How long are you fishing a certain presentation (Ice Fishing)
 

Looking for some opinions on how long you guys will fish a certain presentation before switching things up? Also when you do switch do you change presentations all together or maybe just change colors of what you are using?

All though I've been fishing hard water for about 5 years now I am still a total rookie. I've built a hard wall shelter so we don't tend to move around a lot in a day especially when the kids are out with me.

We have a cam so we pretty much switch presentations depending on what we see on the cam but when there's nothing moving down there I'm always wondering how long I should stick with a certain lure/bait before making a switch.

As always an info is appreciated

Hilgy

I usually use my flasher and when i see a fish mark i would try to lure him in. If they are not interested i would change right away to try to get a strike.

On a bad day I change up lures almost every 8-10 minutes hahaha my wife hates it. She usually just fishes one or two lures for an entire 8 hours.

If there are no fish then it doesn't matter what you are using for presentation. You can try using something flashy like a spoon or something with a rattle etc to try and draw fish in from further away but other then that there is no point in switching your presentation unless fish are rejecting it.

I rarely ever worry about colour. Type of presentation is far more important then colour imo. Can try fine tuning colour if you are getting rejections and you are pretty sure your lure should be working.

If you aren't seeing fish you are far better off moving then changing lures. Find the fish, then figure out how to get them to bite. Either that or just sit there and hope some fish start coming by(say if you know you are in a spot where the fish will come by at dusk or if fishing lakes with very few fish and no great structure etc to target).

If I am marking fish on the flasher but they just aren't taking it I will usually try the same lure in a smaller size and potentially color. If they still won't commit I will switch it up.

If I have the camera set up I can fine tune my presentation a bit more. I think color is the last variable I change. If a buddy is using the same lure as me but a different color and they are catching and I'm not, I will change then.

If there is nothing checking out my lure I will usually try something that rattles or really flashes to see if I can draw something in. If that fails, I move. Like Rav says, if there are no fish there it really doesn't matter what you are using.

Thanks guys. Seems that we have kind of been on the right track. I understand that by not moving much we are going to see less fish but our trips out to the lake are often limited to a couple three hours on a weekend in between hockey games and what not so that's a trade off that we sometimes have to make.

I appreciate the info. Some days I wonder if the stuff we are putting down the hole and how we are using it would have the hard core ice fisherman in stiches watching us but it sounds like we might be on the right track. Just need to refine our technique.

Thanks
Hilgy

You mentioned you are using a camera so you should be able to tell if what you are using is effective. If the fish just cruise by they aren't interested, that could be because they don't like your lure or just aren't feeding. If the fish take a quick look at the lure then keep swimming then they aren't interested in what you are offering. If they come in and take a closer look, bump it etc then you are close but need to change it up a bit as they are interested but can tell something isn't right. If the fish are feeding and you have what they want to eat you should be able to get more fish then not to come take some sort of bite.

I had a perfect example just the other day of a change up making a difference. Marked a fish on the flasher checking out my jigging spoon but he wouldn’t commit. Time after time he’d follow it up a foot or two but turned away. Quickly reeled up and dropped down a jig and minnow and bam he took it immediately. Sometimes a change, no matter what it is is all that is needed.

i'm always afraid that sometimes when i move, i might end up 150 feet further from the fish. Going the opposite direction haha

I find if the fish come in and stare at it for a bit and won’t commit downsizing can make a huge difference, I’ve caught more pike while trying for perch on a small tungsten jig and Berkley PowerBait Nymph than perch, the pike come out of nowhere and smash them, if they miss they usually come back for a few more attempts, also I like to try a slender spoon ripped aggressively if nothing’s been around on camera for awhile, sometimes that triggers them come out of nowhere too and hammer them.

Best to have multiple rods set up with various presentations ready to go so you can quickly change it up. If you’re not seeing fish on the camera change up to something big and flashy and fish it higher up in the water column say 2 to 5 ft depending on water clarity and conditions to call something in. Any active, feeding or curious fish in the area should come and check you out. If they don’t hit the flashy offering get up and back down with something different like your saving lives. Judge the fishes reaction to each presentation and go from there. If they come for a look only to swim backwards away from you, or don’t give you even so much as a quick glance on the way by, or they just kind of sulk there not doing jack then you probably have the wrong rig on or you are just on inactive fish and need to relocate. Sometimes they want a meal and sometimes they want a light snack. When in doubt throw the kitchen sink at them or go home. That’s ice fishing. Some days you could just be a day late and a buck short, but they all got to eat sometime and they all aren’t necessarily hungry at the exact same time on any given day. Perseverance is a great quality to have. You may also be learning that your target species has certain hours of the day where they just don’t cooperate very well so maybe try fishing different times for better overall success. Good luck and welcome to sport fishing!

It’s important to remember fish don’t eat constantly, and even if you find them when their not in feed mode, it’s no guarantee they will bite. I notice they will swim away from a lure and seem to get spooked by it when their not on the hunt.
Probably seeing their prey approaching them or in their ‘bedroom’ makes them sketchy. Maybe I’m giving them too much mental credit, but it does make sense.

When I get to a hole and don’t see or get bites soon after, I’ll drop a rippin rap to the bottom and rip it up like 3 feet fast. Let it drop and repeat 2-3 more times. Then add a pause and watch the flasher. I’ll do that whole deal say 3-4 times then switch to a jigging spoon, often with a 8” line between spoon and treble with minnow. I’ll keep my line tight so I can feel bottom, and drop the spoon on bottom repeatedly. I’ll try to find a rock and some mud. This will kick up a bit of silt which will trigger lots of fish. And the banging to attract.

I have thousands in tackle, yet I use $20 worth 95% of the time. I’m a sucker for buying crankbaits, lol. I will often tip a whole minnow on a lipless crankbait, head hook to head of minnow and rear to rear. Sometimes I’ll let the rear hook off and that imitates the fry (crankbait) eating a minnow ( distracted prey ).

This is for Walleye and pike, but sized down can work for other fish.

Years ago I started looking at the Solunar calander ( this one is great http://www.solunarforecast.com/solunarcalendar.aspx ) and after going back through years of pictures and cross referencing date and times with the calendar it was like over 60% right, maybe even more. By ‘right’ I mean in the Major time of day (tidal).
If you think about tidal forces on stuff like shrimp, bugs, plankton etc, the effect seems noteworthy. Since baitfish move to find those food sources, and our target fish move to baitfish, the connection is easy to see.

That’s not to say I won’t fish on a normal day or catch fish out of the Major or Minor times of day. Yet I catch on to the times of day the Walleye move in to my spot and it’s like clockwork. They will cruise an area while feeding, so were usually waiting for the next pass while sitting in our tents.

I recommend the Linder Brothers book “Catching Fish”. One line I remember is to think of fish as a land animal, and essentially ignore the water. You won’t find deer in the middle of a low grass field, in plain sight resting, normally. And you won’t find them hunkered down between trees feeding. They move from a resting area to a feeding area, and fish are the same.

A natural way to think about fish is they are just at random spots and either don’t move much at all, or they’ve moved across the lake as far as possible, lol. Now that we have crazy sonar and bathymetric maps, scouting fish is on a whole new level. And you can do it in your underwear at 2 am, nowhere near the lake.

I’m not sure why I went off on that giant rant / advice, but oh well. I agree with everything else in this thread, and if you don’t see them, it’s just a waiting game. All you can do is ring the dinner bell.

Usually every 20 minutes I will change to a different hook, change out bait or move to different location. I have at least 4 rods sitting in the bucket at the ready with different presentations.

Awesome info thanks guys. I have started rigging up multiple rods with different stuff to to make switching easier. I’m going to try the spoon with a treble 8” below. I’ve never tried that. Keep the tips coming guys I appreciate it all.

How long are you fishing a certain presentation (Ice Fishing)
 

I use the northlands Buck-Shot rattle spoon in Perch 3/4 oz usually, but I have all the sizes. Smallest work for perch.

https://shop.northlandtackle.com/spo...-rattle-spoon/

Anywhere from 6 to 12 inches of line between treble and spoon, usually 6. They have ones that glow, and I bring my head lamp and a flashlight. I’ll put one spoon in a slot in the tackle box, White - Glow side up and the small bright flashlight over the slot.

If I only want to give the one I have on my line a glow boost, I’ll hold it up to my headlamp. You can also use your phones light or flash.

Use Fluorocarbon line between and keep the minnow a few inches off bottom, or occasionally they want it right on bottom. Check the line here and there and after every Pike.

The only issue with these is storing them. I keep a few rigged up and put them in pill bottles, a tall thin one for each. At the end of my braid mainline I have a snap swivel. And I now tie up a few treble + 8 inch lines with a snap swivel also. So if I need to switch hooks either to replace or up-down size, it’s quick and easy.

A Pro-Staffer gave me that trick years ago, and it’s my most often used lure. The spoon banging the bottom and kicking up silt gets their attention. Then you lift the rig so the minnow / hook is near bottom, and the glittering and glowing spoon is almost a foot off bottom like a beacon.

If you watch the spoon banging on camera, it might look like a fry is attacking a near dead minnow off the bottom. That and the silt give it a Frenzy look. Again, maybe I think too deep while staring at a screen, flasher or hole. lol.

The snap swivel at the end of the mainline, is almost as quick and easy as grabbing another rod. I don’t store rods with lures, so I have to set them up anyways, which means by just switching leader / lure rigs I’m not doing extra work. Yet I sometimes have a second rod with say a crankbait if I’m switching often, or I’m out in the cold.

Jig head with no tail with a minnow hooked so it sits horizontally, lightly jig
Or leave it alone all together ( deadstick) , perch walleyes pike burbout all thru the same hole on slave lake ....

I usually never switch jigs

Any color works

By far
Thee most important thing is to have that minnow horizontal

Gd luck

if you are presenting the lure suspended with little movement

if you are jigging, straight behind the head so when you jig it up and down it looks like the lure is going to the bottom to feed then swimming back up

The key is ACTIVE FISH!!!!
 

Fish sometimes gorge all day long, but that is usually NOT the case in hard water season. Everything is alot slower, both bait and predator.

Being able to see the fish, whether it is ice sonar, viewing in shallow water, or camera, really helps.

When the fish are on, and aggressive, colour and presentation make a small difference, as long as what you are using and what you are after are compatible. 6 inch stocker rainbows will not hit a #12 Red Five of Diamonds, they might get snagged, but you get the point. A #6 red five of diamonds with a Meal Worm though...

Flash and lots of action can trigger a strike from an active fish, and there usually are some active fish even on a bad day. Or you have to wait until all the fish go active, like the first and last hour of daylight.

One of my favorites for Walleye, Pike and Ling is a big Wetaskiwin Wizard, with the double hooks spread out wide Hook a minnow horizontal with one hook in the head and one hook in the tail on one side of the blade.

Lift it up a couple of feet off bottom, and let it FLUTTER down to the bottom. If the line goes slack before hitting bottom remember to pull up quick as a fish has hit the Wizard on the drop.

If the fish are lock jawed, the flutter drop action really makes fish take notice.

If the fish are active, just slowly jig off the bottom.

Drewski

presentation
 

I just target perch & pickerel so I'll usually punch a minimum of 10 holes & drop the flasher down:

1. to check depth

2. see if there are any fish

If I see anything I'll drop a Fiskas loaded with maggots or mealworms, fish each hole usually no more than 7- 10 minutes and go on to the next if I'm not getting any action. I keep 5 Marmish palm rods with an assortment of Fiskas hooks in the box & change rods out as needed. Santa delivered 35 new Fiskas hooks to top off the collection.

Attachment 151815

Buckshot rattle spoon is fantastic, and I also like to use a Live Target rattler with a chunk of minnow on the tail treble to call 'em in when there's not much action happening...

Thanks PlayDoh. I’ll be getting a few of those and getting them tied up.

Thanks to everyone. I never expected to get so much great info. I’m excited to get back out there and put it to use.

(Future reference )

Thanks guys.