Pool 7 Crappie Report 02.20.10

I love fishing with new people, and this adventure was a great one as I was fortunate enough to spend the day with IDO member Pat ‘gutone4me’ Howard. I must say, there’s a base of people here on IDO that are real wonderful people to be around, and Pat is one of those people.

Pat met me at my house around 6am and shortly after that, we were on our way to one of the deep water haunts on Pool 7. We drilled a series of holes and set up in the shallow section where I’d done well before and immediately started to see marks on our flashers.

After putting a few small Bluegills on the ice, the amount of fish we were marking started to dwindle and I was on the move trying to locate the Crappies that I knew were in the area.

I set my flasher down next to a hole in deep water and started marking fish in the 14-16ft range. These fish were suspended over 24ft and I was anxiously waiting to see these marks chase my Gill Pill and waxie combo. Within minutes, I had a thick 9″ Crappie on the surface. Back in she went and my jig wasn’t too far behind. Unfortunately the marks again disappeared and I was on the move looking for some active fish. Hopping from hole to hole, I was able to bring a couple more fish to the surface. This wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for, but the action was better than nothing. After talking to Pat, about the bait he was using, I decided to switch up and try a new little creation I’d put together a couple days earlier. The success ratio was definitely improved upon.

It wasn’t to long into the morning and Pat was set up over the deeper water marking fish with his flasher. I decided to ‘stick & move’ still chasing active fish, looking to find a school of hungry ‘pies.

Oddly enough, going the chasing route wasn’t meant to be. I set up my one-man shack and almost as if on cue, when my flip-over hit the ice, I started seeing marks. One would think, when you’re sitting over 24ft of water light penetration wouldn’t matter much. I believe on this day, it made a lot of the difference. The marks were now showing up with more frequency and the bites were a little more aggressive.

From there on, Pat and I had fairly steady marks on our flashers and a fish or 2 making an appearance on the surface with regularity. The bites were pretty light, with most just pushing the bait up so your spring-bobber and line would look a little slack. Patience and concentration were really put to the test.

My best bait for the day was a souped-up Mini-Mert paired with a waxie. This was fished with a St. Croix Legend Ice rod in 14-16ft.

Special thanks to Pat for spending the day on the ice with me. I had a blast and don’t think I’ve laughed that much in a long time. I’m guessing the guys around us must have thought we’re hitting the sauce pretty hard.

I look forward to doing that again, but not before I spend the upcoming weekend at the Madison Fish Expo. I’ll be working the booth with Dave Koonce & Bob Gillispie. Stop by and say hi! We’re sure to have a lot of icefishing and open water tackle avail..