making quick strike rigs

[Boar]

i make my own rigs for pike fishing thru the ice an have always made them for dead bait where it takes just a split shot or two too sink the bait to the bottom. Now with the new regs an need to use live bait more like large suckers up to 10-12 inches, I dont want the sucker swimming all over the place, basicly want it to just struggle striaght below the tip up. Adding weight is only gonna solve this but what an where is my question. thought about just adding those rubber core twist ons onto the harnnes, but how much 1/2 oz. 3/4 oz. Thought about tying inline sinkers, but thought about a pike picking up bait an feeling the weight of the sinker. Any thoughts or ideas on thanks. boar

[pureinsanity]

use a slip sinker?

sucker shouldn't be able to pull it, but if a pike picked it up it would pull line

[Chris Haley]

After I make my harness, I slip a 1/2oz - 3/4oz. egg sinker on my fireline above the harness then tie my harness. Not only does it weight down the sucker, but gives a couple feet of free slack to swim around in a circle. Works for me.

[Boar]

Thanks for the responses guys, chrisI thought of doing this but I thought wen a pike swims away with the sucker the slip sinker would fall away an slide on the line giving tension on the sucker end of it. But im just probabley thinking to hard about it. I probabley go with slipers or twist ons. thanks baor

[Chris Haley]

A hungry pike could care less about a 3/4oz weight.

[Boar]

yea good point. as if all that hardware on the sucker isnt a deterent, some added weight aint gonna be the drop factor for them. Thanks

[Steve Foss]

Cut (or bite) the tail fin off the sucker. Lots of wiggle but no leverage means an attractive bait that can't give you false flags. That's what I did on the rare occasions I used live bait for pike tip-ups. No extra weight required.

BTW, frozen saltwater herring available this winter in some Minnesota bait stores is dynamite pike bait, at least as good as untreated ciscos/smelt. I expect there'll be even more bait stores carrying it next year, although there's some talk that the DNR will abandon the treated/processed cisco/smelt requirement.

BTWII, when I soaked the treated ciscos in water overnight to rehydrate them, they worked really well for pike.

BTWIII, next year I'll be fully abandoning quick-strikes in favor of circle hooks. I used a couple circle rigs these last two seasons and really liked the results. Far less hardware, all hooked in the corner of the jaw, making hook removal a breeze, which is a GOOD thing when it's -15 and 15 mph.

[Brad B]

Steve,

I agree the circle hooks are the way to go. I have switched to them on everything except some of my ice fishing panfish jigs(Hexi Flys & Genz worms) when I use live bait or cut bait. I would like to see more people use them on bluegills and crappies. I feel these are especially good for kids to use since they tend to let the fish swallow the hook. this would save alot of smaller fish. Circles don't work on lures so that is another place where I don't use circles.