Tjstebb
01-14-2010, 07:16 PM
Hey guys how the ice up there ? any worries with this warmer weather? We are coming up on Sat. and i have been watching here but have not seen alot lately.
What are you guys finding useful as far as jigs go? We have not been up in a few years but have finally got the chance to make the trip and i am getting real excited to get on the ice! We are looking for eyes of course and just curious what sorta jigs we should bring up we will be both jigging and using tipups,
Thanks everyone,
tjstebb
Ifishok
01-14-2010, 08:41 PM
Ice is pretty good all around, 9-12 inches is most places. I was out wednesday and had no problem going all over on a 3 wheeler. Lots of trucks out, just not yet for me.
Been slow for me, so no jig suggestions!
Tjstebb
01-14-2010, 08:51 PM
Thanks for the info...
tjstebb
WalligatorGetter
01-15-2010, 12:25 AM
I’ve been fishing up north of Gladstone in the Kipling area. There is somewhere in the area of 11-16 inches of ice. I didn’t measure, but I had a tough time reaching the bottom of it with my slush scoop without getting my hands wet. There are lots of trucks out there, but, like the prior poster, not quite enough ice for me yet. There is plenty of ice to support a truck in most places, but the key word there is “most.” I like to have about 18 inches average before I’ll drive out.
As for jigs, the only thing I’ve had any success on so far this year are big, #7 and #9 Jigging raps in bright colors, and fished baitless. There hasn’t been a day this season where I couldn’t get fish to bite these lures. I can’t figure out why, but I can’t even get them to look at any kind of live bait this year, with the exception of putting a minnow head on those same Raps, and I certainly don’t catch any more fish by doing so. I just do it once in a while when the bite is tough to see if it might milk a few more bites – it rarely does. I’ve tried fishing with Pimples and whole minnows, Minnows on dead sticks with an anchor jig, and minnows on a dead stick without the anchor jig. Not to mention that I’ve been fishing with tip-ups and suckers all season and am yet to catch a walleye on one. However, they worked just fine last year.
So, that is what I know. Obviously other people are catching fish on live bait, so I’m sure that it is just me. There is something about the way that I present live bait that the fish just don’t like. Therefore, don’t let my results change your opinion on live bait. Just do what you’re confident in. I think that is my biggest problem. If I don’t have my #9 FireTiger, I simply don’t believe that I am going to catch fish. Yeah, it may sound a bit silly, but confidence is a very important part of fishing.