Wintertime surface feeding

At sundown on Christmas Day, I scouted a lake that I want to fish in this spring. The purpose of the scouting trip was to see how much ice was on the lake, as I plan to go fishing earlier than ever in 2006.

I was amazed to see concentric rings appear pretty much everyplace there was open water. It was clear that fish were making these rings; what kind of fish, I have no idea.

The thing I'm curious about is whether this activity was evidence of a midge hatch; and if so, whether any of you have gone fishing in similar circumstances and actually caught some fish up around the top?

This lake had lots of edge ice extending out a considerable distance. The ice was rotting overall, its border melting away from a 3-day warming trend. The whole lake is probably ice-free now, which means I have a window of opportunity this weekend to hit my favorite spots.

Question for anyone who's experienced at winter fishing in lakes/ponds: Would a midge imitator be the way to go here, or should I try something meatier, like maybe a minnow imitator?

Joe

"Better small than not at all."

im a trout fisherman primarily, so i may be slightly off base. but i fish tiny adult midges on the surface allwinter long and do quite well. i regularly get nice browns on size 28 midges. its a shoot.

remember that in cold weather, fish dont like to move as much...for food or anything else...

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Everyone dies. Only the lucky ever truly Live. Take your time.

Chris-Bishop, CA, USA

What's up, tyflier,


Well, these fish I was seeing evidence of were either bluegills, or crappie, redears, bass, possibly wipers (white bass/striped bass hybrid). Or I suppose they could have been some kind of minnow, albiet fairly large ones.

The morning after Christmas, I was parked beside a federal lake, just watching bird activity. A bald eagle soared out of a tree, wheeled and dove to the surface and came away with a fish about 15 inches long. I don't know what kind of fish that was, either; it was a bit too far off.

Being a fly fisher, I immediately began wondering what THAT fish had been up to, being so close to the surface on such a cold day. Near where the eagle snatched it, there was considerable edge ice present.

I always assumed that fish in lakes would be hanging out most of the time in deeper water, where presumably the water is warmer? Obviously this isn't the case all the time. It sure makes a person curious.


Joe

Joe

Some of my best catches have been through the ice in winter. All be it not with a fly rod. But I consitantly catch bluegills and crappie on tiny jigs tipped with wax worms or small minnows. So, I would think fishing a midge on open water,would result in success. I would try maybe fishing one as a dropper off of a dry or small popper. If that doesn't work, then I would resort to your proven standard of the GRHE.

Dave,


I've never ice-fished. More folks in Kansas are doing it now, but I'm not one of them yet.

When ice fishing, do people sometimes catch fish up close to the top, just inches below the ice?

Joe

Joe - I haven't ice fished in years [just too d*mned cold!!] but "normally" you won't catch fish just under the ice if I recollect correctly. Of course, due to the ice cover you won't have any hatches either. http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/smile.gif We have both midges and a really small black caddis that begins hatching just after [and during] ice-off here [about a size 16 or 18]. I've never tried smaller cuz' I can't see it - my arms are too short <G>. The normal "feeders" here very early are stocked trout and smallmouth bass; bluegills start somewhat later. I've never looked for the hatches during a thaw but it makes sense that it could very well happen. I assume it's temp triggered. Let us know what you find if you look at it further.

Donald

Joe

I've caught fish anywhere from 6" below the ice to 6" off the bottom.