 |
| Using
the right gear and the seven factors
of fish location will allow you to locate
and catch fish |
(Airs January
8th – January
14th and April 9th – April
15th)
Okay now, to help point out
equipment’s connection to catching more
fish, let’s briefly revisit
the basic equation of pattern fishing. Fish location
+ presentation= angling success.
That means,
as simple as it sounds, that the first order
of business, on any outing, is to figure out
the location of the fish we’re going
after. For today’s sake, I’ll gloss
over the seven factors of fish location that
anglers can
consider to generally predict the whereabouts
of any specie of fish.
On the Minnesota lake we are
fishing this week, based on a number of those
factors, I’ve
already got a good idea of the highest percentage
crappie haunts during the winter months.
The nature of crappies suggests that as schooling
fish, they’re likely concentrated wherever
the best food source can be found.
This points
to deep, soft bottom basins, in proximity
to structures where schooling minnows hang
out
feeding on plankton and where larval stages
of insects
are commonly hatched. During this cold
water period, deep water is also the place where
basic biology tells us crappies can be
the
most physically
active. Due to lack of light penetration
through a thick sheet of ice…photosynthesis
stops and crappies are forced to migrate
into deep
water where sufficient oxygen is still
present.
Another reasonable prediction
is that the crappies will be suspended off the
bottom. Not
only is it their nature, but it’s
also where their food sources are commonly
found during
this time of year. Next is the
second part
of pattern fishing—presentation.
All that means is utilizing effective “tools” with
proven “techniques” for the
purposes of finding and catching the fish
I’m after.
Searching
tool number one is a power auger. Two,
three and four are the new Lowrance X67C Ice
Machine, a
high quality, sensitive rod…and a
searching bait that will quickly help me
determine
the feeding mood of the crappies I find.
Punch a hole and look, taking time only to fish
where fish can be seen. Anything else is a waste
of time.
When there’s fish
on the screen that won’t seem to bite,
consider change-ups in presentation to find out
what the crappies want. Changing action, switching
color, the size of your offering or going to
live bait are good examples. So once again, determine
fish location using your knowledge about crappies
to select a starting point. Then, with good equipment,
narrow them down exactly…and experiment
with all the tools and techniques at your disposal
until you find and catch what you’re looking
for.
Perch
fishing is another favorite winter pastime
for many of us who
live in the north.
Once you get into them, the action can be fast
and furious and there’s nothing finer
than fresh, hot perch fillets right out of
the pan.
So along with Nate Berg of my staff, we will
venture out once again onto a frozen Minnesota
lake
to see what
we can find and judiciously convince to bite.
|
