Good your getting out and getting some fish tb
Help me out here, fill me in on what and how you are catching them.
Tip-up? Jigging?? How deep? how far off the bottom?
Any size to them?? Did you take any home to eat??
I am using tip ups and jigging. I am fishing in about 5 to 6 feet of water. I like to set the sinner about 2 feet off the bottom. With jigging I use a Swedish pimple with mouses on it. Most of the bass are about 1.5 to 2 pounds but you do get 3 to 4 pounds. Yes I do like to take them home and fry them.
I like to do the same set tip-ups and jig while waiting for a flag.
I have been having better luck on wax worms and spikes the past couple years compared to mousies for some reason.
I suspend my shiners more like 6" off the bottom, I may try 2 feet sometime to see if it produces a little better.
The fish definitely taste better when caught through the ice than in the summer in my opinion. Today would be a windy, cold on out there.
I tend to put my shiners all over the place. I stick a few close to the bottom, and a couple close to the surface, "I mean ice". The rest go in between.