What gear put in the tackle box??

[ted4887]

Hey guys

As many of you might know, I just recently got into ice fishing (Thanks for that). Well, now that i'm sitting my butt out on the ice, I figure I better know what to tip my line with. I'm just looking for advice on some lures/jigs and plastics to pick up.

I'll figure out where and what to do with them from there.

Any help is going to be hugely appreciated!

[luckycrank]

Icefishing can be a simple or complicated as you would like it to be.

Pick up a varity of jigs suited for the type of fish you prefer to fish for , moon glows, marmooskas , fiskas, ratsos, ratfinkees, shrimpos. just to name a few for panfish. sizes 16 through 10 should cover most panfish. i personally would not step on the ice with out a marmooska jig or fiskas. tipped with spikes

forage minnows, swedish pimples, for perch, crappies and walleye in differant sizes ,and colors small plain hooks(I like red) and small shot under a float set a foot or two above active fish can be deadly at times yet so simple. ask a hundred peple and likley get a hundred diffrent answers. plastics such as gulp alive or little atoms are also great options. there are no magic hooks in my opinion. I'm sure others will argue.

I had times when I swore it had to be the exact hook and five minutes later it had to be a different one. to me confidence is everything once you catch a few nice ones on something I will probally start my next outing with it, if it dont work out keep changing it up till something does.

You'll develope confidence in a few select jigs and plastics suited for your presentation . and eventually end up with a box full of worthless jigs you'll probally never use. as I have. ha ha ! good luck. have fun

[GrizzlyAdams]

I agree with all the selections stated by Luckycrank. I would add Rattlin varmints as well. I like the red ones and have caught a lot of fish with them. Frosties are another good spoon for most species including pannies, crappies, perch and walleyes. Jiggin raps. Darters (I have yet to catch something with these but think these will be better for "up north" fishin). Diamond jigs are excellent jigs for panfish in this area. So many different things to choose from which is why I have so many different things in my tackle boxes. Like luckycrank said boxes full of worthless jigs that rarely ever get used. Lol. But when the bite gets tough it is nice to have a big selection as you can usually find something they will want. I would also suggest getting some cross locks or fas snaps and some smaller swivels. When rigging up jigging spoons I will tye on a swivel and then add about 1.5 - 2 feet of line under it and tye on a cross lock. makes it easier to change spoons quickly and easily and the swivel up away from the jig will help greatly with line twist. Good luck and hope this helps. Get ready to be addicted to the fine art of tackle collecting. Love it.

[Whisker Trout Slayer]

Check out lures by Custom Jigs and Spins. I use their Demons, Gill Pills and Diamond jigs for panfish. There are a couple of other jigs I use for panfish that I don't know the name of or know if they are made anymore. One of them I think was called a Widowmaker.

Alos you have to have different sizes of Jigging Raps.

[ted4887]

Thanks for all the tips guys. I went out today and purchased about 10-15 new jigs, and some gulp alive plastics. I tried it in the open water last year with very limited success, but am hoping for different results this time around.

As far as the jigging raps go.... do you usually tip them with something, or just use them as they are. I've never used them before and am looking for alittle input.

[GrizzlyAdams]

I will do both with the jiggin raps. Sometimes a minnow head or a couple waxies on the bottom treble will help trigger a bite. Just like to add a little meat when they are a little negative. If the fish are aggresive they will hit the jiggin rap without any "meat" also. For me it depends on the mood of the fish.