Although many bodies of water are still void of safe ice, the hardwater season is beginning to settle in throughout parts of Southern Ontario. I’m sad that my boat is asleep for a few months, but I’m excited for what adventures this hardwater season will bring! My season has kicked off with some early ice crappie and bluegill adventures, and it has been so much fun! Both these species are so beautiful.
I love getting into these feisty little guys, especially since they’re typically in schools and it can mean catching a good number of fish in a day. Luckily my recent adventures have also included some decent-sized crappie and bluegill, which is a riot on ultralight gear!
Eric and I explored this mid-size lake setting up in a basin adjacent to a weedy offshore hump. The basin has a muddy bottom which provides a habitat for the tiny bugs these fish are munching on at this time of year. The fish roam around throughout the day, so we drilled a ton of holes to be able to hop around and stay on top of the schools. My two key presentations are: a 1/16th VMC Flash Champ Spoon tipped with Berkley Gulp! Waxies, and a 3/32nd Northland Tungsten Banana Bug tipped with a Trigger-X Moustache Worm. I’ve provided more information about my rod/reel set-ups in the video at the end of this blog.
To learn more about how we were catching these guys, check out my latest YouTube video below. Please be sure to subscribe to my channel as there will be more videos on the way!
Thank you for reading & watching! Be safe out there!
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