Bait for icing panfish??

[JoeKer]

I usually just use the good ol' fashion waxies for panfish in the winter and they seem to work just fine of course... But I was wondering about the other bait options I've heard about recently, what's your take, tips, advise, opinion, etc. like when, where, why, how to use the following: fresh water shrimp, euro larva, maggots, meal worms, mouses, grubs. Any advantage, reasoning, etc. one over the other.... Any helpful info. is greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance! JoeKer

[ozzie]

I love to use euros...they are better at staying on a hook then waxies and they come in multiple colors.......the other choices in my bait box would be a minnow head on a jigging spoon or a plastic.....these are the 3 main baits of choice when I hit the lake for crappies and sunnies or perch

[Chad Peterson]

I love to use euros...they are better at staying on a hook then waxies and they come in multiple colors.......the other choices in my bait box would be a minnow head on a jigging spoon or a plastic.....these are the 3 main baits of choice when I hit the lake for crappies and sunnies or perch

+1 Euro's are the only live bait to use. You catch 4X the fish without re-baiting.

Sniffer

[slurpie]

Plastics. I might use Waxies on a new lake to start then go to plastic. Alot of color options to choose from and no bait to carry around. Ratsos and the bro line from Northland are easy to start with. The moussies have a little tail off the bodie that adds a little extra motion.

[CrappieAttitude]

+2 Euros are my favorite live bait. Recently i go with a half scoop of crappie minnows and euros. Last weekend, the Euros outfished the minnows by far, plus it always takes time to rebait the minnows. I don't mess with the different colors. plain white is all I ever use.

CA

[WollMan]

Euros. Never get waxies anymore. if going out for a longer period of time will get crappie minnows, if just a couple hours, euros all the way.

[popriveter]

Sounds weird, but my discovery this winter has been squid tentacles. They are cheap (asian market), they are tough enough to stay on a hook for several fish and they produce. I bought a block of frozen squid for $3 and have been taking a little sandwich baggy full of squid parts out with me. I break off legs to bait the hook. They thaw right away in the water.

I tried them my first time out because I didn't have time to buy bait and they happened to be in my freezer. Since then, I've used them alongside waxies and crappie minnows and they have made a great showing for themselves.

[Koepper08]

Squid, eh? Interesting...I think thats what we used in the ocean to catch fish...Sounds legit!

[Deitz Dittrich]

slap up another vote for euro's.. better action, last longer..

[reinhard1]

i like the squid idea. euros for me as well. pinch the barb on the hook and place between the two dots on the blunt end of the euro and they will stay lively longer. good luck.

[Hoyt4]

I also use euro larve, but I have one lake in the metro I out fish the Euro's.I will have one on each line and waxies will be the go to bait. I also try plastics once the fish start popping more. Only on this one lake have I found this to happen.

[meatfish]

plus one for euro I like to use 1 white and one red,I also like grass shrimp when I can find them.

Last year we where on fish and could not get them to bite so I cut a small chunk of fat off the ribeye steak I was eating and they went nuts over it.What started as a joke put some fish in the bucket.So now table left overs are going on the lake before the garbage.Chicken skin,pickled herring,sea food parts,who knows what may work?

[Crm7290]

What types of plastics do you guys use? I see a lot of them out there and dont know whats garbage and what will catch fish

[muc33]

I use a variety of plastics on a regular basis, noodles and micro nuggies, ratso tails, all different sizes and all different colors. It's like another lure, each one has different applications and effectiveness and that changes daily or even by the hour sometimes. My standards are Reds, Blacks, Whites and Pink. Look to Lindy, Little Atom, and Custom Jigs and Spins for good plastics. Most local bait shops will carry most all of those.

[Lunker]

I usually carry waxies, white spikes(euros) and red spikes. I also carry a few different plastics. Basically i find that on certain lakes/conditions they want different things so i vary it. Usually panfish i do best with a red/white spike combo, but sometimes waxies work better, or plastics. Change it up until you find what they want. For example yesterday it was a single white euro and a small red paddle tailed plastic fished togther. They wouldn't touch a waxie.

[tearin' lips]

I like to use all artificial baits. Custom Jigs and Spins plasics, Northland scud bugs and bloodworms, etc. I also tip my ice jigs and spoons with Berkley Gulp. I have not used any live bait for crappies and sunfish in seven years and have been very successful without the use of live bait.

[Borch]

The LA nuggies and wedgies along withthe Lindy micros minnows or paddle tail put a lot of fish on the ice. The custon jigs and spins ratso is also a favorite. It's rare that I tip them with any live bait.

[Gordie]

maggies are awsome but if I had to choose for only one bait for icein panfish it would have to be goldenrods a bit of work but worth every second.. JMO

[mixxedbagg]

Anyone try nightcrawlers through the ice? I had some one year that were leftover from open water. I don't remember how I did, but I think I pulled a few sunnies.