Hard water trout?

[Geezle]

Okay, I've never really fished for trout before, aside from a couple unfruitful trips to stocked ponds, and I've definitely not fished for them through the ice, so I'm wondering if anybody's got some tips they'd like to share.

Tomorrow, weather permitting, I'll be hitting up Chickacoo with ghostguy6 to try for some bookies and rainbows, and maybe perch?

Word on the street is that small jigs with either minnows, cheese or worms are the way to go.

That being said, I'm assuming I'd want to use pretty small minnows? What about the worms. Should I be putting on chunks of dew worm, or something smaller like a mealworm or kingworm?

And the jigs...just how small is small? Should I just grab some of the bulk round jigs, or would other types be more productive?

It's been years since I've been out ice fishing, so I'm getting quite antsy to get out there and slay some fish!

Thanks for any suggestions you folks have to offer :wave:

[WayneChristie]

even plain hooks with worms, Id go smaller for the worms, like the red wigglers. Trout are usually in the shallower water around the shoreline under the ice where the food is too Ive heard.

[Geezle]

even plain hooks with worms, Id go smaller for the worms, like the red wigglers. Trout are usually in the shallower water around the shoreline under the ice where the food is too Ive heard.

Red wigglers...those are like smaller earth worms...right?

I've got some mealworms here for the lizards too and they're quite small.

And I may have to grab a pack of plain hooks to play around with as well :)

[WayneChristie]

thats the worms. velveeta supposedly works good too, and if you dont get any fish you could always make a sandwich :lol: powerbait works for trout too, and corn. I see Gulp makes their own version of both now too. I caught a trout on one of their fake maggots and a plain hook too at Enchant this fall so they may be good too.

[noslack]

i've been using deadly dicks for the past couple years.

simple tiny jig'n spoon. and i tip them with the tail end of a berkley alive minnow. those tails are amazing.


for brookies look for cover near that is close to deep water. if there's an inlet to the lake, then they might be there.

dont go too deep. last weekend i smoked em right in the shallows, sight fishing. probably 1.4 feet deep.


good luck.

[Geezle]

thats the worms. velveeta supposedly works good too, and if you dont get any fish you could always make a sandwich :lol: powerbait works for trout too, and corn. I see Gulp makes their own version of both now too. I caught a trout on one of their fake maggots and a plain hook too at Enchant this fall so they may be good too.

Hmmm...I like sandwiches :)

I was thinking about grabbing some powerbait as well, but I've never really used the stuff, so I'm not entirely sure what it's all about. I'm more used to using 'for real' bait :)

Oh yeah, I was told shrimp works good as well. I've got a few bigarse prawns in the freezer...maybe I'll chop one up and try that too.

[Geezle]

i've been using deadly dicks for the past couple years.

simple tiny jig'n spoon. and i tip them with the tail end of a berkley alive minnow. those tails are amazing.


for brookies look for cover near that is close to deep water. if there's an inlet to the lake, then they might be there.

dont go too deep. last weekend i smoked em right in the shallows, sight fishing. probably 1.4 feet deep.


good luck.

Ah gotcha, I'm familiar with the deadly dicks, I remember using them, swedish pimples, and hawgers? for perch waaay back in the day.


edit: and holy crap, 1.4' deep, you're not kidding about fishing shallow!

[troutpirate]

i do good with very small jigs fished s-l-o-w-l-y. i find i cat ch less fish if im being to jerky, all lure movements, for me, are either slow or not at all.

everything mentioned above works for bait. my two favorites are maggots and dew worms. however, i have friends that do really good with prawns and power bait.

good luck

[butcherboy]

I will have to agee on the velveeta cheese and corn. I roll the cheese up into little balls before going fishing and when i get to the lake, start fishing and spend less time rolling little balls of cheese. I have taken cheese to the lake before and spent most of my time rolling balls of cheese for the family. So now, i do all this before going to the lake. I found the cheese attracts more bites/hits than the powerbait.

[jrs]

I always fish my holes about 4 feet (or closer) apart so i can hold both rods. For baitfishing, this setup works awesome for rainbows, brookies, and browns.
Edit, picture from photobucket didn't work, basically smallish bobber above a pickerel rig with size 12 hooks baited with whatever (corn, shrimp, cheese etc). Oversize weight at bottom so bobber sinks if not set at proper depth in hole. Weight on bottom, bobber barely submerged. Very sensitive.


This method is about as sensitive as it gets for baitfishing, make sure you use the most sensitive bobber possible and a reasonable size weight. Having the bobber mostly submerged works well. Not very many fish get hooked deep with this method if you pay attention. Set the hook as soon as the bobber moves or you will hook fish deeper meaning higher mortality after release.

With the second hole i generally jig a small spoon, a wireworm, or for rainbows in particular a teardrop. No bait needed but you can tip any of the jigging lures if you'd like. Any flies can be substituted of bare hooks in lakes with really high fish numbers where bait gets lost fairly often. The bait/ "pickerel rig" method works well for lake whitefish and perch as well. Good luck.

[Paul C]

I like to use very small hook weighing .01 of an ounce. The lure falls like a bug in the water.
They also work well for perch, walleye and whiefish.

[pecker]

Hmmm...I like sandwiches :)

I was thinking about grabbing some powerbait as well, but I've never really used the stuff, so I'm not entirely sure what it's all about. I'm more used to using 'for real' bait :)

Oh yeah, I was told shrimp works good as well. I've got a few bigarse prawns in the freezer...maybe I'll chop one up and try that too.

yes Geezle shrimp is the answer. i found it outfished powerbait etc. just be sure its cooked - raw shrimp just gets soggy and falls apart. good luck.:wave:

[Geezle]

yes Geezle shrimp is the answer. i found it outfished powerbait etc. just be sure its cooked - raw shrimp just gets soggy and falls apart. good luck.:wave:

Pretty sure these are uncooked...should I just give 'em a boil before chopping it up?

They are also whole, with the head and all...do I just want the tail meat or is it all good for fishing?

[pecker]

Pretty sure these are uncooked...should I just give 'em a boil before chopping it up?

They are also whole, with the head and all...do I just want the tail meat or is it all good for fishing?

just simmer them a few minutes in water - if you wish you can add a bit of garlic salt - fish seem to attract to garlic - its all good- just put a half inch piece on your hook and sit back. let me know how it works for you. tight lines. :wave:

[Paul C]

This one put up a good fight on 4 lb fluorocarbon line, fun to catch.
Cheers :):D

[WayneChristie]

those are some heavy trout!

[Paul C]

These one was an s.o.b to catch on ultra lite line it kept running under the surface of the ice. The s.o.b. was trying to break my line. :D:wave: Cheers :)

[Geezle]

Hey, just a quick question about the cheese. Is Velveeta pretty much the only way to go? I forgot to grab some while i was out today :o

What about pinching on a chunk of cheese slice to cover the hook?

I'm guessing I might just have to go out again, but we'll see what everybody says.


I'll be taking the shotgun approach for bait...I've got some minnows, but they're a bit on the big side, maggots, shrimp, maybe a couple little mealworms (if they haven't all turned to beetles on me) and some dew worms.

Actually with all that I probably don't really need the cheese! :lol:

[pecker]

Hey, just a quick question about the cheese. Is Velveeta pretty much the only way to go? I forgot to grab some while i was out today :o

What about pinching on a chunk of cheese slice to cover the hook?

I'm guessing I might just have to go out again, but we'll see what everybody says.


I'll be taking the shotgun approach for bait...I've got some minnows, but they're a bit on the big side, maggots, shrimp, maybe a couple little mealworms (if they haven't all turned to beetles on me) and some dew worms.

Actually with all that I probably don't really need the cheese! :lol:

arn't you missing something geezle.:lol::wave:

[Geezle]

arn't you missing something geezle.:lol::wave:

Well I do have a few kingworms here as well... ;)

Do fish like cockroaches? :lol:
http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii181/GeezleHerps/s6300904.jpg

[ghostguy6]

Jay, I tied a bunch of red wireworm hooks last night, they should work pretty good. I know they are deadly for kokanee salmon through the ice.:cool:

[WayneChristie]

Velveeta is the only cheese that actually stays on the hook, of course, because its so damn expensive!:lol: should be good with the rest of the stuff you have anyways, if all else fails, a pound of C4 works wonders, just get off the ice before it goes off :lol:

[Geezle]

Jay, I tied a bunch of red wireworm hooks last night, they should work pretty good. I know they are deadly for kokanee salmon through the ice.:cool:

Wicked :) I think maybe Monday I'll be meeting up with buckmaster to buy a handful of wireworms from him :)

I was at TFH today grabbing a few things and I was talking to Gerry and he said he's been hearing good things about brookies from Chickacoo recently :cool:

[Geezle]

Velveeta is the only cheese that actually stays on the hook, of course, because its so damn expensive!:lol: should be good with the rest of the stuff you have anyways, if all else fails, a pound of C4 works wonders, just get off the ice before it goes off :lol:

Yeah, I should be more than good with what I have...just don't want to get skunked! The wife would love it if I was able to bring home some fish for us to eat for a change :)

[WayneChristie]

if you get skunked, hit the grocery store on the way home, unless shes reading this, :lol: dont know what effect this blizzard will have on the fishing, but I know Im going to find somewhere out of the wind one way or another tomorrow and get on the ice. Id go tonight but I dont know how thick the ice is, and I dont want to find out after dark that its not thick enough :scared::lol:

[Geezle]

arn't you missing something geezle.:lol::wave:

Too late to edit my post...I forgot about the shrimp! :lol:

[Geezle]

if you get skunked, hit the grocery store on the way home, unless shes reading this, :lol: dont know what effect this blizzard will have on the fishing, but I know Im going to find somewhere out of the wind one way or another tomorrow and get on the ice. Id go tonight but I dont know how thick the ice is, and I dont want to find out after dark that its not thick enough :scared::lol:

Yeah, there is the grocery store route! Not nearly as fun as catching 'em though.

And definitely play it safe...well, I know I don't need to tell you but yeah...after dark is definitely not the time to be experiencing an emergency :o

[Paul C]

if you get skunked, hit the grocery store on the way home, unless shes reading this, :lol: dont know what effect this blizzard will have on the fishing, but I know Im going to find somewhere out of the wind one way or another tomorrow and get on the ice. Id go tonight but I dont know how thick the ice is, and I dont want to find out after dark that its not thick enough :scared::lol:
If you get skunked ask the store clerk to toss the fish at you and all you have to catch the fish:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

[WayneChristie]

If you get skunked ask the store clerk to toss the fish at you and all you have to catch the fish:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

yup, honesty is key in any relationship :evilgrin::lol::lol:

[ghostguy6]

I had to go shopping today so I picked up some velveeta just incase :lol:

100th post. I guess that makes me a lifer:lol:

[Geezle]

I had to go shopping today so I picked up some velveeta just incase :lol:

100th post. I guess that makes me a lifer:lol:

If we're going strictly by post count, you're a lifer, and I have no life! :lol:

Careful...it's a slippery slope:lol:

[Sir Landsalot]

Theres alot of good lures for icefishing, but Swedish Pimples, Little Cleo's and Rapalas have long been my favorites for Trout through the ice. I've also had great success using Buzz bombs as well.
Maggots are my bait of choice.
Cheers!

[WayneChristie]

I had to go shopping today so I picked up some velveeta just incase :lol:

100th post. I guess that makes me a lifer:lol:

slippery slope indeed. I hit 100. then 500 then 1000, no end in sight, but new friends, good companionship, and lots of new ideas and knowledge, cant be all bad :) wait til you get sloshed with a bunch of forumers. after that theres no way back :evilgrin: nothing like sharing a hangover to make new bonds:lol::lol::lol:

[grant]

Theres alot of good lures for icefishing, but Swedish Pimples, Little Cleo's and Rapalas have long been my favorites for Trout through the ice.

How are you jigging a rapala?

[Geezle]

He's probably talking about using the Jigging Rapala's which have the eye on the back of the lure instead of the nose...or are you talking about technique using a Jigging Rap? :confused: