|
2/08/2002
-
Article/Press
Release
Overcoming Zippered Lips
By
Tommy Skarlis and Chip Leer
Too often,
anglers believe that winter is its own disadvantage. Near
freezing water temperatures slows fish metabolism, resulting in
diminished dining. Lessened appetites demand that we concentrate
on peak feeding periods; present smaller baits with more realism;
offer more meat than metal, and so on. Surely, these are truths,
but we angle anyway. At times, matters worsen. Catalytic fronts
interrupt regular feeding and oppressive high pressure can really
lock jaws. Then, as if we haven’t been challenged enough, arrives
the hated ‘dead of winter’, an interval when oxygen gets scarcer
beneath suffocating snow and fish seemingly fast.
Keep your
chins up, because there are ways to overcome these obstacles.
When life
gives you lemons, make lemonade. And when fish refuse to
cooperate, improvise, and swing momentum in your favor. Here are
a few species-specific tactics used by ON ICE TOUR to conquer
tough bites.
Walleyes & Perch
Ah yes, the
most regal of winter fishes, and their striped cousins. We love
‘em. But despite the walleye’s lurking capabilities and
predacious ways, and the perch’s propensity to taste everything,
they too sometimes get in a funk. To the angler, staring down a
hole, a “fish-funk” manifests as a walleye or perch approaching,
nosing the bait, doing the pectoral backpedal, and swimming away.
Downsizing is
the first solution. Switch from a two-inch long spoon to shorter,
lighter lures. Occasionally, though, a dramatic upsize also spurs
a reaction – experiment with both alternatives.
Depart from
popular ice fishing colors like chartreuse, lime green and
florescent orange, in exchange for earthier hues. Try something
in blue, brown, black, or possibly a crayfish pattern. Sometimes,
traditional and often forgotten minnow-looking metallics get the
job done. Baitfish trimmed – silver and gold – jigging spoons
from Northland Tackle (Forage Minnow and Buckshot Rattle Spoon)
and Lindy (Rattl’r Spoon) perform wonderfully under difficult
conditions.
On the
attraction side, downgrade from shiner and fathead minnows to
crappie minnows – it works. Or execute a dramatic enlargement and
place a sucker minnow under a balanced float. Same goes for
minnows used to tip jigs and spoons, downsize, or scrap the whole
minnow strategy and thread on just a head.
Try pumping a
horizontal lure instead of a conventional, vertical jigging
spoon. Sometimes it’s a change in action, not look, which
triggers strikes. Lindy’s Flyer is a winged, lead headed jig that
glides in smooth, circular motions, and on many occasions it
catches fish when others cannot. The same goes for Northland’s
Mini Airplane jig.
 On
each, affix a lip hooked minnow. But if walleyes and perch only
strip bait, thread the minnow on, running the hook point deep down
the minnow’s throat and out through its back. As a last resort,
add a Northland Sting’r Hook or Lindy Stinger – the supplementary
treble hooks will surely find a hunk of jaw.
Changing from
live bait to an artificial dressing is another improvisational
tool. Instead of a minnow, string a two-inch grub body over the
hook of a swimming jig – Berkley Power Grubs do a fine job. Maybe
it’s the added scent and flavor? Squirt some liquid attractant on
for good measure. We’ve also done well with a Power Grub thread
onto the single hook of a vertical spoon – you might first have to
replace the factory treble with a long shank single hook.
Glow has been
a popular and effective ingredient in the pursuit of walleyes, as
well as perch. Everybody’s using it. Could it be that in some
instances, fish have become conditioned to fear it, gotten used to
seeing it? Well, the next generation of phosphorescent colors –
Northland’s Super-Glo and Lindy’s Techni-Glo – might reopen the
window to luminescence. Extended glow blues, greens, reds,
violets, and bright yellows are available to test this winter.
Panfish
Snapping
panfish – crappies and bluegills – also experience periods of
melancholy, when the world seems bleak and eating is of little
importance. Cheer ‘em up a bit. Do something to make those
petite mouths chew again…
The first
order of business is to make a wholesale change from minnows to
maggots (Eurolarvae), or possibly wax worms. Many of ice
fishing’s leading experts, like Brian “Bro” Brosdahl and Noel
Vick, start and finish the day with maggots. Not minnows, but
maggots. They contest that crappies of all appetites and sizes
willingly snatch maggots, and when the bite’s off, and minnow’s
aren’t working at all, maggots are particularly effective.
Another
recourse is implementing Maggot Math. Begin by covering the hook
with three or four grubs. Drop down to two, then one.
Occasionally, panfish that won’t touch a wad of maggots will
embrace a solitary one. Desperate times call for desperate
measures. If locally available, present nitpickers a freshwater
shrimp or mayfly larva (silver wiggler).
As with
sluggish walleyes, sometimes, excessive stimulation provokes a
strike. Tie on a small jigging spoon and load it with maggots.
Jig it hard, creating a trail of maggot bits and pieces. The
cloud of debris and flashing bait can motivate lethargic fish.
And when confronted with a large school of fish, the mayhem hails
aggressors, which frequently are the biggest members of the pack.
 Test
both vertical and horizontal presentations. Traditionally,
bluegills are associated with horizontal lures, such as the Lindy
Fat Boy and Genz Worm, and crappies vertical ones, like the
Northland Forage Minnow Spoon and Creep Worm. Transpose common
thinking. Show bluegills an up-and-down motion and crappies
something that sashays from side to side.
In utter
destitution we’ve sent down a plain Aberdeen hook with one maybe
two helpless maggots or waxies aboard. Let’s see ‘em ignore
that! The plain hook and bait persuader can be offered on a
dropline, which is a corroboration between a jigging spoon, plain
hook or tiny jig, and morsel of bait. Make one by simply
detaching the treble from a spoon and tying in a short two to six
inch segment of light line (Trilene Micro Ice) and hook or tiny
jig. The spoon provides attraction and weight for rapid descents,
while the smaller snack does the dirty work of getting eaten.
Lessening
overall line visibility is yet another bullet. Drop from six
pound test to four, and four to three or two. Occasionally, in
overly clear and pressured water, panfish become “line shy”,
avoiding all things foreign to their environment. Again, paying
consideration to the fact that fish can become conditioned,
recognizing danger and shunning it. The relatively new ensemble
of fluorocarbon lines, like Berkley Vanish, aim to exterminate
line-shyness through relative invisibility.
Put a blob of
liquid attractant on your panfish lures. Scrap the live bait and
replace it with a soft Micro Power Grub. Or, slip a couple of
Berkley Crappie Nibbles on the hook.
And a final
suggestion, regardless of the species you’re hunting, is to work a
stationary line into the fold. At times, coldwater fish prefer
unpretentious edibles offered on a plain hook and positioned away
from angler disturbances. Consider using tip-ups or Finicky’s
Fish Factories on panfish, perch, and walleyes. Incredibly, some
of the biggest perch and panfish we’ve iced came on setlines.
This winter,
come firing with both barrels until something gives. Don’t
surrender. Rarely, possibly never, are all fish completely locked
up. Modern ice anglers have countless new and proven tools at
their disposal, not to mention an ever increasing stockpile of
information and innovation. The tables are turned in your favor.
Editor’s note:
ON ICE TOUR – cofounded by Chip Leer and Tommy Skarlis – is an
intensive effort aimed at expanding the sport of ice fishing
through instructional articles, seminars, in-store and ice fishing
contest appearances, and one on one exchanges with the public.
Learn more about ON ICE TOUR and the greatest of winter sports at
www.onicetour.com |
