Holes on Frozen Rivers

[goodentight]

I guess if I was to ever drill now would be the time. Anyone have any expertise or experience ice fishing on the frozen rivers in holes that you would normally drift?

 

[FisherGirl]

Tie yo ass to a dam tree.

 

[BowSlayer]

I usually have 2 setups, one with a slip sinker and a small hook with brown roe and the other with a large egg sinker, a foot up from a small kwikfish and just let the current do the work, I've only ever fished near the mouths of the east tribs though.

 

[Shmogley]

No joke about tying yourself off. at least when you first walk out and start drilling.

but bowslayer has the right idea for presentations. you want the current to do the work if you are using a lure or just sit your stuff on bottom if its bait. the slip sinker will allow your bait to flow a bit if you let the line go but itll be tricky to detect hits properly. i usually check it everytime the line stops pulling at the steady rate of the current or when i feel ive let out too much line.
you can totally just sit it on the bottom with a bulk shot pattern and dead stick it. some guys even use floats still, though watching the rod tip is just as good.

my best advice is to gear up a fair bit over what you would use on open water too as some of the runs they can pull off when youre trying to fight through a hole will tear your line up real fast. they wont be as active as a fresh fall fish but they can still do a lot. in open water i might have as light as a 4lb but in the ice i wouldnt go below 6lb, and even up to 8/10. depends on the average fish in the system. GB fish fight a lot harder then the average ones in southern ontario.

good luck bud, ive had a couple of good days doing this when nothing else is happening. sure beats not fishing

 

[NADO]

i've only done it in an area with little flow close to the mouth. The strategy was to tie one rig as a drop shot about 12-18" off bottom and one with a slip sinker so it was right on bottom and then chum if you have some. I had the drop shot rig on a baitcasting reel set to freespool so the fish could take line but the light rod would still load up. Corn also works as chum, i've never used it for steelhead but i've cleaned a few steelhead with bellies packed full of corn.

 

[goodentight]

I might go out on Sunday and try.

So Danger, you are telling me I can only fish near a beaver dam and have to tie myself to a tree in the dam? That is going to be hard to find a Dam in open regs this time of year

 

[miles]

Just spud, if it's slack deeper water it's probably decent ice. jigging outfishes roe for us most of the time. You can get double digits through the ice even in the dead of winter and plenty of coho. Sight fishing is incredible sometimes. Landing them can be a challenge. Give it a shot its a blast

 

[[email protected]]

be careful in the east GT, the water froze at a high time and now the the water has dropped causing the ice to buckle

 

[Slickrick]

just go lock arms with everyone at pebbly!

 

[goodentight]

bski been telling me horror stories from down there this winter

 

[Dozer]

Oh? Whats doing down there? War?