With the cold snap we have had in the area I have been keeping an eye on a spot for a week now hoping to get into an area and fish current seams and flats for the Esox family. Friday was the day to start, after leaving work early and heading for the spot I was happy to find 4 inches of ice. I’m not one to be scared of thin ice but when fishing areas with strong currents around it is a much safer feeling to be on some good ice.
After setting up on a flat in 13fow with current over the top shortly before dark the drop of a #5 Blue/Silver Jig N Rap revealed on the MarCum LX-5 fish immediately 
The normal snap and drop of the Jig would pull in a lot of lookers but no takers.
There are a lot of people (me at one time also) that do not realize the Jig N Rap can be a finesse jig as well as an aggressive jig. The trick to enticing the bite was to tip the treble with a minnow, snap the jig to call in a looker and then slow things down. Just a small nervous twitch at this point would trip the kill trigger on the Walleyes and Saugers. On this night there was no need to change color or hole hop, within a few short hours a dozen fish found there way to the top of the ice and five made there way to Sparta for dinner, four of which were 17-18 inches and one at 15
It felt good to have a game plan for Saturday being Mike C wanted to get out and try his luck on the toothy critters.
Saturday before light we set up in the same spot. The first thing I noticed was the flow picked up, this made a #7 a must to stay vertical. The fish also preferred a Black/Gold or Fire Tiger colored jig over the Blue/Silver. We did take a few nice fish just before the sun lit things up but after that the bite became a struggle making it time for a move. The area we targeted next was in 17fow and just at the edge of a current seam. It was a good call and we were back on fish 
Mike took the honors of big fish with a 32 inch Northern. There is nothing more fun than getting on a bite with the Esox family 
The walleyes seemed to elude us but I did take a limit of saugers and a bonus fat healthy perch. This made two days of good action…..could it be done again on Sunday?
On the ice again before light, this time a day for the most part of catch and release. Cade had a little taste of fishing with the Jig N Rap Saturday and wanted more so he joined in on the fun. To my surprise Blue Fleck was on the ice, good to see he had a chance to get out again Starting on the flat in 13fow with the Fire Tiger #7 Jig N Rap was still the ticket however, the fish were even more tight lipped than Saturday. By watching the LX-5 and keeping the bait right in the nostrils of the fish not giving up on the mark, four 15 inch saugers took in the offering and were released. Two piggy’s found there way into the pale Cade iced a nice sauger and from the sounds coming from his shack he had a few swings and misses 
The early A.M. bite has been ok with the late evening bite being better. The best bite was Friday night during the snow but there were fish to found all weekend with the correct presentation. It was a great way to spend the weekend, good company and fighting Esox’s.
Good Luck Fishing People 
Bret
The added pictures are, Friday night Sauger, Pair of Saugers from Saturday, Saturdays bonus perch, Saturdays fish fry, a Sunday Sauger.
those are some nice fish ya caught there. keep the posts and good pics comming
Thank you for taking the time to read and respond
Welcome to IDO wilddawg
Good to see you as well Bret.
Too bad you couldn’t make the fish bite better.
What about the 5 pounder I let go.
Good looking bunch of fish there guys
Should have let me seen it to take a picture.
There were some other pigs caught, but they were far a few between.
Those are some dandy walleyes and saugers Bret
Nice fish Bret. Its always a great feeling when you figure out a small presentation difference that triggers a feeding frenzy!
Great fish fellas
Nice to see some good ice out on those current seams,with the milder temps coming Bret,how long before it is too risky?
Your reports always teach me a thing or two and this one reminded me to order more jiggin raps!
Great report
Nice Job guys! All work this weekend and no play makes me an unhappy camper.
I have tomorrow but is suppose to rain. 
Hopefully soon,
FDR
Awesome report.Hows the ice overall up there?Anybody walking across yet?
Good question
It looks like it is only going to get in the upper 30’s tomorrow then get below freezing again.
I will wait to see what we get before I can really say how long the ice will hold.
These types of areas are not to be taken lightly and a person must keep on there guard. Better yet……stick to the path 
I wish I didn’t have to work tomorrow
A guy did some pioneering today and got wet. He tried to cross the current seam without a spud and hit an air pocket
Put on the rain gear and go, the last front that came through Friday night had things hopping, and there were nicer sized fish taking the offering
Once again a great post buddy Bret.
That was a blast Saturday. 
Wish I could have joined you Friday night and today as well. 
Sure am glad you were there to help land that pike through the 6″ hole – it’s always easier with two people. 
I’m ready for the next outing. 
Nice fish seems that you guys always find em’. looks like it would have been fun gettin those in. good job be safe.
Great report Bret. Gotta love the jiggin rap!
Nice job guys!
Awesome fish Bret!!
WOW!! Looks like you all had a great weekend!!!
Ted
Gotta love those BIG Perch you’ve been catching all winter!
Nice report Bret. Mike must have had fun pulling that northern through the ice.
Great report Bret!! Thanks for posting that pic of me, and thanks for everything else out there on the ice. I really really appreciated your help and donation of rap/minnows
You didn’t have to do that. In the end I only caught one other sauger. I’m learning though. I’m not a born walleye fisherman but I think I can get the hang of this if I stick at it. (through the ice) I just couldn’t believe the number of hits I had, versus the number of fish I caught..So many fish hammered my bait only to miss, and a few hooked up and came un buttoned. Overall in a perfect world I would have had 8-10 good fish on the ice today. Oh well, lessons learned. Thanks again Bret!
One thing I noticed that would improve your catching, you need a rod with a little more back bone.
) out of the wind.
With the whimpy tip on the rod you were using I’m sure you detected the hits a little late and also did not have enough hook setting power behind the rod for that size jig.
You will still have fish shake you off when the bite is that soft but a heavier rod would have increased the number of fish you could have iced.
The 28inch Medium Cabela’s guide series did a good job for me. I would like something a little longer but then it would not be possible to close up shop to keep the line (and my butt
Very nice mixed bag Bret!
Man that looks like FUN!
Bret-
Have you ever made your own ice rods? I like making my own walleye rods out of some of my favorite boken rods. For some of those same reasons: I can make them the length that I desire and make them a little stiffer to your likeing for that extra backbone for that little better hook set. Nice being able to modify them to how you fish, what you fish with, where you fish, etc. I came across those same problems a few years ago and now I lose fewer fish. I primarily jig with jig n raps. It also helped replaceing that lower trouble w/ the next size up.
Kelly
Welcome to IDO Kelly
I have not made my own rods, it sounds like it would be fun and rewarding. I’m just not sure when I would find the time
I do mine in the off season when I have the time and my itch for ice fishing needs to be scratched
Always enjoy your reports and pics, keep up the good work!
I was out below one of the dams on Sat. and had limited success. I noticed you are using a flasher. I do not know how deep I was fishing, but that jigging rap had to be five to ten feet downstream of the ice hole. Does this present a problem when using a fasher in deep water with current? Also the fish were coming up with their swim bladders in their throat, is that the end of the fish or do they survive?
If that bait is 5 or 10 feet down stream, if you are not in your shack, drill a hole out over where your lure is and set your flasher there. With any extra cable you can bring your flasher closer to you but might have to view it from a distance.
Welcome to IDO djbeagle2
Sure wish I could purchase your air boat! A guy could fish a lot of un-tapped ice with one!
Yes, I believe it is the end of a fish when there air bladders pops out of there throats.
Fishing in 13-17fow the current did not take the jig to far past the hole. As Kelly mentioned, I put my flasher 1 -2 foot down current of the hole I jigged from and had no problem keeping the jig in sight.
If you are fishing deeper you will have to experiment to see how far you need the flasher down current from you.
The MarCum was a great tool for catching the fish, like I mentioned after pulling in a looker I knew when to slow the presentation down.
Thanks for reading my reports and responding
If you see me out there make sure to stop and say hello