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Hey guys, this will be my first season ice fishing, and I'm working on getting my gear together. I just bought a 24" ultralight berkley lightning-rod-ice, I have over a hundred 1/32 and 1/64oz jigs and a lot of minnow hooks with assorted floats and split shot. In Washington, you are only allowed one line in the water, so tip-ups are out of the question. Is there any special lures/baits other than maggot tipped jigs and minnows that I shouldn't go without? Thanks!
I fish most of the time with a glow hook (red or white) 6-8" under a bead chain or a spoon. Sweedish Pimple works well too. Some times I just use the Sweedish Pimple with out the glow hook. Just put a maggot or white corn on the trebble hook. I catch most all the panfish as well as trout and blueback on this rig. Good luck.....
I would get some plastics for your jigs. I ahve been doing well on Dragnmags from www.lobybaits.com . also custom jigs makes a good plastic called a ratso.
I have got some nice fish this year on berkely 2 inch power minnows.
First thing I would do is to locate another icefisherman to learn from. I believe this not only for the fishing but the knowledge of ice itself. Hard water fishing is my favorite type of fishing, getting excited at the first frosting mornings. BUT I can not stress the danger of doing it alone. I hope I haven't scared you away from icefishing, just don't want anyone to hurt themself.
Tim
I don't plan on going out on the ice until there is plenty of experienced people out there. I'm not a fan of getting wet unintentionally in the summer, during winter it could be pretty unpleasant and a whole lot more dangerous. Thanks for the advice.
One of my favorite rigs is a 1/32 oz tear drop tipped with two spikes. I start with the rig just under the ice and very slowly lower it toward the bottom. Go so slow that you can almost not tell you are moving it. Now just watch for the line to go slack. Any slight bit of slack in the line usually means a speck has inhaled it. This technique is usually used in water 10 feet or less because it is difficult in much deeper water but can still be done. Once you locate the fish just start about 3 - 4 feet over them and work it the same way. Minnows also work very well but I have found this set up to be just as effective and it is easier to rig a couple spikes in real cold weather than it is to hook a minnow.