Lake trout generally can be found near bottom. But other species like browns, splake, brook trout, and rainbows can be found in as little as two feet of water, near bottom or anywhere in between.
I’d probably trudged 100 yards from shore pulling my shanty when I decided to stop, drill a hole and check the depth. The Strike Master Lazer Mag auger quickly cut through the 6 inches of clear ice. I dropped the transducer of my fish finder down the hole and it registered 26 feet. It seemed like a logical starting point. I drilled two more holes to accommodate another rod and the graph. Once I had the ice chips removed from the holes I fired up the heater and whistled for my Lab, Keifer, to join me in the shanty.
Once I turned the graph on I instantly saw a mark at 15 feet. I dropped the tungsten jig adorned with a white twister tail down to 13 feet just above the mark and jiggled it seductively. Instantly the mark raised up to intercept the jig. I continued to jiggle and dance the jig as the mark eased closer and the jig and mark became one. There was s light hesitation before the spring bobber on the rod dripped ever so slightly. The exuberant hook set slapped the top of the shanty before the rod tip curled toward the ice. After a spirited tussle a 14-inch rainbow was flopping on the ice and Keifer snatched the trout before it could get back down the hole.
With dinner secured I turned to look at the graph’s screen again and saw a mark cruising near bottom. I dropped my jig in the hole and it rocketed downward. Again, I stopped the jig a foot above the mark. I jiggled, quivered and danced the jig ever so slightly. After what seemed like an eternity, but was probably only a minute or two, the mark raised up to intercept the jig. A more restrained lift to the rod was met with solid resistance and after just a few seconds another rainbow joined it’s twin.
Buoyed by my access, I quickly got the jig back in the water. This time a trout came cruising just 10 feet below the ice. I lifted the rod once, twice to get some line off the reel and the trout zoomed over and ate the jig before I could close the bail.
With the aid of the electronics, the cruising trout were easy targets. I could hear other anglers moving out on the ice from the warmth of the shanty. Someone must have gotten a new auger for Christmas because I could hear the constant sound of holes being drilled for at least a half hour.
Brown trout under the ice can be caught on a variety of baits including wax worms, spawn and wigglers.
After another hour or so I flipped the shanty back. Keifer blasted out of shanty to take advantage of his newfound freedom as I squinted in the bright sunshine. There were now a half dozen other anglers scattered around me.
“Do any good?” one angler immediately asked me.
“Ya,” I blindly replied in the direction of the inquiry. “I quit counting at 27.”
“27? What on?” he said.
“A tungsten jig and a white twister tail,” I said my eyes now getting adjusted to the sunlight.
“How deep?” he queried.
“Anywhere from 10 feet to bottom,” I said.
“Well which is it? 10 feet or bottom?”
“Anywhere in between,” I explained. “The fish would just come cruising through at different depths and I’d raise the jig up above them and jiggle it.”
“Oh, so you were cheating then,” he said, “using a graph.”
“No,” I chuckled. “I just wasn’t fishing blind like you guys!”
I can’t imagine fishing for trout through the ice without some kind of electronics. You could catch a fair number of perch or walleye without electronics because perch and walleye are bottom orientated. With trout, you never know. There are exceptions depending on what species you’re fishing for. Lake trout generally can be found near bottom. But other species like browns, splake, brook trout, and rainbows can be found in as little as two feet of water, near bottom or anywhere in between. That’s why electronics are so important when targeting trout through the ice.
“The problem with trout is they suspend a lot,” said ice guide Andrew Hendrickson of North Star Fishing Adventures (616) 450-1417. “Splake and lake trout relate to bottom, especially the bigger ones. Rainbows and browns can be found anywhere. They can be extremely shallow or anywhere in between. They are constantly moving searching for food.”
Andrew Hendrickson of North Star Guide Service with a splake caught under the ice. Image by North Star Guide Service.
Hendrickson said he uses satellite images to identify islands, bars, points and other structure that funnels cruising trout. Doing so gives you an idea of where trout might travel or funnel, but won’t pinpoint the depth. A graph will tell you how deep the trout are, but only if they are within the cone of the sonar. Recent technological advancements may make it easier to spot cruising trout with electronics like Garmin's Panoptix PS22-IF Ice Fishing Bundle. My knowledge of cutting-edge electronics doesn’t go much past the TV control so I sought out someone who knows.
Myron Gilbert and Dave Ellis are regulars on the North American Ice Fishing Circuit (www.naifc.com) and have won numerous tournaments including the NAIFC championship. Live imaging technology has revolutionized the way they fish. Their quarry in NAIFC tournaments is crappies, bluegills, sunfish and perch, but the same technology that helps them target panfish will help ice anglers catch more trout.
“I guarantee you technology like the Panoptix PS22-IF Ice Fishing Bundle we use would increase your trout catch by 100%,” stated Gilbert. “Panoptix is going to tell you how far away the fish is, the direction it is from you and how deep. Trout are usually up high, suspended so finding them is half the battle. Trout are pretty gullible, so locating them is paramount. Once you do that catching them is fairly easy.”
One of my favorites ice fishing rods is the ICE Rod Series made by Douglas Outdoors. Ice anglers should go prepared with a variety of rods when pursuing trout through the ice.
“The new live-imaging technology does not take the place of traditional sonar,” claimed electronics guru Lance Valentine of Teachin’ Fishin’ (www.teachinfishin.com). The live-imaging technology uses a very narrow cone angle, which is not as advantageous as regular sonar for marking fish. “Standard 200 and 83 kHz transducers provide higher definition. A unit with a 83Khz transducer is a great compromise for ice fishing,” said Valentine. Anglers that have older electronics will find it easier to mark suspended trout using the 20-degree cone versus the 9-degree cone on their unit.
There are ice-fishing situations when targeting trout where electronics are totally useless. Rainbow trout are drawn to current under the ice even though they may be months away from spawning. Rainbows nose into the shallows where small creeks and streams enter lakes under the ice. The trout frequent areas that have as little as two feet of water and can be extremely skittish.
“There are some place where I’ve caught trout under the ice where you’d swear their bellies had to be touching the bottom!” said Andrew Hendrickson. “Obviously you can’t sit over the top of them in a situation like that. You need to set lines, back off and wait.” Hendrickson said he’s had good luck using conventional ice rods in rod holders using a cluster of wigglers or spawn under a bobber. He leaves his bale open and knots a piece of yarn nears his rod tip so he can tell when a trout has taken his bait from a distance. Others use hook-setting devices, like Slammer Tip-Ups (http://slammertipup.com), to spring a trap on cruising ‘bows. If you’ve never tangled with a spastic 5-pound rainbow in the shallows you owe it to yourself to give it a try.
Slammer-style tip-ups are prefect for battling big rainbows and lake trout in deep water.
A known location for skinny-water rainbows is on the northwest side of Higgins Lake where a couple small creeks enter the lake. Avoid bright, sunny days and when there’s lots of commotion on the ice. A similar situation occurs on Benzie County’s Crystal Lake where Cold Creek enters and off another creek just to the north. Truth is, any lake that has a population of rainbow trout and a location where a stream or creek enters is a potential hotspot waiting to be discovered.
Lake trout are on the other end of the spectrum. You can count on lake trout relating to bottom—most of the time. Winter lakers can generally be found from 50 to 150 feet or more on deep inland lakes where they’ll be shadowing schools of smelt. Lake trout may move up or down breaks or contours during the day, but will rarely be found far from bottom. Active fish will rise up off the bottom to intercept jiggin’ lure and spoons. A good tactic is to spot Slammer tip-ups along a drop-off and then jig with heavy Swedish Pimples (swedishpimple.com) or similar lures. Tip the spoon with a minnow head or sucker strip. If a Slammer pops and no one is home, quickly drop the spoon down in the hole. Oft times the trout will still be there waiting.
Fortunately there are plenty of places in Michigan where you can practice your trade. “There are trout lakes scattered across the whole state with the possible exception of the Saginaw Bay area,” shared MDNR Fisheries Biologist Mark Tonello. “There are a bunch of trout lakes in the Kalkaska are like Bear, Starvation, Guernsey, and Big Blue that see a fair amount of traffic from ice fishermen. Of course you have Higgins and Crystal lakes that are popular with trout anglers. Southern Michigan has its share of trout lakes like Macaday Lake in Oakland County. The UP is loaded with smaller lakes and ponds that are loaded with brook trout that see very little winter fishing effort.”
Use larger spoons in deeper water like the Williams Wabler W40-HN.
During most of the winter splake, rainbows, brook trout and browns will be found cruising throughout the water column. If confronted with a situation where the water plunges from 15 feet to 50 feet, I start spotting baits 15 feet down in the deeper water. It’s a simple matter then to divide and conquer. Make use of dead sticks, whether they are standard rods and reels or tip-ups, to saturate the water column. Jig with flashy lures and spoons like the Williams Wabler W40-HN to attract trout from afar. Watch your electronics like a hawk for that first mark that gives you an idea of how deep the trout are. That all-important first bite is critical. It gives you a starting point you can use to refine your presentations. Before long you have them zeroed in and flopping on the ice.
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