ICE FISHING CRAPPIE – AT NIGHT

Ice fishing is kind of a scary concept to a lot of people, but ice fishing at night? That sounds very intimidating, but exciting at the same time! Nevertheless, night ice fishing is the best and most prime time to catch crappie. It can be very rewarding and extremely exciting and challenging all at the same time. Bonus, the trembling technique maneuvers the jig in a way that is irresistible to crappie. Brrrrr

Do you need an Ice Fishing Flasher? Heres some good choices!

If you are on the right lake, in the right spot, with the right bait/lure then you should be successful at fishing for crappie at night, under the ice. If you have a GPS system, use it! It will help you locate reefs, humps, and points. These are the best spots for crappie catching, whether it is day, night, ice fishing or summer fishing. Got an LED fishing light? Even Better for catching those crappie at night. Check out my favorite night time crappie fishing gear HERE.

Crappie will feed on larvae and worms that come up from the reef or hump. Be patient during the lulls in between the whirlwind of feeding crappie. You will have to be quick on your re-baits to catch as many crappie as you can during the spurts. Especially if you want to out fish your buddies.

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Ice Fishing Crappie With Lights

Something that you may not realize for night ice fishing for crappie, colored light will attract them. Green is the best color, but clear works just as well. Other colors work, but do not penetrate the darker water as well as green. Green also doesn’t have as much glare to it as some of the other colors. The light, whether color or clear, not only attracts fish but it also attracts shrimp and insects. Plankton will gahter in the water around your light, which in turn will attract the crappie.  If it doesn’t work then go home and Dim-Sum-Lights…(I’ll leave that one for you to figure out)

You can ice fish at night in many locations around the United States and Canada. Here are just a few of the places that have great ice fishing;

• Saskatchewan
• Ontario
• Wisconsin
• New York
• North Dakota
• Minnesota
• Vermont
• Greenland

PLEASE Be Safe On The Ice

4+ inches of ice can support a persons weight, so please do not try to go out on ice that is not at least 4 inches thick. Most of the places above will likely have at least 10+ inches of solid, clear ice to fish on.

Equipment For Ice Fishing At Night

Check out these Recommended Ice Fishing Boots from Amazon.

The equipment for ice fishing is very basic. If it is warm enough outside that your fishing holes will stay open and it isn’t too windy then just your chair, a lantern, and your poles and lures will be perfect.

If it is colder or if you have to endure that biting cold wind, then you are definitely going to want some kind of portable shelter and a source of heat. Portable shelters are easy to take down, fold up and strap onto an ATV or snowmobile and move to another location. This one is highly rated and you’ll be glad you brought it.

You do not need it, but it is very helpful to have a very good sonar to help locate the suspended crappie. Most anglers will have 2 ultra light jigging rods. If more then 1 line is allowed then some fishermen will have a flat rod or dead stick in their second drilled hole. 

Crappie bites are very light and subtle, so you have to watch the tip of your pole very closely. Another reason that you need a light source when ice fishing at night. If your sonar shows that there are crappie checking out your bait, be mindful; crappie are sneaky and love to come up underneath your bait and just take the whole thing into their mouth.

There will still be an ever so slight change in your pole and you set it and snag the sneaky crappie. Some anglers will use a spring bobber to help identify the subtle bite of a crappie.

Occasionally at night, ice fishing, your second pole may snag a decent sized bluegill. If you get really lucky, you could also walk away with a walleye or two from your second hole.

Use Your Sonar Ice Fishing

When you are ice fishing at night, use your sonar to find large weed flats that are 6-10 feet deep. You may have to go out and do this during the day, and mark your spots so you know where to go after dark. Steeper breaks are better during mid-winter ice fishing. They tend to be 10-14 feet deep, and crappie love the deeper water.

Some anglers say the moon phase plays a roll in catching crappie. There are fishermen that swear by not fishing for crappie two days before or two days after a full moon. But they will fish as close to the new moon phase as possible.

Other anglers say that close to both the new moon and the full moon phase seem to fire up the crappie. Some anglers also believe that you can catch bigger crappie, while ice fishing at night, if you get out to your spot within 2 hours of a front moving in.

To find the best crappie fishing areas, you need to know the layout of the lake you are wanting or going to fish on. It will define whether or not the crappie are going to suspend themselves or sit just above the bottom. To know the layout well, you are going to have to do your research before the ice hits or you can also look at maps of the area to figure out where you need to be. The basin shape, water depth, and structure are very important factors. 

Baits for Ice Fishing At Night

In nighttime ice fishing for crappie not only do you want your small live minnows but you will also want to keep a variety of different jigs on hand; vertical, horizontal, and 45 degree angle models. You will also want to put, just a couple, glow painted or natural baits for the crappie that you come across with lock-jaw. 

It is said that late January through February will be your best time-frame of finding crappie under the ice. It is very common to see anglers who fish for walleye, changing up their gear to attract crappie. You will normally find crappie 15-45 feet under the ice. The size of the lake will help to dictate or define the depth in which you will find crappie.

There are anglers who will drill 15-20 holes, at various depths, about 2 feet apart. You can then go back with your sonar to see if you can find any suspended crappie.

Ice fishing is fun, no matter whether it is during the day or at night. Night ice fishing for crappie (or any other species) is exciting and challenging, making your catches a little more rewarding.

Please always make sure that you are taking all the night time ice fishing safety precautions. Tell someone the vicinity that you are going to be fishing, make sure you have a lantern (or 2), a good heat source, and make sure that the ice you are fishing on is at least 4+ inches thick.

After you are 110% sure that you have taken all of the safety precautions for night ice fishing, the next most important thing to do is to have fun!!

Fishing Lake Morena For Crappie? Discover what bait to use.

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