NoCo has entered the shoulder season. That time between ice fishing and open water fishing. I made it out twice this week. On Tuesday the pond I was at still had about 40% ice cover. The bite was slow and the fish were lethargic. On Thursday, the ice was gone and the bite had picked up. I still needed to use a slow presentation, this day a small jig with plastic under a float and letting it slowly drift with the breeze. Sunny days still seem to be key to better bites.
The weather over the weekend will keep the remaining ice holding on and might put some skim ice back on the smaller ponds. I will take the weekend and work on some additional 2024 lake breakdowns for upcoming newsletters.
CPW NEWS
Remember the NE Sportspersons Caucus is happening this week on the 15th starting at 6 pm at the Weld County SW Service Center. Hope to see you there!
RADIO
I’ll be on Terry Wickstrom Outdoors at 9:30 am talking about local fishing, the ice bites, and using floats to catch more fish. Terry’s show can be heard from 9-11 am on 104.3 The Fan.
FLP FISHING TIP - Match your float to lure weight
One of the biggest mistakes I see people making when fishing with a float (aka a bobber, Mick Thill gave me a 20-minute lecture on the difference between bobbers and floats. I will forever call them floats so I don’t get the lecture again. lol) is using a one size fits all approach to fishing a float.
I prefer using a pencil float, when properly balanced these float will stand up straight. This allows you to see the traditional bite of the float going down and a pickup bite when a fish just grabs your bait and doesn’t pull the float down - this can be seen by the float tipping over.
You want to select a float that matches the weight of your presentation. I usually have 3 sizes with me to give me enough variety to match my presentation. If your presentation is too light you can add a split shot or two to balance the setup.
The early ice-off time of year I use floats more than any other. They work great to suspend a bait at a specific depth and slow your presentation down during this cold water period.
If you want more tips on float fishing I will be discussing it with Terry this week on his show.
FISHING FUNNIES
Thanks Brad!!!!!!