Pie dinner

[Springbuck1]

Size 14 fly hooks are bigger than a wax worm. A size 8 ratfinkee for example is just about the same size as a 14 jig hook. I have no idea why fly hooks sizes are different than regular jigs but they are. I use spikes when I need to downsize to 18s. Using jig hooks and beads I get a 45 degree to almost horizontal hang angle. I also find the jigs work better after the waxie has been chomped a bit and what is left flutters like a tail. I also carry tungsten jigs to use with waxies. I tie them with a snell knot if I want a horizontal hang. Google it to see how to tie it.

I let the fish tell me what they want that day.

Oh, I know a 14 is bigger, (unless you got the fattest worms ever), but the point was if you take this beautiful nymph imitation fly, and hook on a waxie, you basically changed the profile AND doubled the size.  So what does it imitate now? 

 One year I went as far as to tie some experimental flies, with bright bead and some hackle onto some tiny jig hooks, probably sz 16. , and I bought some Berkley Gulp Maggots.  The idea was to literally have a fly with no body, no dubbing, etc...... and use the Gulp maggot as the body!  Clever, I thought, but I don't remember catching much on them.  I was hoping the Mantua bluegills would smash 'em. 

 I know how to tie a couple snell knots, and doing that to keep them horizontal makes sense.

"I let the fish tell me what they want that day."  Well, yeah, but some days, they ain't saying much. 

[SkunkedAgain]

I have also tied a fly with a tungsten bead and nothing else, then put the bait on behind, it worked great for me, but I need to learn the snell knot so I can get it to hang more horizontal.... Probably should have tried one of them today, the fish really wanted things down sized... Anyway I'd say don't give up on the less is more idea for ice fishing.... A lot of the time I think the jig is just a bait delivery vehicle.... guess it depends on the day... Later Jeff

[Springbuck1]

I have also tied a fly with a tungsten bead and nothing else, then put the bait on behind, it worked great for me, but I need to learn the snell knot so I can get it to hang more horizontal.... Probably should have tried one of them today, the fish really wanted things down sized... Anyway I'd say don't give up on the less is more idea for ice fishing.... A lot of the time I think the jig is just a bait delivery vehicle.... guess it depends on the day... Later Jeff

It must, Jeff, but the whole thing is weird, and I'll never fish enough to figure it out. 

For instance, I came to icefishing late, about 18 years ago, learning primarily from guys on this site.  I remember trying regular worms for perch at PV, and barely getting a bite in three trips, switching to mealworms, getting nothing, buying some waxies, and killing them on my next trip, and using the perch eyes, too.  Of course, I'm learning at the same time about depth and jigs and spring-bobbers, but I'm thinking "wax-worms are the secret". 

Two years later a couple young guys near me are just murdering them, so I go over to make friends.  THEY are using regular worms, on a small hook, with a split-shot 4" above that.  I'm like, "how are they detecting bites with hat sinker in the way?"

[SkunkedAgain]

I know what you're talking about, things are never exactly the same... I have found that the camera can sure help you shorten the learning curve since you can see how the fish are reacting to what you're offering them... For instance, yesterday I was fishing a jig with a fairly big chunk of perch on it. Like maybe 1/2" by 1/2" and the perch were just nibbling it, where a couple days before they would gobble that up... So I cut that down to 1/8" by 1/2" and they went to sucking it down... Not sure I would have figured that out very quick if I wasn't seeing how the fish were acting. They wanted to eat, but didn't want a big meal I guess, other days the small bait will only catch the 5"ers.... And I would prefer not to focus on that size.... So I guess that is part of the fun trying to figure out what to do to earn a bite... Later Jeff

[TubeDude]

In ice fishing, "less is more" is sometimes the best approach.  I still remember a good lesson along those lines I got from ice fishing legend "Pikeman".  Early on that day we had both been catching nice perch at a decent rate.  Then things slowed down.  While I was changing up different jigs and different baits,  without any success, Pikeman began to bring up more perch.   I walked over to his holes and asked what his secret was.  Nice guy that he is he shared.  He had scaled down to a small chartreuse bitty jig and a very small piece of nightcrawler.  I rigged up the same and also started catching more fish. 

There are a couple of things that seem to favor using a smaller offering.  The first is when the fish just go into one of their funky moods and are not actively feeding...but will still sip on something small.  The second is late in the ice season...just before the perch start spawning.  The biggest females are swollen with ripe eggs and have little room in their body cavities for large meals.  At that time they will slurp up small zooplankton (green soup) and will respond better to a small jig and bait offering than a larger one.  As might be expected, the bites on the bitty stuff are very light...so having a spring bobber can increase your catch.  Even the bigger fish often just suck the bait in rather than chomping on it.

[SkunkedAgain]

We’ll said Pat that seems to be the case already this year. Thanks Jeff