11-05-2005, 12:12 AM
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]The ice fishing season is getting close so I thought it wouldn’t hurt for us to share some of our ice fishing techniques. What are some of your favorite ice fishing jigs/baits?[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]If you have some other ice fishing tips that you have learned over the years feel free to share those as well.[/size][/font]
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[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Here’s a list of some of mine. I’ll include some other tips that I have learned latter.[/size][/font]
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[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Tube jigs – I probably catch more fish through the ice on tube jigs than anything else. I mostly use tubes that are 1 1/2” - 2” long. I normally insert 1/16 oz or 1/32 oz tube jig heads. The weight depends on how fast I want it to sink. I have found that the lighter colors are normally most effective. Some of my favorite colors are plain white, white/red, white/purple and combinations of those colors with clear tails. I have also found the jigs that glow or have glitter are as good if not better than the plain jigs.[/size][/font]
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[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Ice flies – Most of my ice flies are 3/4" to 1 1/2" long. Almost all of my ice flies include flashabou, crystal flash or something similar. Many of my ice flies also include marabou (mostly white and chartreuse) and/or rubber legs (thin).[/size][/font]
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[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Plain hooks or jig heads tipped with bait. I found a #12 red hook tied on the same line as a jig particularly effective this last winter.[/size][/font]
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[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Where it is legal I tip almost all of my jigs and lures with bait when ice fishing. I have found that some days putting a new piece of bait on every few minutes and/or putting different scent attractants on my jig can make a substantial difference in the number of bites I get. Last year I found the gulp baits to work as well if not better than the natural/live baits on a couple trips but most of the time the natural baits worked best for me. I will continue to test gulp and keep in my tackle box as a back up. The natural baits I use most are night crawlers, mealworms and wax worms. The bait that works best seems to depend on the day and place I’m fishing.[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]I bought 1000 meal worms online last year. I might have saved about $20 buying them online instead of local and I’m still trying to decide if buying them online is worth it.[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Below is a picture I took last year that includes some of the things I use while ice fishing.[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]![[Image: gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=7528]](http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=7528)
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[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]If you have some other ice fishing tips that you have learned over the years feel free to share those as well.[/size][/font]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"] [/font][/size]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Here’s a list of some of mine. I’ll include some other tips that I have learned latter.[/size][/font]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"] [/font][/size]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Tube jigs – I probably catch more fish through the ice on tube jigs than anything else. I mostly use tubes that are 1 1/2” - 2” long. I normally insert 1/16 oz or 1/32 oz tube jig heads. The weight depends on how fast I want it to sink. I have found that the lighter colors are normally most effective. Some of my favorite colors are plain white, white/red, white/purple and combinations of those colors with clear tails. I have also found the jigs that glow or have glitter are as good if not better than the plain jigs.[/size][/font]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"] [/font][/size]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Ice flies – Most of my ice flies are 3/4" to 1 1/2" long. Almost all of my ice flies include flashabou, crystal flash or something similar. Many of my ice flies also include marabou (mostly white and chartreuse) and/or rubber legs (thin).[/size][/font]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"] [/font][/size]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Plain hooks or jig heads tipped with bait. I found a #12 red hook tied on the same line as a jig particularly effective this last winter.[/size][/font]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"] [/font][/size]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Where it is legal I tip almost all of my jigs and lures with bait when ice fishing. I have found that some days putting a new piece of bait on every few minutes and/or putting different scent attractants on my jig can make a substantial difference in the number of bites I get. Last year I found the gulp baits to work as well if not better than the natural/live baits on a couple trips but most of the time the natural baits worked best for me. I will continue to test gulp and keep in my tackle box as a back up. The natural baits I use most are night crawlers, mealworms and wax worms. The bait that works best seems to depend on the day and place I’m fishing.[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]I bought 1000 meal worms online last year. I might have saved about $20 buying them online instead of local and I’m still trying to decide if buying them online is worth it.[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Below is a picture I took last year that includes some of the things I use while ice fishing.[/size][/font]
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