01-17-2004, 12:33 AM
At the ice fishing class that was put together at Hooked, it was suggested rather strongly to not use anything except a weighted hook. No attractor! The reason is that when verticle jigging such as icefishing, the fish bite comes from under the hook, moving up to it. When demonstrated, a bite from the bottom will not show any movement in the line or pole unless the fish pushes the hook to the side. The weight of the attractor keeps the line tight while a light bite below the attractor moves the line. This made all kinds of sense, so I have removed all attractors and have been fishing with the hook and bait only. I have caught a lot of fish this winter, the best being at Rockport over the new year holiday. I caught 155 in one day and 52 two days earlier. Don't know how much this technique contributed, but my previous record in any single outing was 64. If the information given out was correct, then you will miss a lot of bites with any kind of weight tied between the pole and hook. But, if what you have been using works, then you know the old saying, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."
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