During the months of December through March the most effective way to catch a trout is to head out onto a lake to go ice fishing for trout. Trout can be caught in rivers during these months, but it becomes much more difficult than at other times of the year. So for many anglers that want to fish during the winter months, if you want to catch a trout the only way to do it is to go ice fishing for trout. In this article I will discuss a couple of effective strategies to implement the next time that you head out onto the ice with the intent of catching a few trout.
The first thing to keep in mind no matter what strategy you are going to employ is that under the ice, trout are much more active during the changing light conditions that occur during the early mornings and late evenings than they are at other times of the day. This means that you need to be on the ice early in the morning and or late into the evening if your want to be on the ice when the trout are the most active and thus the most apt to be feeding.
Many people who go fishing for trout under the ice fish in water that is much deeper than they should. This was a mistake that I used to be notorious for making when trout fishing through a hole in the ice. The truth is that many times trout, and many times large trout are caught in very shallow water when ice fishing. This means fishing the shorelines and drilling holes in water that is from two to four feet deep. This shallow water ice fishing strategy is very effective when fishing for trout through the ice, but means that being quiet is extremely important to the angler that is fishing. Ice fishing in shallow water means that you are very close to the trout you are fishing for and those trout can "spook" easily. So being as quiet as possible on the ice is paramount when employing this strategy.
Another effective thing to do when ice fishing for trout is not to neglect fishing with Powerbait. If you fish for trout during other seasons you undoubtedly know how productive fishing with Powerbait can be. Well, although many anglers don't use it when trout fishing under the ice, fishing with Powerbait is an effective strategy to use when ice fishing for trout. Powerbait can be used by itself on a small treble hook or can be used to "tip" a jig, but the bottom line is that fishing with Powerbait works even when you are fishing under the ice.
These simple strategies will help you to experience more success the next time that you head out onto the ice in search of trout. Add on or all of them to your fishing arsenal sooner, rather than later and you will experience much more ice fishing success when fishing for trout through a hole in the ice.
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