Through the Ice

[Jingles]

Nice perch hope you fill a bucket with those

I wish, I know it can be done out there.

So what are your daily averages? I have heard of people putting buckets of perch on the ice but that was not my experience there nor was it any of the other folks I talked to. It was less about the quantity of fish and more about the quality of BIG fish. How often are you moving?

I'm just a guest ice fisherman visiting my family so I'm far from an expert of the in's and outs of ice fishing on cascade. The first day we went out one set of holes were super slow but another set of holes only 10-12 feet away that my aunt and uncle were fishing was hot the whole time we were out there. So we move from the slow holes about 14 feet further out and we were catching perch constantly plus one really nice steelhead. I was told that it was not uncommon to get multiple jumbo perch out there. We got 6 jumbo perch yesterday between 2 of us in about 6 hours time. We moved twice yesterday as well, that time it didn't help with the quantity issue but thats when we started getting the bigger ones. We might have moved again but it was so gnarly outside we just did what we could with the second set up. I was told there's lots of guys that get real technical with fish finders and tackle movement. That's probably how some guys get the big ones constantly. I like the old fashioned hope and pray fishing myself.

After you get some time on the Hardwater fishing perch you'll find they school and usually school in about the same size and yes you can do a lot of hole hopping to keep on top of them and the action can be fast and furious when you get into them.
It super satisfying when you locate a school of the jumbos and can keep them biting.

[Southpole]

So, without revealing too much on specific location we went out of Donnelly area about 100 yards off shore. Drop down your gear (teeny tiny light green tungsten jig with a super tiny hook, until you hit bottom and then come up a couple inches to a foot up. One thing that made an unusual difference before I knew better was not balling up the worm on the hook. I did a mini wacky rig with about 1 1/2 - 2” long worm or somewhat balled up with a 1” hangy down tail. For some reason those perch like straight dangly piece of worm. Some guys do a subtle soft light jig. What really nails it is when you put the pole down to do something else is where you will usually get a bite... true story. That’s all I have on what I learned of the cascade ice fishing 101. Good luck to you guys headed that way.

[Southpole]

Nice perch hope you fill a bucket with those

I wish, I know it can be done out there.

So what are your daily averages? I have heard of people putting buckets of perch on the ice but that was not my experience there nor was it any of the other folks I talked to. It was less about the quantity of fish and more about the quality of BIG fish. How often are you moving?

I'm just a guest ice fisherman visiting my family so I'm far from an expert of the in's and outs of ice fishing on cascade. The first day we went out one set of holes were super slow but another set of holes only 10-12 feet away that my aunt and uncle were fishing was hot the whole time we were out there. So we move from the slow holes about 14 feet further out and we were catching perch constantly plus one really nice steelhead. I was told that it was not uncommon to get multiple jumbo perch out there. We got 6 jumbo perch yesterday between 2 of us in about 6 hours time. We moved twice yesterday as well, that time it didn't help with the quantity issue but thats when we started getting the bigger ones. We might have moved again but it was so gnarly outside we just did what we could with the second set up. I was told there's lots of guys that get real technical with fish finders and tackle movement. That's probably how some guys get the big ones constantly. I like the old fashioned hope and pray fishing myself.

After you get some time on the Hardwater fishing perch you'll find they school and usually school in about the same size and yes you can do a lot of hole hopping to keep on top of them and the action can be fast and furious when you get into them.
It super satisfying when you locate a school of the jumbos and can keep them biting.

Yeah, the schools hit from 5-10 minute increments it seemed. You’d start nailing them then hurry to get your gear back down before you missed the rest of the school. When we were getting the bigger ones it was longer waiting times but constantly big.

[Karl Blanchard]

Thanks for the info 

[LDennis24]

My cousin Brian has them dialed in pretty well. You guys might enjoy his videos. Good luck Blanchard! And everyone else of course!

[Karl Blanchard]

Great video!

[LDennis24]

Yeah he lives to fish. Check out his YouTube channel and you can see he fishes everywhere. He's even got quite a few sponsor's.

[CoryTDF]

Yeah he lives to fish. Check out his YouTube channel and you can see he fishes everywhere. He's even got quite a few sponsor's.

Awesome! HAHAHAH I watched all his videos before I got into ice fishing.

[Southpole]

I watched the first video but not the other one. Did they ever reveal how they used their fish finding equipment and how to manipulate their gear? Someone told me the guys that have this special fish finding equipment fish just looking at the screen and had a specific type of jigging movement once they see that’s there is a big school in. I’m certain that’s how those guy’s consistently get the bigger fish.

[CoryTDF]

This was the first fish I pulled out of the ice at Cascade. Cant wait to get back over there.


As for the electronics, I really found it to be great. It helped me find the bottom and see exactly where my jig was in relation to the fish. It really made things nice IMHO.

[Southpole]

That’s what a friend of my cousin’s was told, once you get the electronics you’ll never go back. If I lived in a place that I could utilize the investment I might do that too. The old fashioned way of luckin’ out wasn’t bad either, it was like playing the slot machines, one of those pulls you’re eventually going to get a decent payout. Towards the end of my last day there, I was starting to slowly place my gear on the bottom then super duper slowly lift the tip of my pole up until the line straightened out. Came up about 4-6” off the bottom, then repeated the process after 30 seconds to a minute. About every other time I’d get some kind of nibble, that’s when I started nailing the jumbos more often. All in all, I absolutely can not wait to go back and do that again. I can’t wait to hear from Blanchard’s trip so we can live vicariously through his fishing trip .

[LDennis24]

Yeah Blanchard don't forget to post up how your trip went! I have a baby coming in a week or two and haven't been out to do anything but work all winter! Lol

[Karl Blanchard]

I'll definitely report back. At my current pace, these will be $100 perch unless we get a bunch 

[Southpole]

Can’t put a price on a good time 

[Karl Blanchard]

Can’t put a price on a good time 

I'll bet my wife can