Confessions of a competitive ice pan fisherman: The dissertation - by Evan Pheneger
Confessions of a competitive ice panfisherman: The dissertation
“Why do you think the same five guys make it to the final table of the World Series of Poker EVERY YEAR? What, are they the luckiest guys in Las Vegas? It’s a skill game Jo” -Rounders (1998).
For a while it’s been on my mind to write a short little opinion article [ok it’s excessively long] on competitive ice pan fishing and even just ice fishing/fishing in general. There are many misconceptions, many tips untold, and many things that us ice anglers learn from each other that I think the average ice head would appreciate learning or reading about. These are my opinions and observations, feel free to argue all you want, but you know where I stand. I am by no means the expert but am only sharing what I have learned, and watched others learn from the school of hard knocks. I am not sure this info is going to blow anyone’s mind, but if someone told me these things in 2013…it would have blown my mind. These misconceptions are in order from least important to know, to most important. You know….to keep your attention to read this whole dissertation…hopefully
If find yourself with only 3 mins to read this while taking a quick bathroom break or locking yourself in your closet away from your screaming kids; here is the TLDR:
10) It’s not ALL luck
9) Daytime panfish are NOT that easy to stay on and catch
8) You don’t have to find a secret honey hole spot
7) Stop fishing ONLY basins
6) Surf the world wide web DUDES
5) Get a fishing mentor/fish head friend
4) Electronics help you
3) Stop fishing ONLY crappie minnows under bobbers!
2a) You don’t need the most expensive equipment to compete with the best or be your best!
2b) Prep your gear, plan your work and work your plan
1) HAVE FUN, FISH CONFIDENT, RESPECT DAT RESOURCE BOYYY!
However, if you are still hungry for a more in-depth explanation, read on my friend!
Top 10* ice angling misconceptions:
10: It’s (all) luck – Luck: What happens when skill and preparation meet opportunity. This is last on the list because I think it is becoming more common that people understand that too catch quality fish through the ice and even in open water, there is more going on than some guys with horseshoes in their bums, rabbit feet on their key chains, and a lucky jig from Grandpa Joe. The best ice anglers are putting in [a ton of] time on the ice, adjusting to what they learn or see from the fish behavior, and applying this day after day, hour after hour, and minute after minute as they fish. There is luck for sure, and you need to get your jig above the biggest, hungriest fish in the lake and they need to bite. That doesn’t always happen even for the best ice heads out there. But the anglers who do it best, give themselves the most chances, to be in the most spots, with the most big fish, and they do this more than the other anglers…easy for me to say ha. The age old saying rings true here. “The harder I work…the luckier I get!”
9: Anyone can catch panfish..pshhh – That is true, and even you Mr./Mrs. Reader probably caught 10” bluegills and 15” crappies off the dock at the cabin all day with your snoopy rod as a baby. I know, I know, I have heard it all. The fact is this, putting together a bucket of quality crappies and gills on a twin cities metro lake in the middle of the day is not always that easy. There is usually a 1hr early morning bite window where you MUST make hay, sometimes you can add and upgrade fish the rest of the day sometimes you can’t. Then you weigh in at 2pm with no chance to catch the hot sundown bite. Sure, this isn’t walleye fishing or something that’s MORE challenging, but it isn’t shooting a fish in a barrel either. I too used to be a firm believer that catching panfish was a piece of cake. SO much so that I joined the UPL in 2013 with high hopes to show everyone I could catch the biggest of the little fish. I had tons of fun but competing went terrible. My eyes were opened to a world of ice pan fishing like I didn’t know existed. I think I only caught a couple panfish in each tournament and placed horribly. Wow, I did not have the knowledge and skill I needed to compete like I thought. Ok, well its time to do something different, I guess. Thus began my obsession with learning more about the panfish that dwelled in the cold frozen waters!
8: “If someone just told me, or if I found a secret spot, I could catch those big panfish too!” I hear this quite often as well. I am even guilty of it myself when I scourer backgrounds of photos/videos to find out spots or when I want to know where a buddy had recently been successful. But the more I ice fish, and the more I am around great ice angling minds, this fact rings true: there is no “magic” spot. This point goes hand in hand with the common temptation of “fishing memories.” I have seen this time and time again when fishing a lake in our MN Made tournaments that we have fished 1,2 or even 3 times before. You think you are going to go back to your money #1 spot/area from the years before events and repeat your success. Sometimes, you can, but that is usually the exception. Or, and this may be even worse. You rule out areas of the lake that didn’t produce in previous years. Even on your local lakes you know well, try to take info you have learned from the past as a SINGLE data point in finding fish that day. More important data points are…for example, the time of year, the cloud or snow cover, the pressure, the moon phase, the amount of angling pressure, what depth/structure you mark/see fish relating too that day, the forage, the lake bottom type, the condition of the vegetation… and realize that these data points can and will change day to day and even hour to hour. No one knows exactly what cause fish to do what, but the best anglers think about all these things and make tweaks to spots, presentations, and strategies with all these data points in mind.
7: Plop down in the deepest part of the lake…. that’s how you catch crappies! There are fish in the basin and deep parts of the lake, there always is. These parts of the lake hold enough oxygen to push the bait, and in turn, push the fish to these areas. There are a few reasons the deepest part of the lake shouldn’t be the first place you check or go and fish. One, it usually gets the most pressure from anglers. Two, it usually doesn’t hold the biggest fish. It will hold many more of those smaller schooling fish. Three, any fish caught over 25ish feet below the ice will experience barotrauma and will likely not live once released back. Once again, there are exceptions to these rules. If you insist on fishing basins, fish for the fish at the top of schools or even try jigging 5’ above the tops of the schools. This is where your bigger fish roam. HOWEVER, 80% of lakes/rivers I know, I am fishing panfish in less than 12FOW. Deep water holds oxygen yes. But, so does green weeds and moving water. Also, even in winter, the water under the ice in shallow depths can be a few degrees warmer (on sunny, warmish days) then the deep water and this will attract bait/forage/fish. Also, in the fish world, you know how you get big? You hide, and don’t get ate, or caught by fisherman DUH. You know where you do that? Weeds and Trees! So, you want to catch bigger panfish…look shallow and don’t be afraid to fish from the bottom of the ice, down to the bottom of the lake.
6: Everything on the internet about fishing is a lie and all pictures of big fish are photoshopped!!! So, in this place called “the internet” you can learn about anything. Do you need to change your brakes on your car, don’t want to pay $750, but don’t know a nut from a bolt….YouTube here you come!!!! You’re a mechanic now* The same goes for learning about ice fishing. Find articles on topics that interest you, watch videos about tips and techniques that you are not yet confident in, look up lake data info on year classes of fish in your lake, look at lake maps and satellite images of weeds and structure in your lake. There is so much info that is available if you want to do the digging to find and learn it. Yes, unfortunately some info is garbage, and you will have to deal with your fair share of keyboard warriors and internet tough guys/trolls. But, if you look around enough, there is lots of great advice, you just have to decide for yourself if it useful for your application of fishing or not. Another great overlooked resource are older fishing books. Just because these books don’t include the latest fad lure, or hot rod electronics, doesn’t mean that they don’t hold some hidden gems of info that will help you out on the ice/water.
5: “All fisherman lie and keep their good info secret” Maybe Grandpa Joe didn’t tell anyone s*** about fishing, but this isn’t your grandpa’s era of fishing. Many sportsman’s and anglers love to help people learn and be successful. I have seen people in our ice league give rods, tackle, line, augers, and many other things to other anglers to help learn and succeed. I have seen ice anglers take less experienced anglers out with them and show them how they break down lakes and catch fish. There are so many people that would love to help teach you about fishing as long as you are authentic in your wanting to learn. Another great way is to hire a guide and tell them to teach you how they find fish, not just take you to the hot spot. Also, ask someone you know you mentor or teach you to become a better angler. I don’t know many anglers out there that would tell you to go pound sand if you asked that.
4: “Grandpa Joe used to catch piles of fish on the ice with just a jiggle stick, 1/4oz jig and a crawler” I don’t know why Grandpa Joe keeps making an appearance in this article, and if your Grandpa is named Joe, please don’t take offense. I couldn’t agree more that all grandpas are great, and I am sure your Grandpa Joe is no exception. Unless it’s Grandpa Joe from Charlie and the Chocolate factory. HE WAS THE WORST! A Lazy POS that made no attempt to support the family, leeched off them, and pretended to be crippled until he got a chance to do something fun, and boom Ohhhhh I can magically walk!!!! But I digress, and I am sure your Grandpa Joe is nothing like him. If you don’t yet own any of these electronics, please start down the path to acquire, learn and use “the trinity of electronics” to help you find and pattern more fish. BEEEBOOOPBAAAHHHBEEEEP!!!!
Buy them in this order. 1) Traditional Flasher/Fishfinder/Vexilar (used base model $100, new top end model $800) Going from no flasher to having a flasher is like the fishing version of going from riding a donkey to work, to being able to drive a car there. You can also use a converted graph style fish finder for ice fishing too. I prefer a flasher for many reasons, but it can make more financial sense to use your graph from your boat. 2) Underwater camera (used base model $100, new top end $600) – While a flasher will show you that something is down there, a camera will show you what kind of fish it is, what size it is, and will also show you fish in weeds. 3) Garmin Livescope or Panoptics (or any live forward viewing technology) (used $1200, new $3500) This technology is not needed to get you 90% of the way there as an angler. But it is amazing for finding any sort of suspended structure or fish. This technology will also not turn an unexperienced, poor angler into a great one… but it won’t hurt lol. It is also awesome to sit and watch and understand how the fish are moving, reacting to your jigging/baits and relating to certain break lines or weed patches. This article is not to teach you about these technologies but just to make you aware of them and their order of importance vs. financial commitment.
3: “If it don’t bite on a crappie minnow, it won’t eat” Not sure anyone says this, but when I gaze deep in their eyes I can feel there soul speaking this to me 😊 If you are a minnow and bobber ONLY person, it’s time you explore the world of jigging and using other types of live and plastic baits. You may be surprised how large of panfish will eat the tiniest jig with just one tiny eurolarva or plastic on it. Also, if you don’t know what a euro larva/spike/maggot is….figure it out….it’s important. While you are at it, watch Dave Genz’s video on how to properly hook them on your jig too. Along with this, is the importance of learning what your jigging cadence (how you wiggle your rod) looks like on different baits under the water. Take a bucket and fill it with water and jig your different favorite baits in different ways. Knowing the connection between what your jigging motion is and what it does to the look of your bait is SOOOOO important.
2a: You need the most expensive, best equipment, and hottest new bait/item to be successful. I could write forever on this topic, I could piss off some sponsors, I could make some industry enemies. I won’t (OBV), but you Mr./Mrs. angler need to know this. YOU DON’T NEED THE MOST EXPENSIVE AND NEWEST STUFF to be a great angler. I am competitive, and also able to hang with the best ice anglers in the state ANDDDD….I fish a $15 noodle rod…on all 6 of my tourney rigged rods. I drive my FIL’s 2003 4-wheeler from a farm with a homemade bucket and auger rack system. My Vexilar is not even the top model (FLX-20) because in my opinion it’s the best one. I do have too many jigs, but I fish the same exact one, same color (diff sizes) 90% of the time! From all this I have learned, the following list are the most important items you need:
1) First and foremost, you need protection from the elements, whether this is a $100 ice house or an expensive ice suit/ice house. Buy what you can afford and what most matches the style of fishing you enjoy. It's as simple as that. If you aren’t comfortable, many things that happen ice fishing will not be enjoyable. Make sure your boots are warm (max gram insulation and waterproof)
2) You need an auger to drill holes. Once again, buy when fits your style and price range. Hand augers that have sharp blades still cut fast, and if you own a high torque drill, adapt that sucker to your drill. Do what works for your budget and style. Also, the smaller auger you go with, the more holes you can drill. I drill a 3” auger for camera work, a 5” auger for fishing crappies and gills, and a 6” auger for livescope/Panoptics and lakes with larger panfish. I used to be firm on the stance that I have a drill at least a 7” hole all the time (you know I don’t want to get a 16” crappie stuck in the hole), and yes, I still have a 7” strikemaster metal lazer bit. BUT, you just don’t need an auger that big, and all it takes is more time and effort to drill bigger. Small is the new BIG 😊 Whatever you end up on, keep your blades sharp and keep the cover on them when not in use. This is for both safety and this is also the number 1 way to keep your blade remaining sharp.
3) Electronics: see section above.
4) This may come as a surprise. It is your fishing line….yes the 4th most important piece of equipment is your fishing line. Something that can cost a few dollars, that’s the 4th most important?!?! Heck yes. This is your number 1 connection to that fish after it bites. The best, Stren Gold Mono in 2 or 3 pound test. Good luck finding it. Another great option is suffix orange ice mono in 2lb (for gills) and 3lb for crappies. I prefer a colored line so I can see bites and also see where my line gets caught on the edge of holes or tangled when it's windy. I have not found that the colored line has any effect on fish biting. Also, the lighter the line you can get away with, the better action you are able to portray on your jig and the better you can see and feel bites. Simply changing your line from heavier test to lighter test is the number 1 thing you can do to make yourself a better ice pan fisherman right this second.
5) Rods and reels that don’t freeze up, are light weight, and you are comfortable using. Find what you like, get super comfortable using it, and you will do great with it. Don’t look at price tags when rod shopping. Just use them, feel them, bend them and then pick one, and master it. PS pro tip ha; Clam’s Ice spooler Elite is THE best under $40 spooler reel on the market.
6) The rest of the stuff: You can walk, bike, sled, wheeler, car, truck or any other way you want to get on the ice. That doesn’t matter. Just get out there. You don’t need to buy a sno-bear to be a great fisherman ha. You DON’T need 300 jigs. This is a do as I say, not as I do thing 😊 Buy 10…find the one you are most confident in and then buy some more sizes and colors of that and you will out fish almost anyone with confidence in whatever lure/jig you end up with.
2b: PREPARATION: I could also write about this forever as well. But know this, a prepared and organized fisherman will be much more efficient and successful on the water than one who isn’t. Do all the background research you can or have time to do, on a body of water before you head out. Rig your rods, bait, jigs, augers, and vehicles approximately. Also, KEEP IT SIMPLE. This is one of the biggest things I have learned in the last few years. Keep everything as simple as possible. Simplify your tackle/bait so you can keep it in your pocket. Have hook removal devices on your person. Have a few rods mounted on your flasher. Do anything you can to be the most prepared, with the least number of things that would slow you down and cause confusion. If its not easy or quick to do, then you won’t do it while on the water. Plan your work, work your plan!
1: Tournament ice anglers think they’re the best and love bragging about their fish on social media! To be honest I am not sure if anyone says that or even thinks that, but I needed a knock-out attention getting line for the last point. The point I want to drive home here is what I think is the NUMBER 1 thing to being a “successful” ice angler. Ok, its three things, stop breaking my balls. HAVE FUN, FISH CONFIDENT, and RESPECT THE RESOURCE. At the end of the day, whether you are wailing on giant fish with your “dude bros” or drilling 1000 holes and catching nothing. If you don’t enjoy it, get a different hobby. Also, to be successful, you need to trust yourself, trust the info you have learned, trust and be confident in your equipment, and in your skills. Confidence in what you're doing out on the ice is what will take you from a good fisherperson and a great one. Be confident you will find them and be able to catch them. Cockiness however, not nothing like confidence. Confidence comes from learning, doing, trying, failing, repeating, learning, typing these long articles and losing your mind, learning, failing, doing, and then succeeding. I won’t preach on this long, but as far as keeping fish populations strong and healthy just know this. The number of anglers will continue to increase, the technology to find and catch fish will continue to improve, and the number of lakes/rivers will stay the same. I KNOW, Ice tournaments spotlight lakes which can bring more pressure, and they also account for 100s of nice fish being removed from said lake. But most the anglers I know do their best to limit what they have to keep and just keep their tournament fish. You can do the same, keep some to eat and don’t just pack the freezer on every hot bite. I now see the GIANT smile on my boys when they catch fish and I know we all want the next generation enjoying those moments too.
I hope there was something that someone could learn from this rambling
~Evan Pheneger