Pool 8 Ice Fishing Weekend 2/2/08

Waking up to a temperature early morning in the 20’s and a falling barometer were giving me high hopes for a good crappie bite and they were not going to disappoint me. A stop was made to pick up some minnows and waxies, and then it was time to head for the ice to meet up with good friends. I could have just headed for the ice without the stop because plastics is what the majority of the crappies wanted on this day The Strike Master was lit up and a series of holes punched and the group was fishing by 7am, except for Mike C and neutron who were there at 6am.

The set up was in 32fow. Early morning the LX-5 revealed paper mouths cruising through the water column at 5-7 feet. As the day wore on the crappies moved farther below, they were scattered anywhere from 13 feet below the ice to 18 feet below the ice. I dropped down the camera to take a look and the first thing I noticed was it became dark at 15 feet. The light was not penetrating any farther and the crappies liked being out of the sun light hanging around in the shadows below. I really enjoy being able to take a look at the under water world. The area we fished had water the color of tea making it hard to see at a distance but still gave us a lot of useful information. I did watch long enough to check out the crappies reaction to the bait and this is when I realized they preferred the bait to be dropping.

The specks had a hard time passing up the offering of a Pink Ratso from Custom Jig and Spins presented with a slow drop, JP Mason was holding his own with a Purple Ratso. The bite was light and watching the line and spring bobber on the St Croix ice rod was a must to detect the bite. Too much action to the jig would just have fish sniff and swim away. The bite remained good throughout the day and hole hopping helped keep a bite going.

I also took a couple crappies later in the evening using a tip up rigged with mono hanging a minnow. A Perch Mini Mert from B Fish N tackle tipped with a minnow hanging on a dead stick produced a little action also. For the most part the day was catch and release for me, there were a few brought home however for game day.

Sunday was a change as the target was Walleye and Saugers. Twitching a Jig N Rap was still producing some fish. There was not a hot and heavy bite but by staying on the move a few nice fish could be found in 22fow. Cade and Justin made a surprise visit later in the morning. It was a total surprise to see Mudshark come walking up about the time I had to leave, it was good to see ya again sir, make sure to post your pictures

It was a Great weekend to be fishing in the La Crosse area. Good friends and great weather, just warm enough to hop holes but still cold enough to keep the ice in good condition. Creepers are a big help for getting around right now with the surface becoming slick in areas.

Good Luck Fishing People

Bret