My brother has indicated that he wants to go ice fishing a lot this winter. Generally I only ice fish maybe twice a year. I have never used anything besides a worm. I was just curious what other people have had success using? I generally only fish for trout.
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Cut bait (primarily for tiger trout, cutts and browns), meal worms, wax worms, PowerBait, and crawlers (which you mentioned) will all work for trout. It is a good idea to have all of the above available to try.
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Worms are a good choice for trout and other species of course, but add the worm to something flashy or plastic tube or plastic grub.. You can also add a flash item on the fishing line as an attracter. Dont shy away from the use of minnows or a pecie of cut bait such as chub to your lure..
Some people use items like silly puddy's,, AKA > Power Bait...
Good luck...
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it's realy hard to beat a tube jig tipped with minnow.. for trout.
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Is it best to keep the jig moving or does it really matter since it has the minnow on the end?
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You just have to experiment. Sometimes they prefer a still jig, other times they prefer an actively jigged jig and other times they will or won't bite either. One just needs to experiment. I usually start off actively jigging one rod and dead sticking the other rod and see which one works. Also, you just need a small piece of minnow. Larger pieces sometimes won't get bit and they will decrease hook sets.
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What is your experience using minnows for rainbows? How do you rig them on your jig and where is the best place to buy them?
Thanks,
Justin
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I find that tubes work the best for me. either in white or green. Tip them with some of the baits already mentioned. I also like an ice fly tipped with bait with a flasher tied on above.
The most important factor in success for me is what depth the fish are at. If you do not have depth finder get one. It will be well worth your investment.
There are many people at this site that have a great deal of experience. Check the archives.
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Fuzz and I trap our minnow/shiners but Sportsman's has both chub minnow and red side shiners to buy most of the time.
If I'm not using a tube, simply the jig,, a great part of the time I use half a shiner for smaller trout like Bows and Cuts. If there a chance of a good fish, 5-6lbs+, I'll use a whole minnow and rig it by hooking it up through the head and loop the fishing line around its tail so it hangs head down while dead sticking. Other times I avoid the tail loop if I intend to jig the minnow..
If I'm using a tube I try and fit most of the shiner inside the tubes and a jig hook,, head first..
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I always had good luck with a ratso or ratfinkee tipped with a wax worm. Also Swedish pimple tipped with grub works well also.
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You shove the minnow inside the tube?
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"Shove the minnow inside?", no.
If the minnow is small enough I thread it on the jig hook and slip it inside the tube, and it depends on what size tube I'm using and what species I'm fishing for.. Also understand I dont buy my tubes, I create them in lots of sizes and shapes which affords me the ability to do things commercially bought tubes wont.. ..
More often than not I thread the shiner onto the hook leaving the tail of the minnow exposed amoung the tassles of the tube.. When a minnow is used in this fashion the minnow is use more as a scent attractant than "bait".
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