Wapsipinicon River Ice Fishing Report 2-6-2007

The ice is safe and the fish are biting!! I have spent the past few nights on the ice in my home area, and have been rewarded with some very nice panfishing!!

On Saturday, I spent the day on the ice with my good friend, and fellow ice addict, Tom Nugent. Tom and I were concentrating on a low current area of the Waspsi River. We were fishing suspended crappies in 8-10 feet of water over 13 feet of water. The key to finding these crappies, was locating the structure in the river, and setting up right above it.

I also found that setting up the shack and heater helped us ice more fish. The fish were biting so lightly that even spring bobber did not detect the bites. With the wind and the frigid cold, keeping your line ice free and not blowing around, helped detect these subtle slab crappie bites. Technique: These particular river crappies, are a roaming machine. We were both able to watch them on my camera, and they were constantly moving. I have found that the bigger, maturer fish will roam all the time, no matter what the weather conditions. More so in a river than in a lake. However, setting up a shack and remaining quite produced more bites for us, than hole hopping. Reason being is, the fish are not holding to the structure, but when they come into it, they are there to feed. That being said, hole hopping, will not show fish on your flasher. You have to jig right above, or below the tree branches in order to draw in a willing crappie. Then when the appear, you need to really concentrate on your flasher, and your line, or you will miss 90% of the bites.

This next picture is of Tony Pagliai. A true fly fisherman at heart. He even has the ice rod in his teeth!! Tony came with me on Monday night to cash in on the crappie bite. We were challenged with the same bite as the days before. Brutally cold, and the same howling wind. The fish were still cooperative, but a spring bobber was a must. I was using a St.Croix legend with the spring bobber. Even with this exceptional spring bobber, detecting the bites was still almost impossible. Tony and I resorted to "handlining" the fish. Sometimes they were lifting the jig so slightly, that the only way to feel it was with your fingers. Pictured to the right is a few of the fish Tony and I kept for a fish fry! Nothing better in my opinion than fresh iced crappies! I also remind myself to keep a few, but let the majority of these fish go, so we can continue to catch them down the road.

This last picture represents, what below double digit temperatures do to ice fisherman. Empty boxes of Pagliai’s pizza. Nothing goes better than Pagliai’s pizza after a hard day on the ice. If you have never experienced Pagliai’s pizza right here in Iowa City, Iowa…then you are missing out! Stop by and have the best pizza around!

It was great to get on the ice with you, Tony and Tom, I hope we can get together again very soon!!!

Good Luck, Stay safe, and We’ll see you on the hard water!!