Ice fishing is a proactive kind of sport that utilizes an ice fishing shanty. The action does not
come to you by itself. You have to take the initiative to do it. Here are three
tips that will help you during winter ice fishing.
The Football Field
Strategy
You can know where your fish are through the sonar, and it is
not necessary to dig a hole every time you have an intuition. The flashers have
a transducer that levels itself with the hole. LCD displays are not good enough
when it comes to cooler conditions. If there are two people, then the search
becomes easier. One can drill holes in a zigzag pattern while the other can use
the flasher and check the holes.
A football approach calls for opting for a search area of the
size of football field. Drill a few holes at different points in an area of the
size of a football field. If you do not get your catch, then select another
football field. The strategy works, and you get the catch with a few searches.
Sticky Areas
Many lakes have sticky areas. These are weedy and shallow areas
that are highly productive and provide for better fish catches early during the
winters. Later on, fish go deeper into the waters. These areas are neither too
hard nor too soft but are just the right breeding grounds for burrowing
insects. These insects attract other kinds of fish. Lake depth areas of 15 to
30 feet provide you good shots, as they have more middle depths and
compositions. Here you can find the biggest catches, but you may also be
required to dig many holes. Be confident as you won’t find great numbers of
anglers here.
Sonar units can also find and reveal sticky bottoms. Set the
sonar unit to its “auto-gain” point. The hard bottoms are displayed in the form
of bright, wide and clearly defined signals. The softer bottoms have weak and
thin signals. The sticky areas lie in between these two extreme depth
variations.
Find Depression
Depressions are the winter hot spots, and many ice fishermen
fail to find them. The one to four foot deep holes can vary in size. The
largest have a size consisting of a number of football fields while the smaller
ones may have a size of a garage. These areas have the sticky composition and
offer forage, food and warmth to the fish. The depth charts can display to your
depressions. The older contour maps also display them. The modern contour maps
(digital in nature) can reveal depth changes of one foot or more, and are the
best ways to find out the depression.
Hunting supply stores offer all kinds of fishing gear
including sonar and ice shanties, to make your trip successful and filled with
fun.
