Is that really attractive?

[Matador]

When I ice fish I like to use attracters. I use a Kastmaster that I have taken the hooks off of. I put the attracter about 10 inches above my bait. I am not going to say that they are great for actually attracting fish because I'm not sure that they work as well as we would hope. But, I do think that a Kastmaster(or something similar) serves another very important purpose, and that is to provide some weight. When you have a bait that is not very heavy, such as an ice fly, then it is real hard to know for sure what your bait is doing. The nature of ice fishing means that it is very cold. This means that your line is extra stiff, and other gear as well, you are wearing gloves, the hole is freezing over, and maybe your fingers are less than warm. And if you are like me your finger are less sensative when they are cold. All of this means that very light baits are harder to work with through the ice. Adding a heavy attracter makes is easier to get your bait to the right depth quicker and more surely. The only gotcha is that you have to be careful when lowering your bait so that the line doesn't get tangled because your attracter sunk faster than your bait. Also, if you are fishing near the bottom, it is so much easier to know when your bait is actially on the bottom when you use a heavier attracter. So, I use an attracter more for the usefulness of its weight than it ability to draw in more fish. And it has worked well for me.

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