Being raised in the south, ice fishing was one of the “exotic” activities I always wanted to try as a youngster. So when my wife and I relocated to northwest Wyoming I couldn’t wait for the lake surface to solidify. Ice fishing seemed easy enough, drill a hole, drop a tipped jig through the hole and wait. This is true enough on those days when the fish are feeding aggressively but too often the fish were very lethargic. The strikes seemed so light that I couldn’t tell if the wind or a fish was causing the movement in my rod tips.
Ice Fishing is Different from Other Types of Fishing
Fishing for panfish during warmer months is generally simple and productive once the prolific schools are located. Normally aggressive warm water feeding and defensive behavior makes detecting strikes and hooking the fish relatively easy. The cold water temperature of ice fishing however makes these otherwise aggressive panfish lethargic. Their feeding behavior changes making strikes generally light and harder to detect.
When I first got started ice fishing the predominant technique I noticed being used was to tie on a weighted jig, tip it with a mealworm or night crawler and lower it to the bottom and wait. I quickly caught on and started emulating this technique. Some days my catch rate per strike was quite high. Other days it seemed impossible to hook even a very low percentage of the strikes. It didn’t take long for the wheels to start turning and things to start falling in place.
A Different Rig was the Answer
I started experimenting every time I went out, trying to find something the fish would hold onto longer and more securely. The first modification was to lighten the weight of the jigs I used. While this was definitely the answer for trout, the yellow perch, crappie and sunfish still seemed more reluctant than I would have liked to hold onto the jig and bait.
Next I went to a nearly weightless hard-bodied ice fly, tipped with bait suspended below split shot. My catch rate improved immediately and this seemed to be the answer. On a following day it seemed all I could do was bait my fly and feed the fish. A fellow angler let me borrow his underwater camera and the problem became obvious. The fish were chewing on my free-floating bait and the split shot above was masking the strike.
A few days later the light went on over my head and a quick modification solved the problem. Using the same basic design of a time tested rig commonly used in crappie fishing and soft-bodied ice fly I began to hook and land the light-biting yellow perch on subsequent fishing trips on the ice.
The Rig Design
Crappies, at any time of the year, are notorious for being light biters. This feeding habit long ago inspired the design of what is known as a crappie rig. A " crappie rig " consists of one or two twisted wire “T’s” with leader and hook suspended from a mainline and weighted from below. The weight below keeps the mainline taught making even the lightest bite detectable from above. Using the this design works just as effectively for ice fishing. Given that we’re fishing through a 6-inch hole the excess hardware is eliminated.
- Start by threading the fly approximately 8 inches up the fishing line. Make an overhand loop knot with the fly suspended on the loop. Position this knot ¼ inch from the eye of the fly and tighten it securely.
- Make a second overhand loop knot 1-1 ½ inches from the eye of the fly. Pull the second knot tight by pulling on the mainline and tag end.
- Next tie a single overhand knot in the tag end of the line 1 ½-2 inches from the second loop knot.
- Tie another overhand knot ¼ inch further down the tag end of the line and clip the excess line.
- Pinch a split shot between the knots on the tag end of the line and you’re ready to fish.
See the photos for a look at the completed rig.
I’ve found that using this rig with just enough weight to get the fly to the bottom is best. Any excess weight, though making the strikes a bit more obvious to the angler, discourages the fish from holding the jig for a longer time. The same principal applies to the fly as opposed to a weighted jig. The neutral buoyancy of the fly and bait more closely imitates what the fish are accustomed to feeding on.
Next time you’re on the ice and the panfish are biting light, give this crappie style rig a try. You might be surprised at the increase in your catch rate.
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