We don't need no stinkin' Crappie Minnows!

[ozzie]

This might be true mark but when you are out using plastics for panfish you want to find active fish. It doesn't matter if you are using minnow or plastic if they ain't biting move on.

[BLACKJACK]

Is there any case where hanging a piece of meat - waxie, minnow head or tail, eurolarva - is going to hurt you and drive away fish? I compare it to a bakery. You can look thru the window, and it looks good, but if you smell that fresh baked bread, if you're at all hungry, its going to draw you in. So why not hang a piece of meat on your hook?

[CrappieJohn]

As we get to the late ice, it is not uncommon to have a screen with nothing in it and just bang, get hit. This is especially true when the fish have moved shallow. The water will likely be a degree or two warmer and that is all it will take to turn a crappie from the dinky stuff to hitting full-sized crappie plastics. Stable weather is the key.

Last year I was nailing crappies, all nice ones too, using culprit paddletails under the ice. Stub Grubs and CrappieRats as well.

When we see fishj go shallower in the late ice, we are going to see fish which are driven by temperature and weather more than by food.

[Corey Bechtold]

Yes, there are times when I might add a spike or larvae to my Ratso and it might help seal the deal. But with the Berkley stuff I haven't had to add anything to it.

Good luck,

Corey Bechtold

[fishin magician]

Corey,

Where would you suggest a guy pick some these up at?

Gander?

I better give these things a try this weekend..

[Corey Bechtold]

On your way up stop at reeds in Brainerd. They have a good selection. Otherwise Gander or Fleet Farm may have a few.

Good luck up there,

Corey Bechtold

p.s.

I want to hear the fishing report.

[oil painter]

have you tried small mesh or screen to put the image of scales on yuor plugs? Also tupelo wood is great for carving.Holds edges well and burns great and butternut is fantastic!!

[juggs]

I vote for plastics over live bait. High mobility and quick delivery are the wave of the future in the world of ice fishing. I don't buy bait much anymore and am a better fisherman for it. I see there are still quite a few even on this thread that seem hesitant. But if you want to catch more fish, get off that bucket, move around, and don't continue your love affair with the minnow. If a crappie will hit a minnow, it definitely will hit a smaller plastic.

[Gadgetman]

Corey, are you using those two inch power minnows for winter crappies, or was that a walleye deal? I have had trouble getting crappies to take the small plastics like the ratso etc. I assume you just rig them on a regular 1/8 or 1/4 oz jig head like the summer right? Guess I never considered using the larger plastics like that. Thanks for the idea. I also presume that you do use those for walleye fishing when the season is open correct?

[hanson]

Another question that I need to ask is how are you guys who aren't having success with plastics such as the Custom Jigs Ratso fishing them?

a) Under a bobber and letting it sit there

Actively jigging or "pounding" to quote Genz

I have been tipping my Ratso's with 1 Eurolarvae all winter long. If the bite gets going good, you'll soon realize that you won't need the Eurolarvae on there.

A couple tips to fishing a Ratso type plastic

1- NO BOBBER!

2- NO split shot sinker (to get the bait down faster)

Most of the Ratso's I use are in the 1/32oz neighborhood (size 6 or 8) and they take awhile to sink. Thats part of the trigger factor IMO is the slower fall rate of the lure in the water. A split shot acts like a big dampener and takes away alot of the feel you have as well as screws up the presentation/fall rate/action. Really light line such as 2lb also is beneficial when fishing these small lures.

3- Constantly jig or shake the lure

Sometimes trying to hold your hand steady can impart enough "shake" to the lure to get the tail to quiver. Thats the kind of action your looking for.

As for bite detection, you are going strictly on feel or sight. Sometimes you'll see the line quiver or the rod tip move. Sometimes you'll feel the thump up the rod, thats where a high quality rod will pay big dividends.

And of course the spring bobber really will aid in bite detection and in presentation. It acts as sort of a shock absorber to quiet down and smooth out the jigging motions you are making.

I know some of these points are basic to some of us, but for those who haven't quite made that leap away from a teardrop jig under a bobber, they are very important to your success!

[eyepatrol]

Good call hanson. I'll share my first year's experience with these plastics (Custom Jigs & Spins products):

I started out the year buying these products and began fishing them with a jigglestick and a plain old bobber (not even a slip bobber). I had success using them early on with this set-up, but the bite was fairly aggressive at that time.

Later on in the year, in fact 3 weeks ago, I bought my first spring bobbers and attached them to my rod/reel combo. It's been a learning experience with the spring bobbers, but I have been able to detect much lighter, more subtle bites than I ever would have with a "regular bobber". Plus, I switched from 4lb to 2lb test and had much better results with getting the jig down faster and detecting the lighter bites.

Most of my jigging techniques have been from a slight jigging motion to just holding the rod in my hands. Both seemed to work well getting the fishes attention, but more often than not the bite came while holding the jig "still". However, holding the jig "still" didn't mean the jig was perfectly still, as the natural shaking of my hand put action into these jigs (I think I drink too much coffee!).

Many of the fish I've gotten this year have been while ever so slowly raising the jig upwards in the water column. Most fish seemed to prefer a little meat on the jig too, such as a waxie with the tail end pinched off to leak some juices. Plain plastics have not worked very well for me this year for whatever reason, and I usually start with a plain plastic.

I don't use sinkers to get the jig down faster as CrappieTom had suggested not doing in a post earlier this ice season. Size 8's have worked well for me this year on both crappies and sunnies. Color has varied from glowbrite, to pink/white, to glow pink, to straight black. That's another benefit of using these plastics; many colors to choose from!

I don't want to sound like I'm tooting my horn here, but I have outfished others around me at times with these jigs, especially on the crappies. Only reason why I make this comment is so people know and understand there are other alternatives out there than the "old faithfuls".

My first outing this year was the best crappie fishing I'd ever had in my entire life. And I was immediately sold on using plastics from that point on. Side note - I recently discovered how well the demon jigging spoons work on crappies too!

[Corey Bechtold]

Gadgetman,

Yes, I am using the 2" Power Minnows for Ice fishing Crappies! If I am going to Walleye fish I usualy use the 3", 4" or 5" Power Minnows or Grubs.

For the Crappies I use a 1/32oz jighead if I want a slow fall. For all around use I opt to fish with a 1/16oz jighead.

Good luck,

Corey Bechtold

[rosspj59]

I picked up a couple pink head/white body ratsos at the fridley GM on thursday and put them to work friday early evening on a north metro lake. My biggest gill, 9" er and several 8.5's came on this jig. I also pulled in a couple 10-11 inch crappies. I was hoping for pig crappie, but could not find one. A guy fishing near me did get a couple pushing 12" on ratso under a bobber. He was jigging the set up and then letting it sit for few seconds. Of course he did have a spike on his, but I did not. I also was not using a bobber and was jigging the whole time. With the warm weather last night it was easy to hole hop looking for active fish and lots of fun.

[Gadgetman]

Thanks for the reply Corey. WOW, I wish the crappie I am fishing would take a 2" plastic. I am having a hard time getting them to take a couple grubs on a marmuska. But I will take that under advisement for future outings and for next winters walleyes!

[ScottND]

One more vote for plastics here! Just watch them on the Aqua Vu....SLURP!

[augernaut]

I've been having very good luck on crappies and gills using the Little Atom plastics coupled with a Genz Bug or a Ratso head, minus the original Ratso tail. I feel the action of the L-A plastics is better than the original Ratso body, but the Ratso jig itself is a killer jig. Crappies, Gills, LM bass, Rock Bass, and even a 13" walleye have come on these setups lately!

[lars0926]

I agree with Matt's response. Almost all of my crappies come on plastics due to the crappies feeding habits for micro-organism. My favorite is the Berkeley PowerNymph. Not only do I have excellent success with this pastic body in the winter, but it has also done well for me in the spring/spawn and in the fall. It's a versitile plastic and saves a ton of pain/money on having live bait.

[lars0926]

Here is a pic of the power nymph. I use the 1" variety in the pearl color (not the orange shown).

[hanson]

Hmmm...

That looks very tasty to me if I were a crappie Lars.

Looking at that plastic, I've got some crawfish shaped plastics from Southern Pro somewhere in my tacklebox. I guess I haven't thought enough outside the box to try them in the winter yet.

Something else I was thinking about is the CrappieTom Stub Grubs under the ice during this late ice period.

It seams like the slower fall of the plastic can be the real trigger and the Stub Grubs have the rings on them that cause a slower fall.

Any thoughts?

[lars0926]

Chris, I've had excellent success with the Stub Grubs and CrappieTom turned me on to the paddle tails that have done well for me in the spring (think I posted a 14" dump pick that I pulled on a paddle tail). For overall catch rate though I can't speak highly enough of the power nymph. Having spent at least a 100 hours watching it on the underwater camera, its effortless motion really does the job.

On a side note, last weekend I was up in the brainard area and did some work on controlled descent and didn't have much luck, but drop-shotting worked really well. If the bait was +/- 3 inches off the top of the weeds I could not get a bite to save my life, but in that small window success was had.

[FRESHWATER PETIE]

I too.. Have not bought crappie minnows for some time now. I usually go real small though, even on crappies. A #10 or #12 tear drop,with only one Berkley Power wiggler. White or pink does the trick. I will go bigger if I get no results, but this year that seems to do the trick. Good Luck!!

[Tyler Holm]

Corey,

I gave your 2" power minnow a try the other day. It was attached to a 1/8oz glow white jig head. Quick photo and released.

About 13"

[ScottND]

So that's what happened to my air mattress After seeing this I'm going to have to turn my new one in to a raft. What size does a guy need?

[Tyler Holm]

Scott,

That's actually the shoreline that looks like an air mattress. Its a cloth-like material that prevents erosion.