ended up with a few nice fish, this picture being the average size. The perch were hanging out in 12-15fow tight to the bottom and not wanting to chase anything hard. I did my best with a perch mini mert tipped with a minnow head hanging 2 feet off bottom and sitting still. Any jigging action just made the fish move away. A forage minnow also produce a few fish. Did I mention it was cold out yet The bite was done around 2:00. We tried hard for another hour before calling it quits!

Sunday Mike Watson and I wanted to try a different area for crappies. We were walking on the ice a little after 7am. The first thing we noticed, it didn’t get any warmer over night We set up in 5fow and started throwing different baits down the holes. I had a few hits on a mini mert tipped with a minnow head but not much anything else was going on. We decided to make a move before we were out of ambition. After some screwing around….. I’ll let Mike tell the story, we were set up fishing in 12fow and marking a ton of fish. I was able to test out my 2lb rig on this 20 inch pike as he made a few runs around and away from the hole. He was hooked in the top lip after making a swing at a little cecil

We found plenty of crappies but nothing with size. This picture is a crappie of average size today. It was one after another using a Purple/Pink little cecil double tipped with waxies! Jigging from bottom up 4 feet then a slow drop back down made for most bites. When a fish showed up the trick was to slowly drop it at there pie hole The crappies did not want to chase anything. The bite was very light and a spring was a big help Yep, it was cold this weekend but, I had a ball fishing with die hard company!!!

Again, nice pool 8 perch George

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  4. Did’nt know it was legal to inject perch with steroids. What a couple of hogs!! Thanks for the great report as usual Bret. Oh by the way,you never said,was it cold this week end?

  5. Way to go guys, a heater was definitely needed, my wife and I went Sat. and the heater was going. Those are some SUMO perch, I’ll bet that northern got your blood pumping fighting it on that lite line.

    Ed

  9. Nice report Bret. Was nice to meet with you guys on Saturday. Next time I may be able to do some fishing with you. –John

  11. Thanks for the report. It is nice to see such nice perch coming so close to home. Forgive the dumb question but what is a mini mert?

  15. Quote:

    The only thing we found was a collection of shad for cat fishing

    Good news- They are finally starting to die off, making it easier to read your flasher!

    Bad news- They seem to find their way into every single old ice hole making my blades very dull after cutting through them!!!!!!!!

    Death to the shad!!!

  16. Welcome to the site Bluegill Champ.As far as Clear Lake Ia goes its been very slow.If you go to the ice fishing forum and click on Iowa you should find some info.Hopefully this weather will give us a break so we can get to fishing.

  17. Nice Report Bret. As always, I enjoyed the little time I spent with the group on Saturday morning . I had to cut the fish short, had a B-Ball game to get to. Family comes first, that is when the fishing is slow and the weather is nasty . It was nice to see George again, been awhile.
    BTW Bret, I have sold the Vex, hope to have the LX-5 by the weekend. Just when you thought I would stop asking all the questions, you talk me into changing flashers. Well get ready, there will be more coming.
    Later,
    JP

  19. It was great to finaly get to shake your hand also John R.
    I’m glad you noticed the IDA stickers and turned around, now we just have to sit on some ice together or in a boat sometime

  20. Talk about a cold weekend Fishing was pretty sow on my end this weekend. I did have some run-ins with a couple northerns and lost about a 20″ eye due to a break off One northern slammed a crappie I was realing in right under the ice. That was pretty cool to see. I also figured out just how much I hate NOT having a four whel drive truck Bret and I decided to park in an area that had a parking area down a little hill. When we packed up to move, my truck couldn’t make it up the hill After some running around we finally found a tow rope and Bret was able to get me out I am still strongly considering trading this truck in and going back to a 4-wheel drive Ford. Then I want to go back to my dealer and drop kick the salesman for telling me that a 2 wheel drive Chevy with the differential lock is just as good as 4 wheel drive I think I am going to stay home today due to cold

  21. Great report as always Bret. Those are some huge perch. By the way I just placed my order for the 10 pack of mini merts. Will be using them on a trip the 17th. All I can say is look out Derek Johnston.

    John

  23. Thanks Bret. The paint jobs on those jigs looks nice. Any colors to recommend for the LaX area? Your report mentioned the firetiger. Any others? It is nice to see the perch coming back so strong. I’ve fished the river for decades and it wasn’t that long ago the perch were nearly gone.

  24. My favorites to have along on any trip are –

    Mini Merts
    Burnt Orange Tiger
    Purple Glitter
    Fire Tiger
    Dark Blood Red

    Lil’ Cecils
    Purple Passion
    Orange Chartreuse
    Pink
    Dark Blood Red

    I do have many other colors from the last couple years of collecting but the above are always well within reach! I like them all tipped with minnow heads or waxies depending on what the fish are reacting to. The Lil’ Cecil can be fished without tipping at times.

  26. The Mini Mert is made by B Fish N Tackle. They can be found at the top of the page under Fishing Gear and Service. I also added the link after the same question was aked on the first page. If you place an order now you will have them by the weekend

  27. Bret- Just curious…Have you ever tried red spikes? Tried them for the first time ever tonight, and the crappies were not hesitating to slam them on a sweedish pimple. Just something new to try for me Too bad they are running 2.99 a tin at Gander Mountain!

  29. Great fish Bret . DO you think a small Lindy Rig tipped with a minnow would work on thi ice? I bought a few so im hoping they’ll work, but im just looking for an opinion.

    Great Fish
    Luke

  31. Never have tried Red Spikes Cade, I always relied on the jig for the color and bait for the added scent. Not that they are a bad idea.

    Luke W, there are times minnows work great, this weekend was not the case. Last weekend however a Mini Mert with a small minnow worked. The perch were very fussy as far as size and presentation of the bait. My minnow did get a work out all nerved up with the big boys swimming around but never was touched!

  33. has anyone been down by the power plant yet? i was wondering how the ice is. How you guys been doing on walleyes? thanks
    matt

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