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By Mark Martin From Year' Round Walleyes Fishing the Four Seasons Once fish start hitting at a certain depth, stay at that depth for at least an hour unless a nearby angler starts catching fish in deeper or shallower water. If that happens, it’s time to make a decision. Show some courtesy while ice fishing; don’t move in tight to another fisherman. Move shallower or deeper, but in the same line and depth as the person who is catching fish. And above all avoid making unnecessary noise. If the action is slow during the day, fish right along the bottom at the drop-offs lowest area or where the lake bottom connects to the drop-off. This can be a hotspot. Light causes movement. Early in the day, when the sun is still low, fish may be in shallow water. Walleyes are very skittish in shallow water under the ice so as the sun comes up or cloud cover moves out, the fish will move to the edges, into the weeds or into deep water. This means anglers must move with them. If holes have been drilled in advance, just walk to the new hole and start fishing without making a lot of extra drilling. When fishing with a friend or two, start out with each person trying a different lure and presentation. This can shorten the time needed to find out what the fish are looking for and can result in faster walleye catches. Traditional jigging is the most common technique used to catch walleyes. A leadhead jig like Northlands two tone Fireball or foxes stand-up head, a flash lure like Northlands Fire Eye or Blue Fox Tingler spoon or swimming lure like Northlands Airplane jig or Jigging Rapala. A little fresh meat will make a big difference when ice fishing. The taste and texture of fresh meat will produce more strikes and hold the fish longer, which gives anglers more time to set the hook. Laws vary from one state or Canadian province to another, but where it is legal anglers can use a whole minnow, a piece of cut up minnow or perch eye to ad flavor and meat to an ice fishing presentation. Try adding a small minnow to each barb of the treble hook of a Jigging Rapala. Lure size will dictate how big the live bait should be. Drop the baited lure to the bottom and lower the rodtip to the water level on a tight line. Raise the rodtip six inches and sharply lift it a foot before immediately dropping the tip. This cause the lure to flutter, fall or swim back down. I jig once every two or three seconds or five or six times in a row, and then stop to let things settle down for a few seconds. Then start jigging again. Strikes often come as the lure falls or just as upward jigging stroke starts again. Watch the line closely, and be ready for a hit.
Bottom Skipping is much like traditional jigging except
the jig or lure touches bottom each time. The lure-tapping bottom will
stir up silt, sand or mud and this creates the illusion of a feeding or
injured baitfish. This techniques works best in gravel or rocky areas.
Bottom-Upping is similar to bottom skipping. Place the
lure at or near the bottom and twitch it up and down three inches at a
time to stir up the bottom with a continuo motion. Keep the line tight
and thump bottom. Pause occasionally and allow the lure to lay on bottom
or hold it just off bottom in a cloud of silt. This also works best
in rocky areas
Tight Line Twitching is a more delicate method than any
of the above. With Tight line twitching lures don’t lift and fall. Instead
keep a constantly tight line. Except for an occasional twitch, the lure
just walks around in a circle over the bottom.
Swishing is similar to jigging but it has a side to side movement rather than up and down. Move the rodtip back and forth, from side for three to six inches at a time. This causes a rocking or pendulum motion in the lure. It doesn’t move up and down instead it just slides and twitches from side to side3. Throw an occasional vertical jig to add some variation. As in tight line twitching, when a walleye hits the strike is easily felt because the line is tight. This is a great technique for beginners who have trouble feeling a strike with a more conventional jigging methods.
Jigging will make a bait look like a nervous wreck. Move the wrist up and down rapidly one to two inches while slowly lifting and lowering your arm. Underwater walleyes will see a lure dancing wildly, swimming up and down, from deep to shallow depths, and back again. This is a good technique to find the depth of the fish but remember to pause occasionally at the bottom, middle and top of the stroke. Mix these tactics up and have fun. An angler will be like a dancer who’s been around and knows the steps. Mix and combine these techniques. Try jigging, skipping, bottom upping, twitching, swishing and tight lining. Just remember what works and keep doing it Who said ice fishing is boring
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Anglers
will occasionally feel the lure being sucked in. Other times the line will
stop before it’s supposed to and that is when a walleye has short stopped
it on the way down. Be ready to set the hook at all times
