# Ice/Channel fishing experiment a success!



## dinkbuster1 (Oct 28, 2005)

just got in from a local reservoir here in Ohio, targeted Channels for the first time through the ice. a friend and i succeeded in catching 9 channels, most were dinks but two went about 2 and 3 pounds. this lake is notorious for being full of runts and they really kept us on our toes tripping the Tip-ups. i imagine we had about 25 "takes" as well as 3 missed fish on our poles. after searcing with the sonar for about an hour we found them right where i thought they would be, in the main channel in 15-20 ft of water not far from where they gorge themselves in the shallows right after ice-out. air temps were in the teens all day and about 5pm it really started gettin cold (15 degrees and falling!)and it became too much work keeping our holes cleared out. bait used was "nickle size" cut shad fished about 1-2ft from the bottom. will be back next weekend during the New Moon period, should get into the bigger fish then, heres a slideshow of photos from today..... http://s114.photobucket.com/albums/n277/dinkbuster1/?action=view&current=1171153253.pbw


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## Bassnpro1 (Apr 6, 2004)

Wow! awesome work. That had to be alot of fun. It isn't easy to target channels through the ice, but it seems that you guys hit them pretty good. 

Also the link wouldn't work for me


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## H2O Mellon (Apr 5, 2004)

Good job Dink. I cant get the link t work either.


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## dinkbuster1 (Oct 28, 2005)

link should work now!


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## H2O Mellon (Apr 5, 2004)

I've always wanted a nice Ice Channel pic. If you go tomorrow at the place we spoke about, give me a call.


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## dinkbuster1 (Oct 28, 2005)

just now got those buggers thawed out and cleaned. i checked out their stomachs to see if it was true what some say that they feed mostly on larva and worms that emerge from the mud during ice-over. well, they were full of little shad. they also bit and ran more aggressively than i thought they would, had those tip-ups spinnin like a top!


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## bigcats28 (Jul 23, 2006)

thats awesome. ive tried targeting channels through the ice twice this year with no success. i was using maggots and wax worms (since i read about how they eat larvae and what not from the mud) and all i kept catching were bluegills..hmm..maybe ill have to try tiny pieces of cut creek chubs, the place where ive been targeting them doesnt have shad. nice work on channels


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## misfit (Apr 5, 2004)

great pics.and that should answer all the questions as to whether they can be caught through the ice 
i've caught them before,and also foundthemm to be a little "frisky".
just gotta find themlike you did,and they'll eat.they will also tag maggots/waxworms on jigs.maybe more readily in ponds where baitfish are not abundant,but other places too.


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## Hook N Book (Apr 7, 2004)

Say what...! Petey Wheatstraw, Dolomite of Dayton...dude, that is too funny. I suppose as your fishing prowess attest, you're a bad man.  

BTW...You forgot, Shine.


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## bill_gfish (Apr 5, 2004)

nice channels, wish I was fishing.


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## jmenchhofer (Jan 12, 2007)

Nice job, dink! I was trying for 'gills on a farm pond yesterday afternoon and was pleasantly surprised by a couple of nice cats. Misfit must have hit the nail on the head when he mentioned that they would hit wax worms in ponds where baitfish are not abundants. They have also been known to hit artificial lures in the summer in this and another pond I fish, both are stocked mainly with gills, cats and bass.


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## neocats1 (Oct 14, 2006)

Nice job. It's time for me to get out and try to catch some.


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## WISH IT WAS YOU (Jul 25, 2006)

wow i have heard of flat heads being hooked into on icce and their head not fiting though the ice but wow good job nice pics takes a long time though ><> lol


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## Fish-N-Fool (Apr 12, 2004)

Dink - the channels will and do eat the larva, etc.. that pops out of the mud. However, those little buggers don't start popping out until later (early spring when the lake begins to warm). The lake you fished is my home lake and I can assure you if you hit them in the shallows at the end of next month they will be feeding on them. They dissolve in the stomach and look like a thick liquid "ooze".

As soon as the ice breaks I'll be out that way collecting shad from the kill and hooking the sumo channel cats that start the early shallow water feed.


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## peple of the perch (Sep 13, 2004)

Nice job guys. I wonder if I try the channel at skeeter if I will do any good?


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## fishing_marshall (Jun 12, 2004)

nice fish! Look like those cats are fun through the ice.


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## tcba1987 (Jun 22, 2004)

WOW, those are some nice cats !!! i cant even catch a bluegill through the ice  CONGRATS !!!


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## BuckeyeTom (Apr 6, 2004)

Great slideshow man....enjoyed it.


Been on the ice 5 times so far this year. First cat we caught was on a tip-up baited with a live creek chub. Could'nt get too many takers on the chubs so we switched to shad heads one day and nothing. May have been too big? We have caught several channels on our ice rods using two waxworms. Best day we had was 20(Five people), mostly dinks.

Does anyone know how damaging this rain will be on the ice???


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