Tungsten jigs have taken the ice fishing market by storm. This is for good reason, tungsten is heavier than lead and that means you can get more weight in less jig. This makes for a faster drop to the fish, a more compact profile and an increased versatility in what you can rig on these jigs. Along with the tungsten jig, the plastic industry has exploded right with the tungsten market. In addition to being highly versatile, presenting in multiple ways and successfully imitating aquatic invertebrates, or bugs, they just plain catch fish!
Match the Hatch
How many times have we heard this as anglers? Well let’s say it once more. “Matching the hatch” means you are using a bait that best imitates the natural forage fish are feeding on. In early summer, this is most likely minnow species as eggs begin to hatch and fry begin to move among their new home.
In winter, these minnows and other baitfish have grown to sizes that are often too large for even the largest bluegill and perch. Often times, panfish such as yellow perch, bluegill, crappie and yellow bass will all be keying on the aquatic bugs floating helplessly in the water in-front of them. These easy meals do not quickly flee their predators as a smaller baitfish would and take very little effort on the fish’s part to catch.
A small tungsten jig and a plastic is the perfect imitator. When matching the hatch is your goal, natural colors such as brown, red and dark oranges are the best options. Another good way to match the hatch is fly jigs in natural colors. Fly jigs imitate inverts very well with the hair moving a lot. The tungsten fly and bullfly jigs from VMC do a very good job with natural colors, but you can also catch fish on the flashy and glow colors. This does not have to apply to just bugs. In certain lakes, you can also successfully imitate small minnows and other baitfish. Once you have pinpointed what the fish are keying on, you can successfully imitate these baits and catch more fish.
Fish Fast or Slow it Down
One of the mistakes anglers often make when they are fishing plastics is thinking they are finesse fishing. Yes, plastics make an excellent finesse bait, but they can be aggressive too. Veteran panfish angler, Chris Seylar, is the one responsible for introducing me to the success plastics can produce. The Clam Maki is one of the best options for fishing aggressively and Seylar agrees. “The Maki is just plain a really good bait,” he says. “You can catch a lot of fish on one single plastic and most have very good appendages that move with the slightest of movements.”
Slightly larger than many other panfish plastics, the Maki comes in an assortment of colors and is an excellent option for crappie, perch or aggressive bluegill. These baits can be fished aggressively and be just enough to tempt these panfish of any sizes. Top colors are white, pink and red.
These are not the only option. Seylar deploys a wide selection to stay on top of what the fish prefer. “The new Euro Tackle plastics are really good for crappies and the smaller profile ones are an excellent option for bluegill,” he says. He shares a valid point, you can often target different species just by changing plastics.
Overall, crappie and perch are going to prefer the larger plastics. These larger baits are great options for fishing aggressively for all panfish. However, if you are looking to target bluegill specifically or the fish are acting finicky, downsizing will often result in success.
I have found one of the top options for coaxing biters is taking a Trigger X Moustache Worm with one of the “arms” or “tails”, whatever you want to call them, pulled off. This creates a firm body to get a good grasp on the hook and a small tail just barely moving right at the hook point. In this situation, those same natural colors are often the best option.
Rigging Up
The greatest benefit to fishing with plastics is the ability to make changes. If you go with live bait, you are often reducing yourself to wax worms, spikes, small minnows or minnow heads. Sure, cooked shrimp from the seafood section at the local grocery store is the best bait many anglers aren’t using, but you are still reduced to less than a half dozen options.
In the growing plastic market, you have hundreds, if not thousands of options. These plastics come in various sizes, profiles and colors. You can experiment with various baits until you find what the fish prefer. If they absolutely will not bite, then it is the time to downgrade to live bait.
Another benefit to plastics is they are very wallet friendly. These baits are very durable and can survive accidentally being left outside in the freezing temperatures, which cannot be said about a can of formerly wiggling waxies or spikes. Not only do you get more fish per bait, a late-season sale can keep you stocked up for seasons to come. The prices of each bait can also vary.
For presentation, the right jig is critical to success with plastics. Both Seylar and myself are big believers that hook size is the number one factor in picking your plastic’s partner in crime. “The Clam Drop Kick jig is my favorite jig for plastics,” Seylar says. “It has a little longer hook and that really helps in increasing your hook up percentage.” He makes an excellent point, the more hook point you have exposed, the better your hooking percentage is going to be. Plastics are not like wax worms or spikes, you need some hook exposed to seal the deal.
The knot you tie also has a critical role in the success of your bait. The number one mistake anglers make when using plastics on a horizontal jig is not using a horizontal jig. Wait a minute, what? A horizontal jig is a horizontal jig right? Not quite. Ideally, you want your bait fishing at a 180 degree angle. This is the most natural and the best chance at a hook up. When fighting a fish, after various jigging techniques or just plain rebaiting your knot can slide up on the jig’s eyelet. This results in a bait that does not sit perfectly horizontal in the column and can be a major turn off to fish. To prevent this, always slide your knot back towards the hook point before you drop down. This will make sure you are always fishing effectively.
A growing trend in the ice fishing world is the loop knot. The loop knot is becoming more and more popular to ice anglers to use. “Not only is it easy to tie, but it gives a little bit different movement than your typical knot” says Seylar. “The loop lets the jig move more freely than your normal knots used for ice fishing. This can be a big help during a finicky bite and also gives fish a different look which always helps.”
The greatest aspect of plastics is they can produce every day on the water. Whether you are faced with a tough bite that fish need coaxed into taking the bait or the fishing is so fast you want to get back down as quickly as possible plastics are a perfect choice. Match the hatch, fish fast and you are going to have a fun day on the water! Good fishing!
Related Videos
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