ICE FISHING UTAH

[TubeDude]

Great info there Pat, and it sounds like I'm basically doing the right things, if I can find them...  Sounded like dead sticking may be the better option for cats under the ice if I read correctly through your comments... I've been using a jig/flig combo tandem set up for perch that has done fairly well... Sounds like it might work for the cats as well... So I'll try that next trip and put it on my bait feeder reel/ rod.  Thanks again Pat.... Later Jeff

One more observation I forgot to add.  Most of the bites from ice cats are definitely not like they hit in the summer...grab and go.  On an ice rod a lot of the cat bites I have had are no more than from a sneaky little perch...peck - peck.  And a lot of them are not a real bite as much as just taking hold and sinking slowly back down to the bottom...pulling the rod tip slowly and steadily down.  Weird.

On a couple of the videos I watched a while back I noticed the same thing.  They were rigging with a brightly colored float on the line...between the guides.  They allowed it to settle down when the rod was set.  Then, when a cat came calling the colored float would slowly pull up as the line tightened.

So I guess what I am saying is that you gotta pay attention as much or more as you would for any finicky biting fish.  Don't wait for a smashing strike.