For once and for all: Where to put the minnow under the ice?

Ok, I've heard numerous guys tell me, two feet under the ice because pike have eyes on the top of their head and they are always able to look up. Then, there are the guys that say two feet above the bottom or over the weeds. Then, there are the pike that I see swimming in tanks at Gander Mountain or the zoo and they are suspended about half way down. So, where to put the minnow? Most of the lakes I fish don't really have the weed factor, so I'm talking top to bottom and I don't try to find pike on a locator, I just put the minnow down where I have caught pike in the past or where I think they will be today, and wait it out. Part of me thinks it really doesn't matter too much. But maybe it does....what do you think?

Why use a minnow, shiner, or sucker ? I've used panfish as bait with good results. Heck, I caught a 36 inch Northern with a 10 inch northern in it's stomach. A fish can't see itself, it doesn't know how big he is, only the size of it's mouth. If it's not mating season it eats.

I place it where the pike would be currently finding their primary feed. End of icefishing/late ice they seem to feed on and cruise the bottom. Not that they won't come up to the bottom of the ice, but especially in deeper water I seem to do better keeping it on bottom.

Halfway down. http://youtu.be/BPAb2ARXeT4

It's been my experience that barometric pressure should be taken into, at least, partial account for the answer to this. I generally have better results when during high pressure setting my minnow deeper; low pressure - further up. As for, "once and for all" - I don't think there is such a hard and fast answer because there are just too many variables.

Depending on depth i will start at different depths.if one pops more than there you have it.when fishen shallow I set off the bottom and adjust as the day goes on .just my 2 cents.

3lb test and a minnow about 2:20am this morning! I can honestly say this was the MOST fun I have ever had! He was just hanging out on the very bottom all night! We did not know he was there?? We should have known something was up because no other fish except for a lil northern Randy my boyfriend caught a little earlier. My biglunker became interested when my jig hit the bottom and maybe startled him or maybe I beaned him right in his huge head... that by the way was bigger than my knee! Not really sure, but he hit that minnow hard and before he hit all we saw was the lake bottom come alive with red on the marcum! At first my drag started zinging and I started slowly pulling him up. We thought it was a walleye. The ice was incredibly clear and we could see every 30-32" of him. He was FAT!! I think we both went into shock when we saw him the first time He took the line 2 more times with such force. I think each time he took off we thought he was never coming back on that 3lb test ripping the side of the hole. The second time he came up he locked eyes with me. What an amazing experience. At the end he was really tired, he came up and hit his head and my jig popped out. By this time my boyfriend was videotaping and he just lunked away!! lookin4biglunkers found her big lunker today!! ??????

3lb test and a minnow about 2:20am this morning! I can honestly say this was the MOST fun I have ever had! He was just hanging out on the very bottom all night! We did not know he was there?? We should have known something was up because no other fish except for a lil northern Randy my boyfriend caught a little earlier. My biglunker became interested when my jig hit the bottom and maybe startled him or maybe I beaned him right in his huge head... that by the way was bigger than my knee! Not really sure, but he hit that minnow hard and before he hit all we saw was the lake bottom come alive with red on the marcum! At first my drag started zinging and I started slowly pulling him up. We thought it was a walleye. The ice was incredibly clear and we could see every 30-32" of him. He was FAT!! I think we both went into shock when we saw him the first time He took the line 2 more times with such force. I think each time he took off we thought he was never coming back on that 3lb test ripping the side of the hole. The second time he came up he locked eyes with me. What an amazing experience. At the end he was really tired, he came up and hit his head and my jig popped out. By this time my boyfriend was videotaping and he just lunked away!! lookin4biglunkers found her big lunker today!!

First things first, I got a kick out of Lectrotech's comment, hahaha!!!! But, back to the topic... As my wise Uncle has taught me, EVERYTHING in life is relative!! In the case of ice fishing Pike, I think there are Five key determing factors for depth and success, and these are in order of importants in my opinion: 1) What time of the year you are fishing the hard water? (early ice, mid winter, late ice) Opinion: the earliest and latest ice you fish, I would say fish higher in the water column, and the more close you are to the middle of winter, fish deeper. 2) Depending on the specific day you are fishing, what is the moon phase? Opinion: the closer to new moon or full moon lunar phase, fish higher in the water column. And visa-versa. 3) Weather is the next crucial piece. Opinion: It is the same as open water. Mild clouds and mild wind, barometric pressure changes, weather pattern changes are all going to yeild more active fish. The above named weather conditions will be a more shallow presentation, while stagnant and unfavorable weather will require a deeper minnow depth. 4) What type of structure are you fishing? Opinion: If I am fishing over weeds, I try to place the minnow within a foot of the top of the weeds. If I am over gravel, rock piles, bare sand, or bare mud, I would say placing the minnow closer to the bottom is the way to go. Depending on the locations depth, I would say between one third and half of the way down the water column is appropriate. Another key factor would be the depth of the most abondunt forage in the area. 5) *This can be either the #1 or #5 most important factor!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Minnow selection: Opinion: Based on the first 4 factors, my 5th factor is going to be determined. The last factor is the type of "minnow" I use. Suckers swim down and are slower moving, shiners are faster moving and try to swim upwards. Hope you all find my opinions useful.

I was married once. So long as you can get your minnow under the ice Be Happy.

ever big pike I have ever caught through the ice I put the minnow 3 to 6 inches below the ice.

kutt. Thanks I couldn't imagine my favorite game species wallowing in the mud like a Carp. JBT Thanks. PB. IMO Pike like to ambush off edges. Stay with green weeds if you can.

What about if your fishing over 20+ fow and there's bluegills or other baitfish suspended. I fished a new lake the other day that drops quickly. I set two tip ups in 5-7 feet and one in 28 feet where bluegills where suspended at 18 feet. I put the minnow at 15 feet but no bites. I'm sure it would have worked just not used to fishing suspended like that. Only bites came on the shallow flags.

Just FYI frogs are not like turtles, frogs do not bury them selves in mud when they hibernate. They lay on the bottom.

Frogs are pretty common to find in a pike's stomach in February and March. The pike are looking for an easy meal because oxygen levels are low at the end of winter and they do not have as much energy to spend chasing live fish like they earlier in winter. Obviously, rooting around in the mud would waste too much energy, so the pike rely on their well developed sense of smell to find the frogs buried in the mud, and of course any dead fish laying on the bottom, for an easy meal. I read a scientific study about pike feeding habits a few years ago. On some lakes, dead fish and frogs accounted for over 70% of pike diet in the month of Feb. These were mainly shallow lakes or large shallow bays in big lakes with extensive mud or sandy stilt flats. In lakes like Pike (deeper with rocky or gravel bottom) the percentage was lower, 30-40%, but still a major portion of their diet. This is why I use dead bait for most of my pike fishing in Feb. the last few years.

I fish in the upper end of the water. One key is to find green weeds. I do pretty good on Pike. The theory is that they feed looking up. O.K. Then why in February did we catch 2 Northerns on separate days that each had a frog in its gullet ? The frogs should have been buried in the mud sleeping. Hard to match that hatch.