The Preservation of Life
By John Peterson with Noel Vick
The popular rock band U2
dared to write and perform a song titled, “Even Better than the
Real Thing.” Obviously, Bono – the quartet’s eclectic front-man –
intended the ditty for some drop-dead gorgeous maiden; certainly
not ice fishing paraphernalia.
But unlike rock and roll,
in the icy world of bait buckets and jiggle sticks, nothing’s
better than the real thing.*
Now
don’t bother skimming to the bottom of the story looking for an
asterisk and explanation, because we’ll clear the matter straight
away. To explicate, nothing’s better than live bait, so
long as it’s presented properly.
Unadulterated, live bait,
be it minnows or maggots, needs no assistance to tempt fish. We’re
the ones who muck it up, sometimes, seemingly, going out of our
way to ruin a good thing. We grossly mismatch hook size to bait;
incorporate bobbers that are far too large and buoyant; thread
bait on so haphazardly that even less discriminate species like
pike raise an eyebrow.
So it’s match the hatch
this, match the hatch that. We’re all sick of trout fishing’s snub
axiom, aren’t we? But notwithstanding its triteness, the saying
warrants merit, especially beneath the ice where water often
demonstrates looking glass qualities.
Clarity is one issue,
lethargy another. Icy water retards the activities of most
freshwater fishes. Some are less affected than others, i.e. trout
and whitefish, but none are foraging and metabolizing at high
rates.
And when clarity is
combined with lethargy the sum is scrutiny. Fish move slower, see
better, and turn decidedly analytical. They approach bait with the
inquisitiveness of a laboratory scientist, thoroughly glassing the
subject matter, in this case, a minnow or maggot.
So in consideration of the
challenging atmosphere we fish, it’s sensible to employ live bait,
the real McCoy. In the summer, when fish are hotter and water’s
darker, an all-artificials approach is reasonable, particularly
when pursuing temperate fishes like bass and bluegills. But now,
in the winter, it’s nearly impossible to prosper without bait.
Although at times, certain swimming and flash lures can be fished
without accompaniment.
Assuming that live bait is
in order, the obvious next move is to select varieties of edibles
– not matching the hatch but matching the species: An assortment
of minnows for walleyes, bass, and northern pike; minnows and
maggots for panfish, including bluegills and crappies, as well as
perch; minnows – live and dead – for lakers; minnows and grubs for
stream-going trout, such as browns and brookies.
Sizing bait to the bite is
equally as crucial. “They won’t hit the wrong size,” says
Northland Tackle Pro Brian “Bro” Brosdahl. “Having too large a
presentation is the worst offense. Fish will either ignore it
completely or just peck away at it and never get hooked.”
For this expressed reason,
Bro carries an assortment of live bait. Experience has taught him
to arrive prepared for wide-ranging fish tempers and appetites. “I
can speculate about what they’ll want, but fish are as
unpredictable as they are consistent.”
For example, when
targeting walleyes, Bro totes both minnows and grubs. (Yes grubs.
Ice anglers have come to realize that walleyes will slurp waxies
and maggots in times when minnows go unnoticed.)
“I travel with at least a
couple different types of minnows too,” says Bro. “Shiners are
great for float and bare hook presentations, not to mention
deadsticking. But I bring fatheads or rainbows for jigging.
Sometimes, it’s a smaller fathead beneath a float that flips their
switch. Sometimes it’s a ball of maggots on a tiny jigging spoon.
You just can never tell.”
Beyond offering the right
variety and size of minnow, the overall ‘plate presentation’ must
also have appeal. That means transporting the bait to a precise
depth with the right look. And that look comes in many
forms.
To really appreciate this
notion of bait-aesthetics, conventional thinking must be altered.
Instead of considering live bait an ornament or dressing for a
lure, like a minnow head on a spoon, one must think of the bait as
the primary component and everything else – lure and additives –
an accessory to it.
A slip-float system
provides the best illustration. Let’s pick on walleyes again.
Imagine the goal is to deliver a medium golden shiner a foot from
the bottom. It’s quite deep, maxing at 20-feet, and the water
wears a tannic hue. So you’ll want to combine realism to ignite
the strike with magnetism, the power to summon fish.
A #6 bait-holding hook
notched just behind and beneath the dorsal fin yields a natural
look with an unobtrusive but loaded hooking capacity. Depending on
actual minnow size and overall fish aggressiveness, you might
upsize to a #4 or downsize to a #8.
Said surgical-hooking
permits the minnow to swim freely and appear natural. Those are
attributes at short range, when a walleye’s deciding whether to
eat or pass. But to attract fish in deep and dark water,
accentuation is in order.
Bro is big on visible
allure, especially glow. Times are rare when he doesn’t apply
phosphorescence somehow, somewhere. In the case of bobber fishing
and deadsticking, he expects glow to draw fish in, but all the
while not dissuade potential takers at close range either.
“Sometimes, the glow and
bait can’t be one. It’s overkill. So to get the best of both
worlds, I put a little glow on the line, just above the hook,”
says Bro.
Bro pinches the suitable
amount of Northland Hot-Spot Split Shot – glow version – 2 to 3
inches above the hook. He’s taken the weight, which normally has
no visual appeal, and made it the attractor. And the garnishment
has no influence on the minnow’s physical appeal.
A similar but even more
intense effect is imparted with a Northland Fire-Light Glow Stick.
Bro installs one of the miniature Kailume-powered glow sticks
between two shot. (The sticks are packaged with a rubber grommet
that both threads onto the line and holds the tiny torch.)
Live bait enhancement can
also be achieved audibly. With the same shot in place, but spaced
ever so slightly, Bro will pin between them a Northland Buck-Shot
Rattle Bead. The rattling bead broadcasts when the minnow swims
violently or the rig is jigged. And again, the appearance of the
bait is unadulterated.
The combinations and
applications are endless, restricted only by our mind's eye. The
ultimate purpose, regardless of the species at hand, is to tender
a presentation that attracts attention but at the same instance
maintains its natural zeal. And in 2003, with tools unimaginable,
it’s simpler than ever before to deliver bait, draw attention, and
dupe fish in unison.
