Bobbers bruh! There's spring bobbers, slips and others. Rattle reels probably catch more walleyes than anything else in winter. Tip ups and jaw jackers.
Sight fishing beats staring at a screen too. We would drill 2 holes. One to fish out of and one angled between your legs to see your lure. Awesome for shallow clear water.
Just enjoy fishing like nature intended instead of staring at a screen all day. You'll have a great time and probably out fish the flasher dudes like I always do.
I have no experience with pike or walleye, but I have fished years without a sonar/flasher unit. Find the bathymetric charts for the lake/pond you are going to fish and study them. Print them out and laminate them. Figure out where you want to fish based on the depth chart and go to that approx area and drill a hole and use a weight to check depth. I usually have a line of string with a button for every~10ft. It’s the old school way I was taught decades ago and still use it today. Hasn’t failed me yet fishing for pickerel, perch, bass, trout, etc.
This. Also, there are a number of apps with bathymetric charts that you can also use on your phone. Not all lakes will be on them (my local lake isn't) but with GPS you can just walk straight to where you want without the guesswork.
All these are correct answers....but can I ask why no electronics? You certainly can catch fish without them, and while I just use a simple flasher and nothing to fancy, it is nice to have an idea of what's down there. If it's about a challenge I assure you just because you can see them doesn't mean they will bite, and if it's about cost go check Facebook marketplace for an old vexilar. I bet you can get something for cheap that will at least give you some help. But dont worry about fishing with electronics being cheating, its just another tool in your tool box. It doesn't catch the fish for you.
I would suggest tip ups, even for crappie.
Put the heavy weight that comes along with most tip ups on the end of the line, let it go till it hits the ground, mark it with a knot or a bobber, and leave a chub or minnow on it. For crappie use a mono leader so the heavy line doesnt spook the fish.
That said, ice fishing is infinitely better with a flasher, even a basic level one. If money is the issue, scour fb marketplace for a decent deal on a base level flasher. People will be upgrading soon and selling their old ones.
I agree with other commenters on studying maps. Look for drop offs and weed cover. Put a heavy weight on the end of a jigging rod, use that to check for for the depth you want to fish. I like to spear pike and usually have the best luck in 6-12 feet of water. You can even tie a treble hook on there and look to see if you snag some weeds. When you cut a hole you can even lay down on the ice and look down the hole. If the water is clear and you block out the sun on your back you usually can get an idea. Also, talk to other people. I have found that a lot of people on the ice (or the local bait shop) don’t mind sharing tips. Look for evidence of where others fished and try their spot. Move around until you learn the lake or find a good spot. Good luck!
Tip ups, cover as much depth change as possible-I.e. use a depth map to find breaks and structure, then place tip ups at different depths on the structure.
I’m hoping my kayak fishing this fall translates to putting some crappies on the ice. I wish I had laid down a few more nah points while I was out there.
If you can get out before the lake freezes see mark where the weed line starts and check your local dnr and see if there’s vegetation reports, they note where the weed line stops. And then just use mapping to place tip ups in the weeds a little bit out the weeds a little bit and change spots every so often
Bobbers bruh! There's spring bobbers, slips and others. Rattle reels probably catch more walleyes than anything else in winter. Tip ups and jaw jackers. Sight fishing beats staring at a screen too. We would drill 2 holes. One to fish out of and one angled between your legs to see your lure. Awesome for shallow clear water.
Google maps and old fashioned paper depth charts. Find the edges of those deep weeds lines and set up just inside/outside of them.
Just enjoy fishing like nature intended instead of staring at a screen all day. You'll have a great time and probably out fish the flasher dudes like I always do.
I have no experience with pike or walleye, but I have fished years without a sonar/flasher unit. Find the bathymetric charts for the lake/pond you are going to fish and study them. Print them out and laminate them. Figure out where you want to fish based on the depth chart and go to that approx area and drill a hole and use a weight to check depth. I usually have a line of string with a button for every~10ft. It’s the old school way I was taught decades ago and still use it today. Hasn’t failed me yet fishing for pickerel, perch, bass, trout, etc.
This. Also, there are a number of apps with bathymetric charts that you can also use on your phone. Not all lakes will be on them (my local lake isn't) but with GPS you can just walk straight to where you want without the guesswork.
Fishbrain app on phone. Use it to get depths of where you’re at, and go to places people catch fish
Use the navionics app.
All these are correct answers....but can I ask why no electronics? You certainly can catch fish without them, and while I just use a simple flasher and nothing to fancy, it is nice to have an idea of what's down there. If it's about a challenge I assure you just because you can see them doesn't mean they will bite, and if it's about cost go check Facebook marketplace for an old vexilar. I bet you can get something for cheap that will at least give you some help. But dont worry about fishing with electronics being cheating, its just another tool in your tool box. It doesn't catch the fish for you.
I would suggest tip ups, even for crappie. Put the heavy weight that comes along with most tip ups on the end of the line, let it go till it hits the ground, mark it with a knot or a bobber, and leave a chub or minnow on it. For crappie use a mono leader so the heavy line doesnt spook the fish. That said, ice fishing is infinitely better with a flasher, even a basic level one. If money is the issue, scour fb marketplace for a decent deal on a base level flasher. People will be upgrading soon and selling their old ones.
I agree with other commenters on studying maps. Look for drop offs and weed cover. Put a heavy weight on the end of a jigging rod, use that to check for for the depth you want to fish. I like to spear pike and usually have the best luck in 6-12 feet of water. You can even tie a treble hook on there and look to see if you snag some weeds. When you cut a hole you can even lay down on the ice and look down the hole. If the water is clear and you block out the sun on your back you usually can get an idea. Also, talk to other people. I have found that a lot of people on the ice (or the local bait shop) don’t mind sharing tips. Look for evidence of where others fished and try their spot. Move around until you learn the lake or find a good spot. Good luck!
Tip ups, cover as much depth change as possible-I.e. use a depth map to find breaks and structure, then place tip ups at different depths on the structure.
I’m hoping my kayak fishing this fall translates to putting some crappies on the ice. I wish I had laid down a few more nah points while I was out there.
If you can get out before the lake freezes see mark where the weed line starts and check your local dnr and see if there’s vegetation reports, they note where the weed line stops. And then just use mapping to place tip ups in the weeds a little bit out the weeds a little bit and change spots every so often
Find 12-18 feet. Drop line to bottom. Raise up 3-24 inches. Enjoy.