swimming lures

[Reynolds]

What are you guys' thoughts on swimming lures (i.e. Rapala jigging raps and shads, Hali, etc...)? I have minimal experience using these types of lures as I find myself using spoons more often than not, but I did end up picking up a few this year. I was watching an ice fishing video with Doug Stange and he mentioned that he prefers swimming lures vs spoons as they more closely resemble bait fish in look and action. Also, do you tip them with a minnow head or just use the lure?

[Scott M]

I was wondering the same thing about swim baits. I was looking at some of those Storm Holographix or whatever they're called summer swimbaits in really small sizes and a light bulb went off in my head.

I'm sure its been done already but those things are realistic looking and anatomically not too shabby. I don't have any experience with them but would like to hear if others have...

As far as chubby's and rapalas, i've done pretty good, I've also done good on Buckshot spoons, angel eyes, swedish pimples, and rattlin' varmints too. Haven't tried the Hali baits though.

[cRaPpiEMaN8265]

I would recomend using a chubby darter and tipping the back hook with a very small plastic. I havent done this to much but i have caught some very stubborn walleyes doing this on turtle lake in shoreview. Hope this helps

Ryan

[rockman]

It really depends on how active the fish are as to whether or not I tie on a Jigging Rap,or my other favorite the NilsMaster Jigger.If the fish are positive in mood, and are willing to smack a bait hard,I will use swimming lures.I usually put a minnow head on the middle treble hook.I have had jumbo perch hit a size 5 Nilsmaster really hard when they are on the chew.But, if the fish are tentative(negative) in mood or maybe neutral, I will use a jigging spoon,or downsize to a jig/minnow or grub combo.I let the fish tell me if they want to go for swimming lures.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Swimming lures as you call them, can be awesome fish catchers. I have seen them outproduce a live minnow more than once. They put out a ton of vibration, and an action that no other can match. I have small Nills Shads that are great on Crappie. I also have some larger ones that I use for walleye. That said, I also use spoons a ton as well. I think its important to have both!

[Northlander]

These swim baits will catch any fish that swims. I have caught everything from crappies to eelpout on them.

I do things different depending on the species Im after.

At last years Burntside Bash I caught several Lakers on a Nilsmaster jigging shad with a shiner head on the treble and its tail on the back hook. Beefed up profile and lots of scent and scales in the water.

I love swim baits and use them often. Look up Doug Stange's article out of Walleye InsiderIn Fisherman a couple years ago on these. He does a great job explaining different ways of working them.

[joneshat11]

They are my number one walleye lure. Mainly I use them as a search lure. Drilling many holes and moving around to find large areas of fish. Once I catch one or two with the jigging rap I will then slow down to catch the non aggresive fish. Once I start catching some both ways then I believe I have found a good place for base camp. Alot of times even if your not catching them they will call many fish in and you can see them on your Vexilar. If your seeing this happen then slow down to traditional walleye methods to catch them fish. Just my two cents on my favorite ice fishing lure.

Lawrence

[Blainebob]

Northland flyers and small airplane jigs have worked great for me! Tipped with a small minnow/fathead,you get great action at any depth in your holes.Its cool to watch the flyers dart when you jig em,and cool to watch the airplane jigs as they swim towards the bottom!

[Matt Johnson]

With the new addition of the size 3 Chubby Darter you can bet swimming lures will be finding their way into a lot of ice arsenals. Swimming lures are an excellent search lure, especially on large bodies of water where you're covering expansive flats. I also like swimming lures when targeting aggressive fish, not matter the species. A great all-purpose option in my opinion.

[tonkapat]

I almost exclusively use swim baits for early eyes. The nils master, jigging shad rap, and also some of the storm lures are great. Like nl says they work for everything and are really effective on crappies. Found a few times when crappies would not hit a small jig and would crush a swimbait. good luck

[RK]

Hiya -

My first choice for walleyes and pike is almost always a swimming lure. I only slow down to jigging spoons or a jighead/minnow if the fish are 'off.' I like Jigging Raps, and especially Jigging Shad Raps or Nils Jigging shads. The profile of the shad-shaped bait is a lot like YOY panfish and perch.

I rarely tip these lures. It's sort of funny. When you tip them with a minnow head, the fish seem to grab the minnow head. When you don't tip it, they eat the whole thing. They're amazingly versatile when it comes to maneuvering them them to trigger fish you see on your electronics. Far more so than spoons I think.

One thing with swimming lures, which I can never seem to convince people of, is that for me they work better with heavier line than you'd normally use. The rod I use for swim lures has #12 mono. In very deep water (25 ft +) I might drop down to 10. The bigger diameter slows them down as they swing back to vertical after you jig them - it just sort of settles them down and doesn't make them as wild and erratic as they are on #6 mono. I suppose Fluorocarbon would cut down on line visibility if that worried you, but I've caught more than enough walleyes on 12# XL to make me convinced that they don't care about the line diameter a bit as far as seeing it goes.

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[Catmendo]

These lures are manufactured by a number of quality companies. They come in a wide variety of models and color patterns to choose from and as clearly pointed out by others.....they can be deadly!

[ripstick]

Chubby darters are a good choise . But it really hurts when a northern does the big pick.

[Ray Esboldt]

I am a big fan of swimming lures. I really like the smallest sized raps for crappies. I've found that they attract the fish from a distance and solicit them into making a decision. Either they immediately peg it or move on down the line. They also do a nice job of sorting out the dinks from the keepers under the ice. The little ones will still try to hit it and ocassionally get a hook, but their aggressivenes seems to fire the bigger fish into whacking it when you're fishing a pack.

I do tip the treble with larvae for crappie, perch, and walleyes. A little meat never hurts, but a minnow head kind of takes the treble hook out of play and messes with the action of the bait.

[Bassboy1645]

Rapalas are about all I use ice fishing. I search with them and i fish them real slow and twitchy like for finnicky fish. Dont let people say you cant catch neutral to negitive mood fish on these lurs cuz thats bull! The minnow head thing seems to work occasionaly but i think its more of a scent thing. Id try using some kind of spray scent on it before actually tipping it. sometimes they prefer that effed up action over the standard jigging manuvers. TRIAL AND ERROR!!!! electronics are a must for these lures or any baits ill argue. The small ones #3s for panfish and picky crappies #5s for eyes and big slabs and dont think for a min a walleye wont hit a huge one like a #9 or #11. I really wish theyd never stop making those!!! Thyre awesome for lake trout too....chubby darters look good but never caught nothing on them....and airplane jigs for lakers seem to draw them in but i get more strikes on the rap then the plane jigs....I guess you can see what i love most!!

[Northlander]

RK Im with ya on the heavy line. If Im using bigger swim baits and spoons I like 12# mono. If Im using smaller perch/crappie sized I may go down to 8#.

[Thunderman]

I use jigging rapalas all the time for walleyes I put the minnow head on the shank of the hook or no minnow head at all.Some times you need the stink some times you don't.