By midwinter, sluggish fish don’t want to have to chase after food. Jason Mitchell explains that even basin fish may require some finesse.

Bluegills and crappies often suspend or move out over deep-water basins on many bodies of water each winter. “Deep” and “basin” are often relative descriptions for a large, offshore bowl of deeper water; more specifically, bowls or basins that bottom out between 15 and 45 feet of water. Most of these basins typically have soft bottoms, but points and other structures that protrude into these basins are often comprised of a harder bottom structure. Rock that intersects or protrudes into a basin is really an overlooked location for panfish. Yet, we often find fish drifting through this open water, suspended off the bottom—particularly if there is no obvious structure to concentrate them in specific areas.

Schools of fish often suspend in a column where fish stack on top of each other. You might have ten to fifteen feet of fish schooled below you, while somebody ten yards away isn’t marking a fish. These suspended basin fish are also typically moving. Even if you have 10 to 15 feet of fish below you, in a blink, these fish could be gone.

Because basin fish do roam so much, there are basically two strategies for locating and catching them. First is to sit in one location, where you have a consistent flow of fish swimming underneath you. The second strategy is to be much more aggressive, and drill a grid of holes, where you can be much more mobile to contact roaming schools of fish. This more aggressive approach can become even more effective if you can fish away from anglers. Roam and explore holes, and when your buddy finds them, fish right next to him until you lose the fish, and then team up to find the next pod of fish.

What can also be surprising at times is how basin fish respond to fishing pressure. There are times when the fish simply slide off ten feet away, so don’t be afraid to drill a lot of holes.

If you are going to simply be patient and hunker down on one location, you are basically just running traffic…picking off fish as they swim by. This do-less approach can be just as effective, particularly during tougher bites or if you are fishing alone. It almost seems like the fish are swimming in a circle, and the same school of fish swims by every half hour. The less people around you, the more the fish get to swim uninterrupted, until they swim underneath you again.

Here are a few additional tips and insights for pinning down suspended midwinter panfish over basins.

Rocking the boat

When fishing through several holes, turn your Vexilar to Manual Range, so you can get a bottom lock faster and walk from hole to hole quicker. Don’t fish until you see fish. Hang the transducer just below the ice, and with your sensitivity or gain turned up, rock the transducer from one side of the hole to the other. If the fish are off to the side, you can often pick fish up on the edge of the cone angle, and tell what direction from the hole the school of fish is located. Immediately drill several holes in a rough grid, and walk from hole to hole, quickly scanning each with your electronics. Don’t stop to fish until you see fish.

Heavy metal

Over basins and open water, the fish also don’t usually have a problem finding you. Visibility is often excellent, where fish can see your presentation from several feet away.

When I am first breaking down a location, I try to amplify that even more by fishing with large, aggressive lures, and fishing those lures high in the water column. I find that I catch some of the largest panfish in the school (both bluegills and crappies) by fishing big and high.

Flutter spoons, horizontal swim lures like Salmo Chubby Darters and other high-visibility presentations often trigger big fish, not just because of size and profile, but because fish can see these lures from several feet farther away. If you can fish several feet above the fish, guess which fish climbs up several feet the fastest? Usually, the bigger fish.

Chain gang

I have often been surprised that more bluegill and crappie anglers don’t use droppers or chains below spoons. Often regarded as a perch tactic, chain droppers can work excellently over basins when the bite is off, because they provide the weight and flash of a spoon with the delicate finesse of the dropper. Especially with bluegill and sunfish, chains can be flat-out deadly when fish get finicky.

Round up

These classic basin and hole locations are prevailent on many fisheries. You can often see where these holes are located on many lakes by just looking for the cluster or permanent ice shacks. By midwinter, these fish can get picked pretty over.

One final thought to wrap up with is simply fishing new ice. Push to the edges of community holes. Find locations that haven’t been fished recently. Even a ten-yard shift away from the commotion and harassment can be a big move. Look over topo maps and look for areas within the basin holding fish that just haven’t had as much pressure. Finding and catching these fish by midwinter is as much about getting away from the crowds as anything else.

You can learn new techniques and where to catch more fish through the ice in the winter issues of MidWest Outdoors, available the first full week of each month at the newsstand or by subscribing on our website.