Muskie Matt
03-07-2011, 10:35 AM
Our 10/11 gamefish season wrapped up yesterday, We've chalked up yet another season of plying the waters of northern Wisconsin, eh?
I actually put up my tip-ups a week or so ago in favor of searching out some crappies n gills. I always forget how much fun panfish through the ice can be, I love those nice late season days watching a Vex and finding what the fish want. The crappies n gills were on a good bite a while back but near the end of last week the action slowed considerably. You had to really fiddle with your jig presentation to intice a hit. And, I mean really work to find the action they wanted, but with some persistance we caught fish.
I find the most common action on a jig that will produce fish, when they're active, is a slow "wave". Just a slow, inch or two, up n down movement of the rod then hold still as the *marks on the Vex come together. I usually fish this way anywhere from 2-5ft off bottom in 12-20ft of water using either spikes or waxies on small jigs. How these fish prefer a jig worked does change, and quite frequently. Always experiment if you're watching marks on the Vex come up then slowly drift back down towards bottom without a hit. For me, finding what they want is the fun part of panfishing through the ice, it's a hoot, and just amazing what it'll take sometimes to make em' hit a jig.
Remember, we know mobility is key, so punch a load of holes and find your action. Most the time once you find some action you can stay in a generally small area and work your fish.
Good luck and be safe out there this late ice season!
I actually put up my tip-ups a week or so ago in favor of searching out some crappies n gills. I always forget how much fun panfish through the ice can be, I love those nice late season days watching a Vex and finding what the fish want. The crappies n gills were on a good bite a while back but near the end of last week the action slowed considerably. You had to really fiddle with your jig presentation to intice a hit. And, I mean really work to find the action they wanted, but with some persistance we caught fish.
I find the most common action on a jig that will produce fish, when they're active, is a slow "wave". Just a slow, inch or two, up n down movement of the rod then hold still as the *marks on the Vex come together. I usually fish this way anywhere from 2-5ft off bottom in 12-20ft of water using either spikes or waxies on small jigs. How these fish prefer a jig worked does change, and quite frequently. Always experiment if you're watching marks on the Vex come up then slowly drift back down towards bottom without a hit. For me, finding what they want is the fun part of panfishing through the ice, it's a hoot, and just amazing what it'll take sometimes to make em' hit a jig.
Remember, we know mobility is key, so punch a load of holes and find your action. Most the time once you find some action you can stay in a generally small area and work your fish.
Good luck and be safe out there this late ice season!