Iowa Crappie Ice Fishing Report 12.29.2008

Slab Crappies!! What do you get when you take good friends, a hearty selection of ratso’s from CJ&S and Marcum LX-5s? You get a ton of fun on the ice with some bruiser crappies!

Tom Nugent, Jeremy Crawford and I decided to hit Macbride together searching for a successful crappie pattern.

We hit the ice early, and split up at different ends of the lake searching for the giant papermouth.

Jeremy and I started fishing the south arm of the lake in 5-13 feet of water. We were on fish, but they weren’t the fish we were looking for this day. We decided shortly after setting up, that it was time to move. We loaded everything back into my otter (man does that shack make getting all my gear around the lake easy and safe in my snowmobile) and began searching again.

Mobility is so key!! I am not one to sit in the same spot, hoping the big ones will swim by, if I am not catching what I think are the biggest active fish, I will move immediately without hesitation. Getting away from the crowds and finding active un-pressured fish always yields great results.

Stay Mobile, and don’t be afraid to try new spots where nobody else is fishing! Drill lots of holes, and look for those active fish away from the brush piles.

We ended up moving three times before we hit the mother load! From then on it was 12-13″ crappies left and right- I can not stress enough, how much fun it is to find your own fish away from the crowds- put in your homework, be mobile, and you will love the rewards! All of the spots I fished, are easily accessible from shore, all within a 100-200 yard walk from the shore line or a boat ramp.

Staying mobile, and a great flasher like a Marcum lx-5 go hand in hand. With my flasher I feel like I can see the fish below the ice. I can tell if they are active feeders/lethargic fish, and I believe I can tell the size of fish that are below me.

The more I use a flasher, the more I learn from it. Study your electronics, they are always telling us something!

I tried to eat Jeremy’s bass, but after we got done wrestling, he managed to get it back into the water unharmed, rats, I will have to be quicker next time! Only kidding, the predatory fish need to go back, to keep these nice crappies in line and healthy.

Remember like always, if you want to have quality fishing year in and year out, release your bigger fish, and snap a photo, and share them online here at IDO!

Tom, and Jeremy, it was great fishing with you guys like always! Thanks for sharing a slab of ice and some slab crappies with me!

Be safe, ice fish, and we’ll see you on the hard water!

This is going to be my last report for a while, as I will be honeymooning in mexico for a week and a half!!