Splake Ice Fisher Super-Basics

[Fishnwire]

I'm going to a little lake in town tomorrow that is stocked with splake. I don't know the first thing about where to look for them or what to use. I don't expect anyone to make me an expert, but some quick tips would be great. I went there and had a look today but there was no evidence of other anglers yet, so no help there.

 

Should I look for the deepest spot in the lake or somewhere a little shallower close to deep water? I saw one spot that is a sheer cliff...it is probably fairly deep there just a few feet from shore. Is that worth trying?

 

I'm thinking about jigging with some kind of spoon and setting a dead line with a live shiner. Should I consider chubs instead or possibly as well?

 

Thanks.

[steelhedrmatt]

Although I don't have alot of experience with splake, There is a lake near my families hunt camp stocked with them, when there, there is two spots we fish. One is a 40' dropoff, very close to shore, the other is a submerged point. If we don't catch anything on one spot within a couple of hours, we go to the other. We always catch fish when we go there. Usually the dropoff is the better spot. Hope this helps.

[Fishnwire]

Everything Helps.

 

Thanks.

[Guest gbfisher]

Usually close to shore but move out if you don't get any bites. A simple hand line, a gad and some minnows is all you need.

From this year.

 

 

 

 

[Fishnwire]

GB...when you say "close to shore"...how many FOW are you in? If you drilled your first hole and were in ten feet or less, are you still good?...or would you not even try but move out?

 

Those are some nice looking fish by the way. If I get anything anywhere near those I'll be pumped.

[atvaholic]

GB...when you say "close to shore"...how many FOW are you in? If you drilled your first hole and were in ten feet or less, are you still good?...or would you not even try but move out?

 

Those are some nice looking fish by the way. If I get anything anywhere near those I'll be pumped.

 

I have caught then in as little as 4 feet of water. I would start there and move out. Splake are pretty funny, doesnt seem to be anything set in stone to catch them.

[Fishnwire]

Can I expect to get the on dead sticks and tip-ups...or should I have to jig for them?

[curryale]

I completely agree with atvaholic. Start in shallow and move out. I would suggest looking on shore and seeing if you can find an obvious point. Start in 5 feet and drill out until about 30 or so.

 

They also like wood so if you see a beaver hut its worth drilling a few holes around it. I find Splake almost "cruse" the shoreline. You will get waves of them.

 

Tip ups with minnows work well. Best jigging spoons for me are Williams Whitefish and Rattle Snakies. I personally like to jig most of the day and have one tip up out.

[AverageJoeFishing]

Splake can be very funny at times... but the best way is to "run & gun" for them. I've caught Splake in as shallow as 2' deep and as deep as 30-40', they are very unpredictable. Don't stay at the same place for too long, fish one spot for not more than 1 hour and if nothing bites move till you find fish... If they are there they will bite right away, ussually in the first 10-15 min you start fishing at one spot. One little tip of advice is on one line use shrimps ( they work awesome if the fish are of a smaller size ) and on the other line use a very lively minnow on a jigging rod. The rod is better since you can jig it in an up and down motion, you can jig it up to 3-4' jigging motions they seem to love this... If on the particular lake you are on dosen't allow live minnows, buy live minnows the night before put them in a ziplock bag and salt them, draining the water. Insert them in the fridge and the next morning your good to go, I've done awesome with salted minnows also

Goodluck !

[Guest ThisPlaceSucks]

cover water with a jigging presentation (small jiggin spoon) live bait on a set line (gad, tip up). pay attention for very small strikes on your pauses while jigging. .75-1.5 lb splake can be very light hitters! the other day some skunked family members had to suffer through me catching fish after fish on a forage minnow when they couldn't key in on the light strikes and the timing on the hook sets.

 

the other good thing about the jiggin rod is that if you like to release fish, there seems to be a lot more snout hookups and a lot less gut hooks.

[Fishnwire]

Well I gave it a try. We (I) got one little one. I have a pic but I can't remember how to post it.

 

There were others fishing on the lake and they came by on their quads to say hello. The one guy said he'd fished there a few times and never got one. The other guy said "Holy so-and-so" when we told him we'd iced a fish. It always amazes me how often I run into anglers who keep coming back to the same spot even though they've always done terrible there.

 

When we got on the lake we could see a little point and bay where someone else had fished so we tried there. Most of their holes were close to shore and in 5-8 FOW. I told my buddy that the folks on OFC said that was good...but he went further out until he found water about 20 feet deep. An hour or so later when our one fish of the day came from the shallowest hole, the other lines were moved in. My buddy missed one more later but that was it. I was really happy about getting the one fish though.

 

Thanks again for your advise guys.

[castgame]

i got skunked fishing what i think is a pretty good splake lake these last couple of days. i was mostly jigging cleos anywhere from 15-35 fow, moving around a lot. i tried in close to shore in about 10 fow for a bit but gave up on that quick.

i think i started late in the day both days--around 10am. splake are most active just after sunup i imagine?