Ice lures, etc.

[Springbuck1]

For years, I thought smaller and slower was usually better for icefishing, but I've learned not to be shy witt perch and trout.  My favorite perch lures are similar to the Northland Forage Minnow, but longer and more banana-shaped, with more weight on the bottom.  Sometimes called rocker-jigs, wobble jigs, banana jigs, or wacky jigs (in salt water, mostly).  I always buy them off Ebay, and the brand varies, but I'll try to post a pic.  For perch, especially when they a really deep like at PV, I learned that getting back down the hole is important!  These can be rested on the bottom, jigged, it's easy to figure out by feel how far off the bottom you are, and for some reason, I can really detect bites, and angle the hook hangs at really promotes good hooksets.  




The other smart thing I did last year was buy a grab bag of these little soft plastics, also on Ebay called "bream Bugs" with long wiggly legs.  They are awesome, because you can snip them shorter and have 9/7/5, or 3 legs, they wiggle and swoop, and I got a 2 oz. grab bag for $5.00 or something.  


I'm not as good a paining as TubeDude, but I learned I can make similar "wobble jigs" by flattening out regular tube-jig heads. This requires some sort of metal rod with a flat end and a hole drilled in the middle that you can place over the hook's eye while you tap the other end of the rod with a hammer. They work, but I wish I could find even smaller jigs.

I loaded up on cheap spoons at Wally's. They had been stocking Castmaster knock-offs for $2.00 in various colors and I've probably bought 12 of them over the last two years in perch, chrome, and fire-tiger colors. Most of them got made into Hali-jig knock-offs, aka chain-spoons using tiny swivels, with a nice thin, sharp octopus or mosquito hook.

I can't always afford the newest stuff, so instead of buying rattle-spoons, I have been threading glass and plastic beads loosely on bits of wire, or with stops right to my line. When I jig them inside a gallon glass jar, you can ear the slight ring as you jig, so they must rattle.

Lastly, hard to describe, but I made some little plastic kites, or hang-gliders, out of soda bottles, that work as little hydro-planes. They install above any jig and make it swim forward in circles or erratic patterns on the drop, like the Tikki-jig or Jiggin' Rap does. It also slows the fall, and makes them take of randomly to the side when lifted. In deep water, the slow fall can be a detriment, but it makes jigging look like something other than bouncing.