Just wondering if anyone can help me I’m looking to try fishing for smallies thru the ice at okaboji ia no clue as to where to look how deep rocks or basins ? Or bait to use 

Only ever lucked into some before because bass are closed season up here in Ontario. They seem to be sitting on deep big boulder rock piles around 40fow (max lake depths over 100’ on the lakes I do come across them) but their bite window times seem pretty small. When they do decide to bite though, almost everything goes. 

Smallmouth are catch and release for me. Not too keen on ice fishing for them.

 

2 minutes ago, roadwarrior said:

Smallmouth are catch and release for me. Not too keen on ice fishing for them.

We catch and release LMB, SMB, and northern pike quite a bit through the ice.  They release just fine.  Walleye and stud bluegills go ni the bucket, though.

Okay, gotcha...

Ice fishing in Tennessee is using a tooth pick to retrieve an olive from a martini.

 

I catch them jigging later in the season. They start to get more active in later February and hit my jigging baits while I'm trying for a mess of perch to eat. I don't catch nearly as many in December/mid-January.

All fish are catch and release for me I just enjoy fishing and I’m tired of catching pan fish     winter sucks 

On 1/14/2020 at 8:02 PM, FishOn!GetTheNet said:

Just wondering if anyone can help me I’m looking to try fishing for smallies thru the ice at okaboji ia no clue as to where to look how deep rocks or basins ? Or bait to use 

Big Spirit would be an easier lake to find them...

 

oe

On 1/16/2020 at 12:40 AM, FishOn!GetTheNet said:

All fish are catch and release for me I just enjoy fishing and I’m tired of catching pan fish     winter sucks 

Ice fishing in general sucks lol

Haven’t done much ice fishing for them. Have a spot we SMOKED them. It was a few years ago when we last had a good solid freeze. This pond only had perch and smallies.  It was just a mater of finding them. once we found them was balls to the wall.   North area, nothing, southern area smoked em. Did good on shiners also jiggin grubs on bottom. I’m sure hair jigs, small plastics and blades will get them. They are open water winter baits for me 
 

during the winter they stack up. I fish for them open water near off shore structure. I would find a good depth map. Look for breaks. Ledges. Deep flats, humps, deep rocks. Also a change in bottom composting like sand to gravel will hold fish. Some lakes that’s all it takes is the change in bottom. These are usually spots that lack offshore structure. 
 

Keep fishing checking different spots. Once you get them. Stay don’t move. Fish the whole area.