When I go fishing in the wintertime, it is mostly for wintering over stripers. However, the recent deep freeze has completely frozen many of the places I fish, making striper fishing impossible. Ditch plan A. My second choice in the wintertime is chasing oversized carp in freshwater, especially in moving water locations. However, that is impossible also at this point since all those carp spots are also frozen solid. So, it's onto plan C.....ice fishing.
Unlike most ice fishermen who like to fish with tilts and shiners as bait, I just jig. I will go to a pond and walk for hours, cutting holes and jigging with my homemade three foot rod. It has led to some terrific catches in recent years (not last year, no ice) which include good sized largemouth bass, salmon and oversized yellow perch. So, in the last week, I have been back on the ice, jigging away. I have been catching some decent fish (see photo at right of largemouth I jigged up this morning) as well as variety. Using my go-to set up which is a small gold Kastmaster spiced with a meal worm, I have landed bluegills, sunfish, yellow perch and largemouth bass. It can be exciting and offers yet another option for fishermen who might be experiencing cabin fever to get out and fish in the winter.
When I go fishing in the wintertime, it is mostly for wintering over stripers. However, the recent deep freeze has completely frozen many of the places I fish, making striper fishing impossible. Ditch plan A. My second choice in the wintertime is chasing oversized carp in freshwater, especially in moving water locations. However, that is impossible also at this point since all those carp spots are also frozen solid. So, it's onto plan C.....ice fishing.
