LOTWs EYE Ice Fishing Intel....

[Illinois Dennis]

Hanging around low rent seedy bars late at light pays off again. See what I do for you guys???

A bunch of old timers were returning from a trip up north, so we got talkin. After many beers, things starting spillin.......

200 yrs of combined experience & tips:

All noise seems to turn them off, especially the big ones.
Tip: having Frank drive a mile away from the houses and walking over to check on you isn't going to happen. Not having Frank check on you during the day is more possible.
Edit: They were real adimit on NO noise! Walking around the house was a no-no; making ANY noise was forbidden. I think one was about to give up the big secret.... like 2" foam on the ice house floor when the other one stopped him.

We catch our really big ones after dark. They all seem to shut down right at dark, so you have to give them some time to adjust.

The big ones bite all night long till first light.
Tip: having Frank pick you up at 2:00AM isn't going to happen. Frank leaving you out in the house all night is your best bet.

When it gets dark, use rattle jigs or better yet, RATTLIN spoons. You gotta use a gob of minnows too, that's the key.
Tip: tear the tail off and put one minnow on each barb, the bigger minnows work better.
Edit tip: Sounded like 2" to 2 1/4" spoons with rattles were what they liked.

When all you want are trophies, fish late ice right up to the last day, near spawning grounds.
Comments: Daaaaa!

Well, there you have it! Ice fishing secrets of the North from a bunch of old drunk guys from WI !

[dpear]

I never knew guys from Wisconsin drank.Thanks for the heads up.