01-27-2004, 01:42 AM
[cool][blue][size 1]Hey, fishluvr, Teroy summed it up. You have to be prepared, on any given day, to fish how the fish want it. And even from one hour to the next, that can change. [/size][/blue]
[#0000ff][size 1]The best example is a typical day on the Berry. You get there early and find fish shallow...and hungry. They hit whatever you drop...however you jig it. When the light level (and the noise level from other fishermen) increases, the fish move out deeper...or down the shoreline. You then have to find them all over again. Maybe they are suspended at 20 feet over 30 feet of water. Maybe they are on the bottom in 25 feet. More importantly, are they now in a neutral or negative mode, and not hitting the same kind of active jigging you used earlier?[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]There is no standard "always works" lures or techniques. The experienced ice fisherperson goes armed with an assortment of different lures...of different sizes, actions and colors. It also pays to have more than one kind of bait to tip the jigs. On some days they definitely seem to prefer one over anything else.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]Like yourself, I have found that the "do nothing" approach can sometimes be more productive than active jigging. On other trips, the more action you give it, the more strikes you get. You have to use your best judgment on a place to start and then if you aren't getting bites, keep changing around until you get bit. [/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]Of course, without a sonar, you don't know whether you are fishing where the fish are or not. If you do have a sonar, you can be frustrated and insulted when you see all those fish and still can't get bit.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]It ain't an exact science. That's what makes it fun for most people. The days when it all comes together are the days you remember when you are standing out there catching nothing but a cold.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]Back on the subject of the dart heads, they are simply one more arrow in your quiver. Try them when nothing else is working, and work them different ways. Cain't hurt nothin'...and sometimes gets fish when nobody else is scorin'. Yee haw.[/size][/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff][size 1]The best example is a typical day on the Berry. You get there early and find fish shallow...and hungry. They hit whatever you drop...however you jig it. When the light level (and the noise level from other fishermen) increases, the fish move out deeper...or down the shoreline. You then have to find them all over again. Maybe they are suspended at 20 feet over 30 feet of water. Maybe they are on the bottom in 25 feet. More importantly, are they now in a neutral or negative mode, and not hitting the same kind of active jigging you used earlier?[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]There is no standard "always works" lures or techniques. The experienced ice fisherperson goes armed with an assortment of different lures...of different sizes, actions and colors. It also pays to have more than one kind of bait to tip the jigs. On some days they definitely seem to prefer one over anything else.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]Like yourself, I have found that the "do nothing" approach can sometimes be more productive than active jigging. On other trips, the more action you give it, the more strikes you get. You have to use your best judgment on a place to start and then if you aren't getting bites, keep changing around until you get bit. [/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]Of course, without a sonar, you don't know whether you are fishing where the fish are or not. If you do have a sonar, you can be frustrated and insulted when you see all those fish and still can't get bit.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]It ain't an exact science. That's what makes it fun for most people. The days when it all comes together are the days you remember when you are standing out there catching nothing but a cold.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]Back on the subject of the dart heads, they are simply one more arrow in your quiver. Try them when nothing else is working, and work them different ways. Cain't hurt nothin'...and sometimes gets fish when nobody else is scorin'. Yee haw.[/size][/#0000ff]
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