Scouting Fish Without A Fishfinder

Two ice anglers search for the ice fishing bite on a lake.

Tired of waiting for fish to come to you? No fishfinder? No Problem! Just go find them. Here is some tricks I use to catch fish without having to carry a heavy fishfinder.

This technique is a lot cheaper than buying a fishfinder, but still it costs some money. At the local marina, they should sell some lake maps on where fish are in the lake. If you buy one of these, it is almost guaranteed you can catch the same amount of fish without using a fishfinder. On the map, deep holes and drop-offs are some key places to catch fish. Deep holes are a good place to find fish, because they will tend to hide in them. Also, steep drop-offs are a good place to find fish because small fish hang out in shallow water, and the big fish can sneak up on them from the deep quickly.

Another thing I like to do is get down on my chest and literally watch down the hole. Sometimes I will
be looking for weed beds, or other structure along that line. I also like to see fish, bait-fish, or whatever else is down there. On sunny days I have to block out the sunlight with my hands in order to see well.

When all else fails, I drill a bunch of holes until I find fish that are biting. Last weekend a friend and I covered a couple hundred yards and a few dozen holes before we found a fish. We found a decent spot and decided to come back after dark with a few more friends. We only caught one that day, but it was a trophy because it was one of my friends first fish. It hit a green Moon Jig with 2 chunks of an Anise bomb on it with a wax worm.

Stay warm and safe fishing everyone. Check back soon for an update from me.

By Brendan Herbert