RIGGING FOR ICE FISHING
By Bob Jensen
Sometimes, as we become more and more adept at fishing, we have a tendency to forget about the very basic things. That’s true in open water and ice-fishing. Sometimes we need to step back and consider the most basic things about fishing, because sometimes, probably most of the time, it’s the basics the put fish on the ice.
Think about how you attach your lure to your line. It usually works best to tie jigs directly to the line, while jigging spoons should be attached with a snap/swivel to avoid line twist.
But, every now and then, do you find yourself attaching a jig to a snap/swivel? Maybe the snap/swivel is already there from a previous trip and we just snap the jig on because it’s quicker to do so.
Or maybe we’ve been fishing with a spoon and decided to try a jig, but our fingers are cold and we don’t want to re-tie so we just snap the jig on. Either way, we’re ignoring the basics. We should keep as much hardware off the line as possible. If you don’t need the snap/swivel, take it off. It will cost you strikes.
How you present the bait is a very important consideration. In deep water, sensitivity and hook-setting capabilities are critical. When they know they’ll be fishing deep water, many anglers go with 10/4 or 14/6 FireLine. FireLine has no stretch, so it is extremely sensitive and provides excellent hooksets.
However, FireLine has a little more visibility than monofilament. Some folks think that mono will spook the fish less, so they prefer to have their lure tied to monofilament. They spool their reel with FireLine, then tie a small swivel to the end of the FireLine.
To the swivel they tie about an eighteen inch piece of Micro Ice or Cold Weather Trilene, or Vanish fluorocarbon line. These lines are nearly invisible, so when your lure is attached to them, the lure looks very natural and prevents spooking the fish.
With this rigging, if you’re using a spoon, you will probably still want to tie just a snap to your line, not the snap/swivel. The swivel that you used t
connect the FireLine to the mono will still prevent line
twist.
There are lots of other rigging basics that we need to remember when ice-fishing.
For perch, crappies, and bluegills, two to four, maybe six pound test line
is the choice: For walleyes, maybe six but usually eight pound test will
usually be a good selection.
Remember that smaller sizes will usually produce when the
fish are finicky: Larger is better when they want to bite, and never forget
to experiment.
If you keep these basics in mind, you’re going to be a more successful
ice-angler.
For more fish-catching information, visit fishingthemidwest.com
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