SLOW DOWN FOR MORE FISH
By Bob Jensen
I just returned from an ice-fishing trip to South Dakota. We were on Waubay Lake, a fantastic fishery for really big perch, and lots of them. At times these perch can be very easy to catch, at other times they get a little or a lot finicky. On this particular trip, sometimes they got finicky. However, by slowing down they could still be tricked into biting. There are times, on ice or in open water, when slowing down will increase your catches.
When it becomes necessary to slow down to catch fish, you need to be sure that there are fish in the area. When we were on our ice-fishing trip, we employed a jigging spoon and a sonar, with a rod rigged with a slow moving bait close at hand.
To locate the perch we would lower the jigging spoon tipped with some form of bait. By watching the sonar unit, it was possible to watch the jigging spoon fall toward the bottom. At times the perch would rise off the bottom to look at the spoon, and a few times they actually hit the spoon. Most of the time though, they would look at the spoon, then move away.
When this happened, the other rod with the slower moving bait was put into action. The best bait was a Forage Minnow Fry tipped with a Gulp! maggot. Again, sometimes the perch would come up and hit or look at the bait as it fell. Most of the time though, they would simply drop back to the bottom and disappear from sonar view.
When this happened, it worked well to hold the bait as still as possible about two feet above the bottom. In a couple of minutes the perch would re-appear and move right up to the bait. The lure and the fish blended together and were one line on the sonar. At times they would examine the bait for thirty seconds before softly taking it.
This same slow approach can be applied in open water fishing. When the fish don't want a fast presentation, a lure below a slip bobber will often be what it takes to get them to bite. It is critical that you know where the fish are holding, because it is hard to fish quickly and effectively when employing a slip bobber presentation. However, if the fish are there, and if you present the bait close to them, they will usually take it.
When the fish don't want to bite, and when you're fishing slowly, light line is recommended. Six pound test Trilene XL is excellent for slip bobber fishing in open water, four pound test Micro Ice is really good when ice fishing, but there are times when three pound test will be better. When the bait is moving slowly and the fish have time to give it a good look, a line that's too heavy will frequently convince them not to hit.
At times it works well to cover lots of water when searching for fish, but there are times that, once the fish are found, it will be more productive to slow down and give the fish plenty of time to hit. Next time you find fish that are reluctant to bite, slow down and watch your catches go up.
For more fish-catching information, visit fishingthemidwest.com

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