Jigging for Success

[Dave Barber]

Jigging Spoons for Success... And the Lindy Rattl'n Flyer Spoon

For years, anglers across the Midwest make the pilgrimage to the most well known or talked about frozen tundra for the winter ice fishing season. Some do it as a matter of tradition. Some because their boat is in storage and don't have much else to do. Others fish through an 8 inch hole in sub zero temperatures because it is one of the most challenging ventures with the most exciting rewards available in the winter time.

Ice Fishing has seen an explosion of products in the last dozen or so years. Everything from Shelters, GPS with lake contours, fish finders or flashers, and clothing. Just about everything has been thought of and marketed to keep anglers comfortable on the ice. The advent of electronics provide anglers with knowledge in bodies of water that they are unfamiliar with giving them a much needed sense of confidence. But take all of those items with you without bait, live or artificial, and the only confidence you can have is that you will not be able to land the prizes that sit 20 feet below you.

Jigging through ice is the main topic of this article. But to thoroughly understand what it is we are attempting to do, we need first understand the limitations that surround us.

Almost every presentation during the open water season bears a striking similarity. It is this single similarity that has been the bane of just about every ice angler sitting on a bucket. Trolling, casting, Lindy rigging... each of these techniques provide a horizontal display to the fish that, until recently, has been difficult, if not impossible to imitate in front of a hole drilled through 12 inches of ice. Even baits below a slip bobber rock below the rolling of the waves. Underwater, there are few meals for game fish that are securely rooted to the lake bottom. There is nothing for those fish worth eating that merely moves up and down in a vertical pattern.

Live bait has always been a favorite of the ice angler. A sucker, shiner, crappie minnow... attached by a hook or jig to the dorsal fin provide an attractive, and more importantly, horizontal display to the roaming predator. The movement created by those live baits serve as a dinner bell to those passing by. This same situation occurs naturally with wounded fish. As if by instinct, predators have the uncanny ability to sense the struggling of their awaited dinner. Again, Live bait is a tried and true method for catching fish. But how do we take an artificial lure and create a presentation that looks real and irresistible to those waiting trophies? We need to examine exactly what it is that the live presentation is providing.

Imagine for a moment that you are looking at the lucky escapee of a missed dinner. The energy of that minnow has all but been depleted. All that is left is the ability for sharp and short bursts to dart away. After a short burst... a slight flutter back as it sinks back deeper. The energy exerted does not allow it swim to safer shallows. The minnow struggles to keep itself upright or swim accurately in any specific direction. The swimming motions, darting, and fluttering all act as natures dinner bell to any natural predators in the area lucky enough to hear it.

Now, most of this is painfully obvious. Tackle companies have struggle every year to come up with new concepts to mimic this very situation. Walk into any bait shop or sports store and you will see walls covered with spoons of every size, color, graphic as well as maybe a few cool logos meant to snatch a few unwary fisherman. Shapes, sizes and colors are very important when selecting a lure. Differing lakes or conditions can and does dictate why some game fish will prefer different varieties. But until recently, none of the tackle on those walls has been able to compensate for that number 1 limitation of horizontal and life like presentation that can turn a good day of fishing into a fantastic one.

Lindy Legendary Fishing Tackle released a revolutionary new ice fishing spoon for the 2007/2008 ice season that mimics about every life-like motion that an injured baitfish will display. The Rattl'n Flyer Spoon is the ONLY spoon on the market that can boast about the ability to mimic nearly all of those wounded baitfish characteristics.

From Lindy:

The Rattl'n Flyer Spoon is a lethal break-through jigging spoon hybrid! This new spooner's delight adds Lindy's traditional Flyer's long-proven gliding design to the popular vertical jigging spoon concept—with six fantastic color choices and an extra-loud attention-grabbing brass rattle.

Non-lead alloy construction gives the Rattl'n Flyer Spoon perfect weight balance. It's light enough to shimmer, dance, dart, or fly; yet heavy enough for the "feel" and downward momentum skilled spooners prefer. No need to use a swivel as this spoon does not spin on the "drop"! This active lure is a free spirit that still obeys rod-tip commands!

All sizes and colors feature Bleeding Bait round-bend red treble hooks, holographic/foil finish with lifelike prey fish scale pattern, and irresistible Techni-Glo eyes!

Some jigging spoons out there may be able to produce some of the features that the Rattl'n Flyer Spoon does. But the Flyer's ability to flutter out approximately 3 feet from the center of the hole, giving the horizontal movement that other spoons cannot, provides more life like action, and takes back that advantage that was previously held by the open water anglers.

The 2007/2008 season was abuzz with the productivity of this new innovation. Lindy first debuted these fantastic marvels in larger sizes of 1/8, 3/16 and 1/4 ounce spoons. Now, for the 2008/2009 season, Lindy has added a smaller and possibly deadlier size of the 1/16 ounce Rattl'n Flyer Spoon. Not only will these be deadly for the more finicky larger predators such as Walleyes or Lakers... but the panfish are no longer safe as well!

[Chode2235]

I picked up a couple last year for the various reasons you mentioned, and fished them a lot. Unfortunately, I never caught much on them and went back to my buckshots and frostee spoons (the real gem in the Lindy arsenal, IMO).

I see there is a new smaller size out this year, and maybe that is the ticket, but I was disappointed that the flyer spoon not only didnt give me an edge, but really didn't work as well as the "old standbys."

I'll give them a go a bit longer this season, so any advice in presentation (especially compared to 'traditional' jigging spoons) is appreciated.

[BartmanMN]

I fished the Glow Red in 1/16 oz last week. On descent I was not seeing it on my flasher. I then relized that the air plane like shape was swimming it so much that it was out of my cone angle. Once it was down, I could play with it. It is a pretty looking lure.