Mark Martins
Lake
Superior Beachfront home for rent
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Dropoffs, Weedlines and Points key area's of focus
for Icing Eyes
by Mark Martin
Keying on dropoffs, weedlines and points
will help you bring in quality walleyes such
as this one caught by the author Mark
Martin |
When the ice arrives, it's easy to return by force of habit to the
same
walleye spots where you drilled holes last year, the year before that,
or
even decades earlier. While easy is one thing, smart is another. And
by
locating new territory around the tried-and-true locations, maybe a
little
longer hike away, it¹s often possible to boost your catch throughout
the day and during the prime times of morning and evening. Dropoffs, weedlines
and points‹excellent spots all. But if you get beyond them to the main
basin in your body of water, down deep in 25 to 50 feet of water, you¹re
going to catch walleyes when the action dies in shallower on traditional
spots. By prospecting with a quality auger and an underwater camera, then
jigging with a motion that matches the deep freeze, it's easier to locate
and stay with walleyes when you're fishing smart |
Prospecting
Does this all mean you have to forget everything you know from winters
past?
Of course not. Your favorite weedlines and dropoffs will still hold
fish, but there are often more spots, and more productive ones, not far
away. When ice fishing, I look for deep water where walleyes will go and
sulk when they're not on the feed. Say you have a point that heads in shallow,
one where you ambush walleyes when they move in at twilight. That's great.
But now is the time to explore where it runs out into deeper water, which
may be 25 feet in a shallow lake, 50 feet in a deeper one. Or if you have
a number of shallow water spots nearby, look for deep-water pockets between
them. They'll be refuges during midday and even during the low-light periods
of morning and evening.
StrikeMaster
Lazer Mag Ultra |
The best way to find them is by drilling a lot of holes. When I say
"a lot," I'm talking dozens. There's no better way to do that than with
a power auger. With a manual one, you¹ll not only get hot and sweaty
but you'll probably drill too few holes. That¹s why I rely on Strike
Master augers in the Power Lazer series. They make far less noise than
a spud or a manual auger, and with them you can make whatever noise you¹re
going to in a few minutes and be done with it. I find that important because,
when watching walleyes on an underwater camera, I've seen many times that
they spirit away at the thunk of a spud. Strike Master¹s augers burn
through the ice in no time and produce sizable eight- to 10-inch holes
that are helpful, and save heartache, when you latch on to a big one and
try to get it through the hole. Another option by Strike Master is a new
electric auger that runs off a 12-volt battery and uses little juice. It's
possible to drill 70 or 80 holes with one of these outfits. |
Once I¹ve drilled my deep holes on the edges and in the middle of
the lake
basin, I drop down my Vista Cam, an underwater camera with which I've
learned more in a few years, it seems, than in a lifetime of ice fishing.
The reason is that I position the camera lens so I can see my lure‹and
see what walleyes respond to with fright, flight or delight. With its infrared
capabilities, the camera even works in extremely low light, times when
walleyes are prone to feeding and you can trigger them while watching them
on the screen. (Not catching fish or can't stand watching them any longer?
The Vista has a large TV monitor on which you can watch football. Hey,
who said ice fishing's boring?)
What Now?
Some of my favorite offerings for winter walleyes are Northland's Buck-Shot
Rattle Spoons and Fire
Eye Spoons, No. 5 Jigging
Rapala and Blue Fox
Tingler Spoons. While I jig one of them with a piece of minnow on it,
I set
out a dead rod with a 1/16th- or 1/8th-ounce Northland Fire-Ball.
Jig head with
a live minnow. Often I'll set it atop a bucket, without touching it,
and wait for a fish to bend the rod. Then I pick it up and set the hook.
With this rig, I want the rod tip to be bouncing with the action of the
minnow. When it stops, I'll lift the rod a couple of inches to prod the
minnow back into motion. The reason I have this twin setup is because when
I attract the fish by jigging, they'll often take the other bait.
By watching my Vista Cam, I've learned what works when jigging and what
doesn't. It's easy, when it's cold out, to get carried away and jig
aggressively as if you¹re trying to keep warm. Unfortunately, that's
one of the worst things you can do. On the camera, I¹ve watched walleyes
scoot away time and again after an aggressive jump of the jig. Rather,
I prefer a little jiggle.
When you're jiggling, a walleye will move in and eye up the offering
before making a decision. One big sweep and the fish is spooked and out
of there.
If you're jiggling and wiggling it, on the other hand, a walleye will
follow it wherever you move the jig. When I see an interested fish on the
Vista Cam, I slowly jiggle and slightly lift the bait. Most times the walleye
follows.
Lowrance X-85 |
As a backup, I have a Lowrance
X-85 liquid-crystal depth finder set up as well. On it, I¹ve watched
walleyes follow a jig off bottom as far as five to 10 feet below the ice.
If they give up on it, flip the bail open and let it fall back to bottom.
You might have to wiggle, jiggle and lift off
bottom up to five times before the fish strikes. |
6# XT |
For a few tackle tips, I suggest Berkley¹s ice rods, particularly
the
Lightning Rods. In shallower water, I stick with Berkley Trilene line,
in 6-pound XT. This tough line won¹t break when rubbed against the
edge of an ice hole. Out deeper, I switch to 6-pound smoke FireLine for
its low visibility and increased sensitivity. |
With a few changes in location and approach, and with the help of underwater-camera
technology, you¹re bound to catch more walleyes through
the ice. The way I look at it, you¹re going to be better off by
doing it smart rather than taking the easy way out. The walleyes will reward
you for
it.
Fish
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