The Other Three Elements....
This was posted elsewhere and makes reference to some things being as "posted here" when in fact they are not. I don't mean to confuse anyone.
On another site a thread titled "must have crappie tackle" addresses some of the physical tackle that different people feel is a must to catch winter crappies. Even here we have a "three favorite jigs" thread that teases people into giving up their hot numbers. All of this is good, but very little is said in any of all that is written that mentions the three key elements to real success on the ice. Those three are: patience, attentiveness and experience. Without those three things most anglers simply spin their wheels. The irony is that all three cost nothing and only improve with use...they never wear out.
Patience is a killer for a lot of people. They fidgit, they are up walking around, they are the ones that seem to run over to jig a minnow a couple times that has been drowning and idle for last half hour....we all know a few of these people. They seem restless and certainly not focussed. If you can't relax and enjoy your time on the ice, why are you there?
Attentiveness might be confused by some with patience. Don't do it, there is a big difference. All fish from under the ice demand a certain amount of attention-paying. Crappies just seem to master the need for close attention. The flasher tells you what the fish are doing and where they are in the water column, but fish send signals thru other mediumds too...like line movement and disposition and rod tips and springs. Crappies can send signal thru these other elements that are barely discernable. To see the signal one has to be paying particular attention to what is going away from the flasher even though the flasher tells you company has just pulled up. Sometimes the libne ever so slightly will move to the side or one of those gentle coils of memory seems a bit longer or tightens itself up. Maybe the rod tip "just" appears heavy. Maybe that spring relaxes just a hair.
Signals. If you are not attentive, you'll miss them.
And then there is experience. This little piece doesn't come off a website or out of a magazine. You can't just have it and it doesn't come without a time-investment. You might have started ice fishing three winters ago and actually find yourself doing ok most of the time. What about those "other" times when you draw the big goose egg or someone near you gives you a schooling. Experience is literal...you do have to be there to garner it.
These three elements are as free as the air you breathe. I find it interesting that being old I see the need for these elements to be somewhat successful while younger writers only comment about that which costs money, can break or rust or get mouse-chewed during the off-season. To me finding a comfortable blend of these three ingredients allows me to go to the ice with an open mind, but certainly with a great starting point or approach. Maybe its age but the balance between these three I settle on just keeps getting stronger and broader while my fishing costs are kept in reasonable check. I feel less poor doing things this way; in reality though I know how rich seeing things this way has made me.
Think about this before you fish....you may just stumble onto something.
