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ice fishing help

beararchery

beararchery

Member
Well this is the first year im going to get serious about ice fishing. I need a little help on what i need to get when it comes to jigs and baits..My main focus is going to be on crappie but il be fine with whatever bites. I might hit some lakes but im more focused on some ponds I fish during the summer/spring.

Just curious on what you guys use when fishing ponds, and lakes. Do you guys use different jigs or baits when fishing lakes or ponds? And what do you use, and when?

Thanks.
 
I have a huge list of tackle but last year the black and white gil pills worked the best for me. Used them on lakes and ponds and they worked everywhere...
 
The jigs I use were all homemade, but, the smaller the better it seems for me. One thing that I HIGHLY recommend is a flasher (i.e. Vexilar)! Once you use one, you wont leave home with out it. For bait on your jig, you can use minnows if you want to specifically target mainly crappie, however, crappies will readily bite waxworms also and they are a lot cheaper and you will have more fun catching a variety of fish. I don't like using minnows in ponds anyway because there is always a chance one could be a carp minnow.
 
Before my days of having a flasher, I always dropped the jig to the bottom and raised up about a foot and jig up and down from there varying a couple feet.. crappies feed up though. I've caught a lot of crappie through the ice only lowering my jig a foot or two below the bottom of the ice hole.. with a flasher, I like to keep my bait in about the middle of the water column or maybe a little shallower and as soon as you see a fish on the flasher, raise or lower your bait to just a little bit above the fish and you can pretty much watch the fish go right up to your jig
 
All depends on the situation. Most of the time, the majority of the fish species in the winter will be holding close to the bottom. Bluegills, Perch, and Walleyes will be within a foot of the bottom almost completely. Crappies on the other hand tend to suspend in the water column. Especially as the winter progresses and later in the day. Old rule of thumb is to fish 2/3 of the way down. If you have a flasher (Vexilar,Marcum, etc), look for fish and jig above them. If going old school, I suggest fishing a waxworm off the bottom and a small minnow a few feet off if fishing for panfish. Don't hesitate changing things up and moving around if you can. Good luck.
 
yea a vexilar flasher shows your bottom depth, your fish and your jig. if you are going to ice fish a lot, it will really improve your odds. do a youtube search on vexilars and you can see how they work. also for jigs, i use basically the same ones on ponds that i use on lakes. get smaller jigs for crappies and gills tipped with wax worms. if you want to fish for walleyes or perch, get some spoons, like sweedish pimples or rapala jiggin' raps.
 
Should be able to find a used vex for under $200. It is invaluable to ice fishing success. My son and I take the vex and aquavu camera on each trip, but always end up wishing we had a 2nd vex. My short list for panfish jigs through the ice would be 1) Diamond Jigs 2) Genz worms 3) Shrimpos 4) Pilkies.

OK that's it...gotta get the shack down and go after 'em next weekend :way:

NWBuck
 
That sounds like a wise idea. My last trip was day before yesterday and I'm done for the year. To much inconsistency to the ice. Back to your original question and for next season try and pair up with someone that has a flasher and all the good stuff. Its quite an initial outlay of money especially if you don't like it. If fishing blind w/o a flasher I first would let my jig with a waxworm bang down on the bottom a couple times then lift it up 6-12" and jig it. I use about everything that Custom Jigs & Spins sells for jigs. Have fun.
 
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