Best Method for Ice out Brookies

[Devin87]

I usually just troll around with flourocarbon line and a spinner 80-100ft out. Would Jigging with a Swedish pimple be worth a shot? any new techniques i should know about?? also what would they bite on, minnows? worm? leeches?

 

im going to Quebec this year, hearing about some "footballs" to be caught.

[trapshooter]

Grab the April issue of Ontario OUT OF DOORS magazine. Gord Ellis has an ice-out brookie article in there. I know minnowbaits, spinners and spoons are staples. Never tried jigging. Good luck on your Quebec trip.

[bucktail]

Pretend there smallmouths, shoreline structure, blow downs rocky points and the mouths of dark bottom bays. Small cranks spinners and jigs!

[Guest ThisPlaceSucks]

In the first 2 weeks after the ice leaves I've always done best casting as opposed to the rest of the year where I troll most of the time. Typically the fish are right in tight to shorelines with fallen timbers seeking a combination of the slightly warmer water and cover...

 

I use a variety of small spinners, spoons, and rapala style baits but my go to ice out brookie lure is the mepps black fury.

 

 

Good luck! Looking forward to some ice out brookies in a few weeks myself.

Edited April 11, 2011 by Dr. Salvelinus

[Cookslav]

Pretend there smallmouths, shoreline structure, blow downs rocky points and the mouths of dark bottom bays. Small cranks spinners and jigs!

 

Bingo.

 

I've always done well on small spinners silver blade in sun, gold or black with yellow/chartruese in overcast.

I prefer the Blue Fox, or Panther martin over the mepps only because they tend to have a heavier body which helps in the casting department and requiires no snap weights.

BUT....you can't beat a mepps if its shallow slow retreive thats working.

 

I usually hit the Shore structure first with a blueflox or Panther martin and start fast...if its not producing I slow it down, and switch to mepps.

If thats not doing it go deeper, and work jigs or troll Rapala's.

 

Good luck.

[camillj]

Two words ... Wooly Bugger

 

 

[singingdog]

I agree with the "treat them like smallies" comment....one of the reasons I love fishing for brookies.

 

My 2 most productive lures are not typical trout lures: countdown rapalas and bucktail jigs. My favorite bucktail pattern is a sparsely tied minnow pattern: brown/green back on a white belly.

[Slayingm]

Great info provided re: the Black wooly bugger and small spinners... don't rule out trying some really small cranks like the Cricket or Grasshopper... they also work awesome!.. just finished my last ice Brookie trip a few days ago and can't wait to get out on the soft water!

[Devin87]

thanks everyone.

 

i tend to agree with what i read. my tackle box consists of panther martins, mepps (black fury and aglias), rooster tails, blue fox vibrax etc... i also throw on a small ghost (big-o) every now and then,, but i seem to catch lakers on it?? i just want to try something different this year.. thanks for your input everyone.

[singingdog]

If you really want to try something different, look for some of these

 

One of the best speck days I had last year was on those tiny swimbaits. They would rush out and absolutly crush them after ignoring everything else in my tackle box.

[bucktail]

I will also second a small countdown rapala, thats the weapon of choice of alot of guys hunting bigger specs. Bg specs eat meat not bugs if they have a choice.

[dave524]

You want to try something different, take a good sized Williams Wabbler, remove the treble and attach a fly like a wooly worm to the split ring with about a foot of mono separating the spoon and fly, had good luck at times with that combo from a paddled canoe trolling. The paddle stroke imparts a fluttering action to the spoon and attracts them, then they hit the fly.