Ice Fishing

Perch keep anglers busy over winter months. When the ice is safe enough, a lake or river soon fills up with eager anglers. When angling through the ice, start near shore in six to eight feet of water with the bait 16 to 24 inches off bottom. Perch are caught through the ice at depths of up to 40 feet. The key is the predator/prey relationship. Rocky shoals, weedbeds, or brush piles often hold forage such as snails, minnows, plankton, or larval insects. These areas can be located with the help of a portable depth sounder. As long as the transducer is wet, these units will work through the ice.

Jigs or live bait are popular. Salted minnows are often used when fish are hitting well, but when the action slows live bait is more effective. "Chum" the area first with salted minnows. Small silver or gold jigging spoons, like the Swedish Pimple, can also be used by jigging them on bottom, especially if a school of big perch has been found. The jigging action gives the appearance of darting minnows in search of food. Vertical jigging with fairly light line and smaller lures (since the fish are eating smaller baitfish) creates a very attractive darting movement, especially when using a small jigging rod. This can be as simple as a stick with a line wrapped around it, much like the tip-up style presentation, and a vertical jigging spoon or jig.

A new method is now finding its way to many sports shops: using pearls as bait. If your local shop doesn't carry pearls, you can make your own. Use a cheap, imitation white pearl. Tie it on the base of a small (such as a number six) single or treble hook with thread. Use a clear nail polish or lacquer to waterproof the thread. Some anglers run pins through the pearl and solder them to the hooks, but regardless of how you make one, they're easy to create. Use a small splitshot, drop it to bottom, and bounce it around.

The big problem with winter fishing, of course, is finding the schools of fish. Unlike summer, fall, or spring fishing, it's not a matter of moving a boat around or heading to another dock in search of perch. Winter fishing may require anglers to drill or cut holes in ice for some time before a school is found. If you're out with a few friends, spread out to find a school and then, literally, gang up on them. Of course, one of the simplest ways is to ask your local ice hut operator.

Augers are by far the best instrument to use for cutting holes, but many anglers resort to the old axe, chisel, or spud and saw while on the ice. The old tools will do the job but require more labor.

The simplest winter perch rig is a two- or three-way spreader. Put two minnows -- either live or, in some lakes, salted -- on each hook. You can put some more hooks higher up the line, if your state or province allows it. It's usually more effective to put the live minnow on the top hook. The whole rig is made to sit on or near the bottom, which is not difficult since the system is heavy. Perch will usually be holding within the bottom three feet of water, so make sure they get a good look at your offering. The rest of the method is a matter of balancing the tip-up.

Perch are very light biters, so it can get a little tricky to set the hook in winter. But with this kind of method it doesn't take much movement or much of a bite to feel the hit on a weighted tip-up. (Figure 7-1.)

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