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Best Winter Fishing tips

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DennisCTB
Join Date: Nov 1998
Posts: 2707 NorthWest NJ
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2013-01-07          185894

My son has recently become an avid fan of fishing. He is really new at it. I did all my fishing when my grandfather was alive mostly salt water and lake fishing. My attempts at trout fishing were meager with no results.

He just went ice fishing for the first time with his first ever fishing license. All day but no catch :(

Is it possible to fish for trout with any success in streams this time of year?




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kthompson
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 5275 South Carolina
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2013-01-07          185895

Dennis I can not answer your question but always find it funny the times people tell you the fish don't bite. The one that gets me the most is when it is raining for I have had some of my best results then.

To me you can catch fish if they are eating. It is my impression fish do eat less in the winter but they still eat but what they eat might change. Does in this area. ....

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Art White
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 6898 Waterville New York
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2013-01-08          185900


The best fishing tip I can give anyone in central ny is go to someplace warm!

Did ice fishing years ago on Oneida Lake and had good success with perch mostly, some Walleye as well as a couple of northerns that meant we had to enlarge the hole!

I'd imagine that in your area it would be normal stream fishing and that is fishing, sometimes great, sometimes, while it just is fishing! ....

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DennisCTB
Join Date: Nov 1998
Posts: 2707 NorthWest NJ
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2013-01-08          185903

I warned my son to not go ice fishing on Budd Lake in Mount Olive last Saturday because it was too warm and almost all lakes in the area were not frozen except for Budd lake. He disregarded me and went anyway without my knowledge.

Today it looks like two teens died yesterday afternoon falling through the ice on the same lake!

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local/new_jersey&id=8945455 ....

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Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999
Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2013-01-08          185904

Ice fishing can be risky at times indeed. More than once per year the folks fishing on the local inland lake next to our airport run into some sort of trouble. Sometimes the vehicle, most drive right out on the lake, falls in, sometimes they stay out too late in the spring and find themselves adrift on a large sheet of ice.

Several times the guys at our airport have been called out to drop them some form of supplies, ropes, floats, food, etc.

You'd think they'd earn, but no, every year it's the same.

Personally I love winter fishing, but the key to catching something is picking the right area to fish in. I usually start somewhere about 75 miles east of Miami......



Best of luck. ....

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hardwood
Join Date: Dec 2002
Posts: 3583 iowa
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2013-01-09          185915


I only went ice fishing once. By the time I got a hole chopped in the ice big enough to get the boat in I was all out of the mood!!!!

I really did only ever go ice fishing once probably fourty years ago with my Father in law. I sat on a five gallon bucket all afternoon till I nearly froze to death and caught nothing. Meanwhile the FIL come carrying a bucket full of crappies asking if I was ready to quit, I never went ice fishing again, I do my ice fishing at the fiah market.

Frank. ....

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Art White
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 6898 Waterville New York
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2013-01-09          185919


After I was president of the local snowmobile club for about six years I had lost my normal riding partners. Sled prices went up and I just keep saying no. I even sold my sled. I do have two dealers who will give me sleds if I would like to ride but!!!!
I had a bunch of money that I couldn't figure out how it grew. Then I realized it was from the snowmobiles that I wasn't supporting!

Now I enjoy heading a bit further south then Murf to Costa Rica and other hot spots for sails and Marlin! Glad I didn't wait till I retired! At the end of a good day I can't even crank the reel!!!!!! At 80 plus degree's it's fantastic to leave this ice cube! ....

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candoarms
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 1932 North Dakota
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2013-01-11          185936

Dennis,

Ice fishing is very common here in North Dakota. I go ice fishing pretty often.

If winter fishing for Northern Pike, stay in the shallow bays, and close to the shore. Sometimes 3 feet of open water below the ice is all you need. Jig with a minnow, or dangle a dead smelt on the end of your line. Use a bobber to keep the bait about 1 foot off the bottom.

We use a heavy lead weight with an alligator clip on it to help us find the bottom depth. Attach the weight to your bait hook. Once the bottom depth is found, raise the line a foot and attach a bobber. pull the line up and remove the weight from your hook and fit up with your favorite bait. When the line is once again dropped into hole, it will place the bait at the proper depth.

We usually fish with two different systems. We use a short pole for jigging live bait. We use a "Tip Up" for stationary bait fishing....such as with smelt. A "tip up" sits over the hole and signals you when a fish takes the bait. A red flag pops up, letting you know that a fish is taking line. Run over to the "Tip Up" and start hauling in the fish.

Regular fishing line is very difficult to work with during the winter. We use a black dacron line, coated with teflon. It makes things a whole lot more enjoyable. It won't ice up, and it's a whole lot more visible on the ice. It's OK to use a short leader of clear fishing line, if you prefer.

I still fish the old-fashioned way. I drill a hole and put my bait on the line. I catch fish, but I don't catch as many as the guys who use fish finders, locators, or underwater cameras. I find that when the fish aren't biting, it's a whole lot easier for me to pack up and move somewhere else when I'm not moving everything cabelas sells in their fishing department.

There should be a minimum of 3 inches of ice before walking out onto any lake. Sample holes need to drilled as you move out into any area where there may be a current, or flowing water. A minimum of 8 inches of ice is required to support a vehicle....but I prefer at least a full foot of ice before driving out on any lake. Currently the ice thickness here is 22 inches. It's good and safe, so long as we don't attempt to drive near any area where the ice heaves, due to expansion. Stay away from those areas!

Hope this helps.

Joel ....

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Art White
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 6898 Waterville New York
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2013-01-15          185973


Did anyone catch the fellow with the Tarpon on his arm! That was unreal to be able to have done that with a camera on him! ....

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taogden
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 81 United States
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2013-01-15          185974

Dennis
Have your son stay away from streams or rivers during this time of year. I have seen some really dangerous ice buildups on rivers. Small streams might be ok, like knee deep, but river ice is really dangerous as is streams, in fact, plan on going through in these places, it is almost impossible not to unless you are in the high mountains, or ND, MT, SD, or any of the Northern states. but you get springs under the ice that will make it thinner and currents can do it.
Trout are a little slower in the winter but still very catchable. I got back from ice fishing Sunday, but am heading out again this weekend. Ice on the lake I was fishing was about 28". My son and I went halfers on an Ice Auger, it is wonderful, he accused me of drilling hundreds of holes instead of fishing. My son is given to exaggerations. But, I will admit, after all these years of using a hand auger, this 10" power auger, I feel like Tim on Tool Time, Arrr arrr arrr :-)
You can use pretty much the same stuff you use during the summer, its just harder to cover much area.
I use meal worms, wax worms, jigs and bait, like minnows, etc. I raise my own worms so I always have them and night crawlers.
I have my best luck during the winter with Meal and Wax worms. Use a small jig, like a Finkee tipped with the meal or wax worm. On the wax worm I pop his head off so he leaks into the water. Tell him to tie the jig on so it sits straight in a horizontal line (perpendicular to the fishing line) and slowly jig the head up and down. Change depth on a routine basis until you find the level the fish are running. Depth of the water is not always a key issue as most of my fishing is between 3 to 12 feet. Kokanee is a little different, you usually find the schools in deeper water because of the way the schools stack up. I have talked with some who claim good success on panfish and Crappie jigs, get the small ones. On the Finkee jigs, they are usually 1/64 or 1/80 ounce heads. Colors here are light green, orange, light blue, pink. Another thing is little flutters as I call them, I get them from Michaels, Hobby Lobby etc, they are little earring making pieces that I tie on to make a flashing attachment above my bait to bring the fish in as they are nearly as curious as cats. Tell him to tie the flutters on with a Rapala loop so they move well.
Anyhow, be really careful on creeks and rivers, I just stay away from them in the winter, at least in Colorado. The vapor off the rivers give false ice layers in the winter, I just can't stress enough how hazardous it is. ....

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Art White
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 6898 Waterville New York
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2013-01-29          186080


We have a couple of lakes up here where the wise actually tie off ropes to trees on the shore for safety. They have some pretty good currents as well as springs at the bottom. ....

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