We could not ask for a better winter. Lots of cold, thick ice, and snow pack. I’m finding 18” to 20” of black ice on lakes currently. Lake Champlain is totally frozen over for the first time in several years. There is a bit of snow pack on top of the ice. Sloppy going. A foot of snow, several inches of standing water from the snow pack, all supported by 18” to 20” of black ice. All sorts of options for ice fishing. I have been guiding for Northern Pike. The Pike fishing has been very consistent. We have been locating fish in 10’ to 15’ of water on the edges of giant weed beds. Setting tip ups baited with golden shiners and young perch just a foot off the bottom has worked well. I like wounding the perch with my jack knife prior to putting them on the tip-ups. We caught several fish while dropping bait the down to set the tip up. Dead baits have also been productive. Dead shiners and perch. The jig fishing has been great! Landed 7 Pike on jigs the last few days. Been tipping glow in the dark jigs with minnows. Have had several fish break us off. When getting a bite on the jig, it is important to set the hook fairly promptly. If you are slow, the pike eats the jig and those teeth get in the way. I do not use steel leaders anymore than I have to. Big fan of fluorocarbon leaders. The beauty of fluorocarbon is that you can over line rods due to its invisibility under water. My tip up leaders are 30lb fluorocarbon. On my jig reels I use 8lb and 10 lb Fluorocarbon leaders tied to braided line with a Uni Uni knot. Pike are sight feeders and I fish lakes that receive fishing pressure. My thought is I trick more fish by being stealth. On my trout sets, Fluorocarbon leaders are a must. Big trout have big eyeballs. I have been using my Vexilar to locate suspended smelt. Invaluable tool in finding baitfish schools. Smelt are a must as bait for trout fishing in the winter.Plus, I love eating smelt! Plenty of ice fishing to still be done. My guess is we will fish the hard water right on the end of March! Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy
