John Carlson
01-23-2012, 10:32 AM
When taking youth out fishing it is important to keep the action going the whole time that we are on the ice. There are lakes all over the U.S. that are full of small to mid sized gills that can give young or new to the sport anglers action and build their skills. If you don't know where any of these lakes are stop in at your local shop and ask. Most of these lakes are so full of panfish that it wont hurt to take a few smaller fish out if you feel like cleaning them for a fish fry. Taking the time to scale a gill and fillet it really pays off after it hits the hot oil and you get to enjoy eating it!!! Tackle selection is pretty simple, most of the time you are fishing gills in shallower water and only need a basic jig pole with 3lb line and a spring bobber or small float. I like using small heavy jigs with little hooks and 2 or 3 spikes for bait but you can use waxies, mousies, or plastics as well for gills. You don't even need electronics most of the time!!!
Gill action has been great, Ross's Sport Shop Guide John Kleczewski took a group of kids out over the weekend and had great action the whole 6 hours that they were on the water. (pictured is one of the kids with some of the fish that they caught), Pike action has been great also, we had one group in the store over the weekend that sad that they had 75+ flags on Saturday and caught pike up to 28". Walleye action is still slow with most fish being caught at daylight and dusk. Crappie action is fair with one day doing good and the next couple being slow. Ice depths of 15 to 20 inches being reported now with very little snow cover on it.
Gill action has been great, Ross's Sport Shop Guide John Kleczewski took a group of kids out over the weekend and had great action the whole 6 hours that they were on the water. (pictured is one of the kids with some of the fish that they caught), Pike action has been great also, we had one group in the store over the weekend that sad that they had 75+ flags on Saturday and caught pike up to 28". Walleye action is still slow with most fish being caught at daylight and dusk. Crappie action is fair with one day doing good and the next couple being slow. Ice depths of 15 to 20 inches being reported now with very little snow cover on it.