Brian “Bro” Brosdahl is a storyteller in that cite-an-example-to-make-a-point sort of way. For instance, when I asked what he’d done last winter to turn ice fishing on its ear, he muttered, “Midflats,” then coolly slid into a tale about a large, northern natural lake, where “his” crappies had been violated by pirating ice anglers, forcing him to find alternative venues. “One of my bread and butter lakes was heating up with crappies,” said Bro.

“And like clockwork, when word hit the bait shops, bars, and Internet message boards, these pirates multiplied like rabbits.”

So, as Bro tells it, the intruders flocked to a pair of what he calls “map-chip holes,” spots now as accessible as the corner store. The holes, which bottomed out at 32 and 36 feet, were divided by a two-mile monster flat that held to 24 feet. And, on this particular day, both holes were asphyxiated by anglers. Bro moved on.

He picked a safe distance from the ball of anglers and proceeded to drill holes. A dozen or so holes in, he found what he wanted, a transition from hard to soft bottom, as well as pods of crappies that had moved from the pressured crappie hole. The fish weren’t relating to any type of structure, even though a few humps rose here and there. It was more about being over the right blend of bottom ingredients, which favored soft over hard.

This, says Bro, is a scene repeated time and time again, where panfish—crappies, bluegills, and perch—hunker down on midflats near popular and more obvious holes. And Bro believes the main reasons for their attraction to midflats is food.

Forage as Epicenter

To understand what draws panfish to midflats, it’s important to first consider the classic hole. In natural lakes, these are depressions of varying sizes and depths where natural turnovers and lake currents deposit organic material, softening the bottom. From sticky, clayish compounds to suspended silt, these soft bottoms yield habitat for the immature aquatic stage of numerous winged insects like midges and mayflies, menu items for crappies, bluegills, and perch. Tiny zooplankton, another staple in the average panfish diet, likewise find the nutrient-rich bottoms and surrounding water attractive.

Next come temperature and oxygenation. Beneath the ice, the warmest water sinks to the lowest level, placing that optimum oxygen-rich 39°F water in the right place for all that forage. So why doesn’t the average angler want to fish these classic holes any more? Bro says angler pressure is the principal buzz-kill. “I hate fishing in crowds, and fish don’t like to be fished in crowds either,” he says. “The classic hole offers everything a panfish needs, like food and oxygen, but they quickly find alternatives if their perfect little environment is being fished to hell.”

Anglers are skillful at plucking the biggest and most aggressive fish from a spot. The first guys on the ice, before the hard-houses hit, do some heavy gleaning. Next, the overhead rumpus from muffler-free manifolds and sheet-metal-coated skids causes skittishness in the remaining herd, forcing emergency evacuation. Most of the crappies and other panfish now head for the midflats.

Also consider predators, he says. The midflat environment favors bigtime panfish consumers like pike. Bro compares holes to fenced yards, where pike cruise the breakline perimeter, striking when opportunity knocks. Other times, pike suspend at assorted levels in the hole, patiently waiting for careless panfish, which makes the crappies anxious.

Although walleyes aren’t nemesis number one, panfish are always uneasy around them. On numerous occasions, both sight-fishing and viewing with an underwater camera, Bro has watched the adverse reaction panfish have to all predator types. This bodes well for the midflat, as its monotonous terrain makes it difficult for predators to find panfish, let alone snare them.