Marabou through the ice?

[CrappieJohn]

Consider this...Right now the people who are actively down sizing are coming home with the fish. Your maribou has a tendency to "fluff" out in the water...even when held dead still...and is going in the opposite direction size-wise. The flu-flu is one option that works in the winter, but remove all but a couple little threads of the feather for the best success.

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Plastics...making better fishermen without bait! Good Fishing Guys! CrappieTom
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[Bobb-o]

we caught a lot of saugers on lake of the woods on flu-flu jigs and minnows after not getting any bites on plain jigs and minnows

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Diplomacy - The art of saying "nice doggie" while you find a rock.

[Matt Johnson]

I'm with Tom on this one. You need a jig that is smaller and less gaudy. The maribou jig is a hot spring time jig as well as most of summer. In the winter I like to stay away from a lot of fur and "fluff" like Tom said. A little is ok, but too much will work in opposite of what you are trying to accomplish. Early ice and late ice you might get away with it, but right now you need to stick with a small simple approach, in attempt to mimic microscopic organisms drifting through the water column. Tiny minnows are working well too.

Good Fishin,
Matt Johnson

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[phin101]

I tie a trout/crappie jig I named the Johnny Craw for summer slabs and stream trout. They'll out fish bait most of the time, on open water. This winter I tied a few downsized ice fishing versions in typical cold water colors, but haven't gotten the same results. Has anyone tried marabou in the winter with any success? There are plenty of other feather or hair jigs out there, like flu flu's and gapens. How do these work and what's the best tactic for fishing them?

[can it be luck?]

I think ice fishing is different to open water because the bait hangs in one spot. Granted you give the bait life with jigging motions, but for the most part it hangs over one spot giveing the fish ample time to "check it out". Thus the need for some sort of bait to make fish commit to your offerings. Similar to a river which has current where as the fish either commit to your bait or watch it pass on by, open water fishing usually involves some sort of retrieve giveing your jig a "fleeing" motion.

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[rockhardinmn]

i wouldnt discount all flies for ice fishing , there are some that have worked very well for me this past winter.i use the sinking or weighted ones. Matt i would look at some flies at a place like thorne bros to get some ideas and use the old imagineation some what .. they have worked for me when nothing else has and anyone around me wasnt catching crapps ... 1st time i tried 1 particular one i couldnt get a 2nd line to dead stick in the water ,, but i didnt need it either

[CrappieJohn]

Rock....I don't doubt that some small flies will work. I think the big question is what is too big. Maribou at rest in the water has a tendency to simply swell to incredible size. As the winter wears on, the need to reduce the overall appearence of a bait will become paramount to successful fishing. This can be comfirmed thru journaling. Then too we must remember that we are dealing with fish and they have a way of derailing everything thought to be the rule. In past years I have caught some incredible panfish on some incredibly stupid stuff...spahgetti? Yet the need to downsize is still needed. Small flies that are not "alive" in the water or come off as hugely bulky can and should have thier place in the tackle boxes of ice fishermen. Often times it is the off-the-wall tackle that brings home the fillets. Thanks for sharing.

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Plastics...making better fishermen without bait! Good Fishing Guys! CrappieTom
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[rockhardinmn]

Tom , i realy like alot of the posts you have made on here , tried a few of the things and thay have worked for me ,, some didnt but maybe will another time . i have a hard time judgeing wieghts of jigs so bare with me here a sec. i did notice the other day when that i was doing better with a glow deamo (1 side silver) that is about twice the size i use most of the time and the largest minnow i had, at the same time i was useing i think it was a #8 size all glow deamon with both large and small minows. it didnt work well with the small ones but hang a a big minow and it got fish.i have got craps thru ice RAREly on out of storein the water flu-flus b4, but have done better when trimed for the most part. to me the key thing to me is to be Versatale and be willing and ready and willing to use it all.
with tah said ans just knowing of your posts here i will say this about the flies i am useing . recall what the now discontinued timberwolf jigs ? the flies i am using are close to these but not as lets say gaudy? please do keep an open mind and just look at some of the weighted style of flies out there . i find some that dont do worth a dump for me and save them to try in the open water .others are the secret lures they are never brought out when i am fishing with anyone( in my house that is cause of my empolment i dont work hardly at all in winter months and have fished at least 50 days since mid dec. living on the lake helps too. one way to look at this is also justt look at the new jigs like glow optics and such. they workbut where did they get that idea?

[CrappieJohn]

Rock...In the middle of your second paragraph you hit the nail on the head with "keep an open mind". Absolutely! If you are not willing to step off the beaten path...try something entirely out of sych with things....you may well be on the road to boredom. It doesn't matter if you are fishing thru the ice or in open water, when the fish are not doing anything or the bite has slowed for some reason, what are you going to hurt or lose by trying something novel? A good nmany new tactics have been discovered that way.

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Plastics...making better fishermen without bait! Good Fishing Guys! CrappieTom
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[Matt Johnson]

rockhardinmn,

Well put I will give the small flies a try next time I'm out on the ice. You have the right approach and I like the fact that you have experimented with different presentations to see what works. I know a lot of fishermen who always stick to their good ol' trusty jig day in and day out. Sometimes you can get away with that, but from my experience it won't work all the time. Keep the posts coming!

Good Fishin,
Matt Johnson

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[rockhardinmn]

Tom And Matt,
i am going to send you an email b4 i head out on the lake this morning . good luck

[CrappieJohn]

Rockhard...Resend my mail...It showed that I had a meesage from you, but nothing came up to read.

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Plastics...making better fishermen without bait! Good Fishing Guys! CrappieTom
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[rockhardinmn]

Tom,
mail has been resent

[CrappieJohn]

A simple clarification here....we should not be bound by habit and NOT try something new. When I get into my fly-like lures, I prefer very small, non- aggressive looking ones. That is my preference. It should not imply in any way that people not try a maribou under the ice. I am certain that they have worked beautifully used as such. No matter what the season, my approach to craps has always been as light/small as possible yet still catch fish. Even in open water, my lines are either two or four pound test, using the two pound more than the four. I don't even carry jigs for crappies heavier than 1/16 ounce. My go to jig weighs in at 1/32. I cut my "crappie teeth", so to speak, on maribou forty some years ago and have the greatsest respect for those jigs...I've simply found things that work better for me in the plastics. We need to remember though that plastics are not the bait for everyone....if you are not willing to place your confidence in them they will not work for you.

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Plastics...making better fishermen without bait! Good Fishing Guys! CrappieTom
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[united jigsticker]

Yep, them marabou jigs work good, but are for the aggressive and hungary pattern fish.

I might give one a shot at last ice when the ice honeycombs and the water starts running, but I wuldn't be too hard up or stuck on it.

They have their time and place, and I use them non stop from the end of June through October, but right now...feed the Crappies morsels. You'll have a better chance for a meal yourself.

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Good fishing,
UJ
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[deeky]

When using flies under the ice, are you tipping them? Dead sticking? Jigging? I have some flies around but never thought of using them under ice.

[rockhardinmn]

i am doing all 3 that you mentioned. use the ones that are not gaudy looking.