Jig Help Please!!

[himjunkie13]

What is the best color jig to use for panfish and walleye through the ice? Under what conditions? Water? Weather?

[Gus]

Personally I like to try and stay to colors that are "natural" and mimic suspected food sources as much as possible when condititions dictate. When I pick a color to try the first thing I do is determine the water clarity. If the water is very clear I will definatley put on a natural or less flashy color (black, shad, perch, and timid glows). When the water is stained or just dirty or even night time is when I'll bump up to flashier colors (reds, oarnges, bright yellows, and glows.) Sometimes it makes no difference what you throw down the hole. Sometimes the exact opposite to what I listed catches the most fish, but what I listed is how I like to start my search.

[CrappieJohn]

In clear water the natural colors work very well....blacks purples, blues, whites and at times the flouorescent colors.

Water with some color to it will call for brighter colors like the fluorescents and glows.

Something to remember here is that any jig with fluorescent paint needs daylight and its ultraviolet part of the spectrum to actually be seen as a fluorescent color. In the dark, even with some artificial light to help they simply change to greys and blacks when the go down the hole. Dark, cloudy days will give the same results.

I really like the golds, gold heads and purple, black or blue bodies for the clearer daytime water, but I will also check out the glows in red and chartreuse.

Water color and available light are only casual guidelines for which color to begin with. I am big on letting the fish dictate color preferences from day to day and sometimes even minute to minute. You have to be flexible with color.