Getting some cooperation

[united jigsticker]

Approaching a new lake or new school of Crappies? I typically start aggresive and work my way down.

I'll fire right off with a forage minnow spoon tipped with a couple maggots. Gold and green seems to be about best color pattern for starters, and if that doesn't yank some right away, then I might switch to a white and blue scheme.

If the old jigging spoon doesn't entice some fish, I have a purple tear drop for the next weapon. I'll again tip it up with a couple maggots, pull it horizontal, and give her a try. If that doesn't work, I might pull off the maggots and thread the ol' wax worm down the hook.

If that don't call them out, I head to Matt's favorite mainstay for finicky feeders, and thats a red horizontal jig (yes, most would use that first).

If the old red doesn't get the Crappies bellies grumbling, the resort is a plain shank hook, a couple sinkers, and a single maggot, or a tail hooked Crappie minnow. Sometimes this action can be the deadliest of them all.

Swapping maggots for minnow heads, minnow tails, waxies, etc comes when the maggots have failed me on all of those combos.

I also never overlook my feather jigs, tear drops, ratsos, rat-finkie's, black ants, etc, that are all mainstays in the winter fishing aresenal, but what I have outlined above seems to be the most consistent and fast track producers to get a few fish on the ice.
What's some of your guys' favorite tactics for getting the "papermouths" to bite?

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Good fishing,
UJ
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[This message has been edited by united jigsticker (edited 12-04-2003).]

[Guest]

I buy mine from Vados Bait off of Hwy 65 in Spring Lake Park. But you can find them at other bait shops as well. Check out this link:

http://fishingminnesota.com/ubb/Forum5/HTML/001551.html

Good Fishin,
Matt

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Catch-N Tackle and Bio Bait
MarCum

[Guest]

I also like to start aggressive and find if those fish are actively feeding.

I had good success with the small 1.5 inch jigging rapalas for aggressive crappies last winter. Tip the bottom treble with a few maggots and go to town. Small jigging spoons are great too. I can't wait to try out the 1/16 oz Glow Devils. The 1/8 oz worked last year too. The white 1 inch sweedish pimple with a single red blade tipped with maggots was hot last year too for crappies.

If an aggressive approach doesn't work then I scale down to, yep UJ guessed it, a glow red horizontal fatboy in size 10. Pack it with maggots and work the fish with a back kicking motion. Glow blue works a lot as well. Depending on water clarity I might go with a black Ratso or a non-glow red Two-Spot.

If those don't grab the fish in, then I go smaller to like a 1/64 oz ratfinkee or Marmooska tipped with a single maggot. Add a small shot about a foot up and flutter it down.

Sometimes the problem can be solved by just adding a minnow to you presentation. I've come accross numerous occations where I'll be fishing a school of fish with a jig and maggots only to get a bite every few minutes, but once I drop down a plain hook with a minnow the fish dart up to strike. But from my experience, going with maggots has outproduced during the day on most occations, but at night its an even draw between maggots and minnows.

After going down to 1/64, I'll go even smaller to 1/200 with a single small euro larvae. I place a few Thill doublecut shots about a foot up and space them out an inch or so and then let the tiny jig almost fall and a non moving pace. Let the jig get in front of the fish and set the rod on a bucket or on a knee and watch he flasher and line for any slightest sign of a strike. Let the fish have a staring compitition with the jig. The single larave will do all the work. If the fish don't take this, then find a new spot. Sometimes those fish are just not hungry, period. But remember the spot and come back once the dusk bite occurs, often times those fish will feed later in the day or later in the night.

Here's what I have on my rods when I approach a lake targeting crappies:

• Rod 1: Jiggin Rapala
• Rod 2: Jiggin Spoon
• Rod 3: Red Glow Fatboy Size 10 or 12
• Rod 4: Black Ratso size 10 or 8
• Rod 5: Non-glow Two Spot size 10 or 12 in red, orange, or mustard
• Rod 6: 1/64 oz ratfinkee or Marmooska in non-glow and nuetral color
• Rod 7: 1/200 oz Talon tear
  

Rod 1 and 2 will have 3 or 4 pound test mono. Rod 3, 4, and 5 will have 2 pound test mono or florocarbon. Rod 6 and 7 will have 2 pound test flourocarbon.

Bait:
Small crappie minnows and euro larave.

There are a lot of color schemes you can play around with and every lake can call for a different presentation. Water clarity, type of forage in a lake, time of day, time of season, etc.

Good Fishin,
Matt

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[email protected]
Catch-N Tackle and Bio Bait
MarCum

[tonkabach]

MJ5 - Where do you buy the euro larave? Are they in any regular old bait shop? (I'm pretty new to ice fishing) Thanks

[CrappieJohn]

MJ...Do you ever add food coloring to your waxies a few at a time? How about scent?

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Sure life happens- why wait....The Crapster....good fishing guys!
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[protrapper]

I have put light coatings of fish oil on minnows, leeches, crawlers, waxies, and euro's and have had excellent luck. WD-40 works also but I would not advocate using this on bait and than putting it in the water. The WD works cause it also has fish oil, but I use pure sun-rendered fish oil. Which is not harmfull to the water.

[CrappieJohn]

Is that atrapping scent product or do you render your own?

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Sure life happens- why wait....The Crapster....good fishing guys!
[email protected]

[Guest]

Tom,

Nope, never added anything to my maggots. But I have experiemented with scents under the ice with ok results. Nothing that stands out though. Although Top Secret has a new Amino Gel that looks like it will be hot for walleyes this winter.

Good Fishin,
Matt

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[email protected]
Catch-N Tackle and Bio Bait
MarCum

[BLACKJACK]

So are the maggots really that much better than wax worms? Never tried them, in fact I really don't see many bait shops around here selling them.

[protrapper]

It is a trapping scent. It is just fish oil you can buy it at any trapping supply dealer and it's very cheap. You can make your own and I have but its a pain. The stuff you buy is much cheaper, cleaner, messy, and time consuming, it takes months in the summer to make.

It works wonders on earlt eyes spring and winter. I beleive in my opinion that the maggots out produce the waxies. But I am never without both. Every bait shop should supply them.

[This message has been edited by protrapper (edited 12-11-2003).]