Travis caught his 18-inch trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) at Elevenmile Reservoir. This was only the second time Travis has ice fished. He caught about 20 fish throughout the day!
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Fishing Tips of the Week
Be Prepared
Throughout my life I have lost hundreds of dollars of flies, line, lures, and at least one section of a fly rod. Even the most experienced angler will lose equipment at one time or another. Therefore, when that monster fish breaks the line, the fly catches a branch too high to reach, or you've snagged a log resting on the lake bottom, having the ability to cut your losses and tie on something new will keep your fishing trip headed in the right direction. By stock up on duplicate flies and lures you can continue to present flies and lures that you know have been working despite the circumstances. Being prepared extends to other fishing equipment as well. Wading anglers who snag their waders will be thankful to carry an emergency repair kit. Meanwhile, I also like to bring along an extra rod. For me, a tenkara rod perfectly attaches to my bag and is there in case something goes wrong or I am faced with a difficult casting scenario. Whatever the situation may be, a prepared angler can find relief that they're ready to continue fishing. So when that sinking feeling of a snagged hook sets in and frustration and anger take over, take a deep breath, look around at the natural beauty, and grab a new lure, because you're ready to keep fishing.
Catching Finicky Fish
During ice fishing season, anglers are presented with many unique opportunities due to some of the limitations that come along with ice fishing. Straight vertical presentations are the name of the game and anglers have the ability to slowly "work" fish that they see on their sonar or on an underwater camera. This is the perfect time for anglers to educate themselves about a variety of fish behaviors such as what attracts a fish closer to investigate a bait or what turns a fish away and scares them. Another fantastic opportunity anglers have is the ability to see when a fish was looking at their bait but just simply would not bite. This allows anglers to make on the fly adjustments to their presentation until they finally dial in what it is the fish want on any given day. One of the best ways to turn those fish that are "just looking" into fish you catch is to downsize your presentation to be more finesse. This is where small tungsten jibs come in to play for many anglers targeting trout or panfish. When the fish are not aggressive enough to bite larger spoons or rattle baits sometimes the ticket to catching fish is being more subtle and a tungsten jig tipped with a wasworm or mealworm fits the bill perfectly for being subtle. The next time you are on the ice and are hving trouble getting fish to bite, downsize and catch those fish.
