How To Use Ice Fishing Jigs
Your tackle box should contain the most essential of all lures – an Ice Fishing Jig. The proper jigging method for freshwater fish needs to be understood if you are going to catch some big fish situated in the northern lakes. If your jigging is all wrong you can expect little or no bites of fish, even if the area is busy.
When you use an Ice Fishing Jig an important thing to remember is that success all comes down to the movement of the lure, what bait you use on the jig and also the action you to use to attract fish to bite. Although it is optional, most ice fishermen like to use bait of one kind or another be it bait, larva, a maggot, prescented plastic bait or if there is no live bait available using bits of fresh or frozen minnow which works well.
Finding out the best jig action for attracting the fish is the next step. The Ice Fishing Jigs were designed particularly to imitate the movement of bait fish as it moves up and down in the water, around the level where fish are feeding. If you have a depth finder or a fish locator these will help you set the jig at the correct distance from the bottom up. You should then bounce the jig one or two feet off the bottom, pausing for about twenty to thirty seconds, then jig again. You should try different jigging rhythms until you find one that works, and then the fish will start feeding.
Another method for using the jig is “thrumming” where you move it side to side. You rapidly move the rod tip back and forth so that the jig moves horizontally. The lure will move about one to three inches sideways whilst at the same time bobbing up and down. For this motion, the ice fishing jigs that work best are contoured type or the hard bodied jigs with a baited hook.
To get depth control of jigs, using bobbers are very effective. If you have already landed a fish or got one to bite at a certain depth, you can then jig either side from before for about one or two feet so get maximum coverage of the area. You must stay with the allowance given for the number of lines on the body of water where you are fishing. There are distance regulations that you must follow if you are using tip-ups. Fishing regulations mostly specify that all your tip-ups must be in a clear line of vision for you to see them in the water.
