Harbor Fishing Update

The hustle and bustle of the Holidays has limited my time on the ice recently, but I still did manage to get out a few times during the past two weeks.  Harbor fishing is off to a much slower start than last year, but there are still some fish around to be caught.

13 lb. Brown

Bait selection has been the most crucial part of being successful.  The fish seem to want a different bait just about every day.  I had a day where pink spawn sacs were the only thing the fish would touch, and another where Waxworms were the only fish producer.  This brings up the point that having a variety of bait with you and starting out with several different baits will catch you more fish.  Varying the depth of your baits can also put more fish on the ice, so its a good idea to start by spreading the water column until you get bit.

3 lb. Rainbow

Another thing with ice fishing Trout is time of day.  I have caught most of my Trout through the ice in the morning hours before 11 am.  Trout tend to feed in the morning more than the afternoons from my experiences.  Don't get me wrong there are days where the fish will bite steady from sunrise to sunset, but I have consistently done better during the morning hours.

Fishing pressure has also been negatively effecting the bite.  Trout in clear water are very spooking, especially when there are 100's of holes being drilled above them.  Using a hand auger or drilling your holes before light are both good ideas when ice fishing trout in clear water.

Here is a video from a recent outing.

Well thats all for now, get out on the ice and put some fish on top!