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What are your go to ice fishing lures?


ukefish

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This will only be my second year to ice fish. My first year I primarily stuck with live bait on rattle reels, had some success but not much. I tried a few lures but not even sure how to use them under the ice. In the warm season I can catch fish regularly on artificial baits, but not in the winter. So, what are your go to baits/lures for ice fishing? I mainly target walleye, pike, and largemouth but would also like to get some crappie action.

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JB lures has a basic low profile tungsten glow jig with as big of a hook as a #6. It's basically a hook, that can be rather quickly dropped, but also can be "worked". It's not flashy, no glitter, no revolutionary design, nor cool name......but hands down my go to for crappies and eyeballs. Gills will work a smaller tungsten. Usually Fiskas or Bently ...but many more options on the market now. High profile bite almost always involves a Flyer/Buckshot type.

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For panfish, small tungsten GLOW jigs with super sharp hooks all the way. It's all I use any more. You just don't need anything else. I'm partial to the Fiskas brand, but I'm sure others work fine as well. They are a bit spendy, but I'd rather spend a little more on gear I know I'll like and use than a little less on a wider variety of junk that I won't use as much.

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VMC tumbler spoon for walleye has been my go to since they came out

Dead stick a fat head with a demon glow jig in green or pink for walleye as well.

Northern is the quick strike rig on a tip up

Sunfish has been northland bloodworm

crappie a pug bug or forage minnow tipped with a crappie minnow or Maki plastics I like those with a tungsten jig head

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For 'eyes, I had good luck last year on Clam's Blade spoons, VMC Tingler, and Northland UV buckshot rattle spoons. For crappies, I'd recommend Clam's Bomb Spoon, Speed spoon, and the Ant Drop as well as Lindy's Rattlin Flyer spoon.

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Jigs: Fiskas tungsten or ice flies from Jeff's Jigs in Two Harbors, MN - the man does some amazing patters for both trout and panfish

Plastics: JRs Jigtails out of Antioch, MI. Only plastics I will use.

Spoons: Like a lot of the new stuff, Slender Spoons and Buckshot Rattlers, but I probably use the venerable Swedish Pimple most of the time, just because I must have 50 of 'em and they all still catch fish

Blade: Reef Runner Cicadas are a vastly under-rated hardwater lure, especially the smaller sizes for panfish and trout. I'm excited to try some of the 3/16ths Echotail blade baits this season.

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Zenit: "Blade: Reef Runner Cicadas are a vastly under-rated hardwater lure, especially the smaller sizes for panfish and trout."

That man is brilliant! I'd second that as my name would imply. Takes an act of God or a greedy northern for me to not have one of these on while ice fishing. I've pretty much caught everything on this lure, but there are a few lakes where the fish don't respond to a particular lure. I just stay off those lakes. wink

Jigging Raps and rattle spoons can be very good at times.

I pretty much always fish with one live bait setup and then jig something.

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--Tinglers, rippin raps, salmo darters, and jigging raps and rattle spoons tipped with fathead heads for walleye.

--Tumbler's and small jigging raps tipped with crappie minnows for perch

--1/16th oz tinglers and slender spoons tipped with crappie minnow heads/spikes/waxies/plastics for crappie

--tungsten jigs tipped with plastics/spikes/waxies for gills.

--Tumblers and Tungsten jigs tipped with waxies/spikes, or salted/frozen minnow heads for stream trout (in lakes)

-- Large Slender spoons, Tinglers, Huss Luhrs, Jigging Raps, 4"-5" tube jigs, rippin raps, and Salmo Darters for Lakers

Holy cripes I have too many go-to-baits

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Northland's Buckshot Rattle spoon in the glow (more so than the new UV) always get's tied on one of my lines for Walleyes.

Small tungsten jigs or a Genz fatboy for panfish. The Northland forage minnows also work really well for Crappies.

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Jigging - I like the do-jigger for walleye. Buckshots are good too. I've lost a few big fish on jigging raps when the front or back hooks caught on the ice as I am trying to get them through the hole.

For panfish its the ratso, ratfinke, teeter totter and other jigs with a horizontal profile. They show up better on the vex and hook well.

Set lines are usually something like a frosty.

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