12-08-2010, 03:15 PM
I don't believe in miracle lures much, either, and some of them seem pretty silly.
BUT, I had an interesting experience icefishing at UL yesterday. Every Vietnamese guy there was outfishing me with a Sonar lure. I had jigs with WB meat and flashy spoons on. The bite was slow, spread out, and most holes producing one here or there. I was not having much luck.
A nice fellow loaned me a Sonar, so I put it on 6" below a big ice-jig, where I'd had my castmaster. I did what he was doing, letting the Sonar rest on the bottom for a few seconds and then jigging it up kinda fast, letting it settle. Three times in a row, I'd jig it a few times, and a WB would hit the JIG (tipped with WB meat) while the Sonar was resting on the bottom.
Eventually, I gave back his lure and went back to spoons. NOTHING for an hour, while others caught fish 10 feet away..... Then I added some beads above the spoon so they would slide and click together. BINGO, back in business.
So, basically in UL where visibility is short, it seemed the rattle and shake of the sonar was helping fish find my bait. Once located by sound/vibration they could see and smell the bait. I didn't have ANY hit the sonar or the beaded spoon, but I got far fewer bites without them.
I outfished myself 8:1 with a rattle that day.
Another time, maybe something else will be the key, you know?
[signature]
BUT, I had an interesting experience icefishing at UL yesterday. Every Vietnamese guy there was outfishing me with a Sonar lure. I had jigs with WB meat and flashy spoons on. The bite was slow, spread out, and most holes producing one here or there. I was not having much luck.
A nice fellow loaned me a Sonar, so I put it on 6" below a big ice-jig, where I'd had my castmaster. I did what he was doing, letting the Sonar rest on the bottom for a few seconds and then jigging it up kinda fast, letting it settle. Three times in a row, I'd jig it a few times, and a WB would hit the JIG (tipped with WB meat) while the Sonar was resting on the bottom.
Eventually, I gave back his lure and went back to spoons. NOTHING for an hour, while others caught fish 10 feet away..... Then I added some beads above the spoon so they would slide and click together. BINGO, back in business.
So, basically in UL where visibility is short, it seemed the rattle and shake of the sonar was helping fish find my bait. Once located by sound/vibration they could see and smell the bait. I didn't have ANY hit the sonar or the beaded spoon, but I got far fewer bites without them.
I outfished myself 8:1 with a rattle that day.
Another time, maybe something else will be the key, you know?
[signature]