Ice Fishing in February...

Something I didn't do last year.

20.5" VMC Tubby Jig w/maggies and Gulp Minnow

4:15-9:15PM
Conditions: Temp 33 degrees, mostly cloudy to cloudy, some sleet, windy out of the South

I got out a little later than I would have liked.  I picked up some minnows at Bear Trax and drove out onto the ice.  Someone had been fishing in my area earlier in the day, but was gone by the time I got there.  I drilled a couple holes in 16 feet.  Then drilled holes up by the maidencaine.  I didn't bring the camera with me.  Going shallow was a waste.  At about 5:15PM I went to the deeper holes and spent the rest of my night there.  I caught a crappie first on the VMC Tubby Jig with maggots and Gulp Minnow.

8.5" VMC Tubby Jig

  Then I got the pike.  Then it was crappies coming in pretty consistently on the VMC Jig.  I had a couple of minnows stolen before I got any crappies on them.  It started sleeting around 6:30PM so I put the ION in the truck.  I had a mark come through at about 8 feet.  I thought it was going to be a bullhead, but it was this chub of a sunfish.

Almost 8" VMC Jig

The minnow got hot and I landed the biggest crappie of the night on it.

10.5" Glow Demon w/minnow

I ended up with 10 crappies on the Glow Demon with a minnow and 13 on the VMC with maggies.  Most fish were right about 9 inches with one potato chip.  I may get out before sunrise tomorrow.

23 Crappies
1 Sunfish
1 Pike