What's your guys favorite ice jigs and bait for crappies

[pkwalleye]

What are they?

I just have some glow jigs and tip them with crappie nibbles/waxies

[Wookiee]

Optic stealth and a nuggie, Shrimpo with modified finesse plastic, and T.H.E. Jig meatless.

[uwecsteeple]

Either T.H.E. jig (1/80 oz) or a white maki (from lobybaits or makiplastics) on a short (2-4") dropper from a tiny spoon.

or maybe a nuggie

oooo, I am ready for ice!

[united jigsticker]

T.H.E. Jig? Oh...Flu-flu.

I like jigging spoons. Oh, I think I love jigging spoons. But they're not for everybody.

I think it falls on what you are familiar with. Familiarity breeds confidence, and that equates to success.

[Coach1310]

Forage Minnow, Flirty Girty, Fat Boy, Marmooska

[Bobb-o]

Most of the time you will find me using a Diamond or Optic Stealth Jig and a Nuggie, cant wait, this year Little Atom is coming out with the Jumbo Nuggie, it is gonna be great for perch and slab crappies!!

[Matt Johnson]

I use a lot of large profile baits for my winter crappies. 2-inch Power Minnows and Mister Minos. 1.5-inch tubes. Size 4 Ratsos. Little-Atom Nuggies (and now this season the jumbo Nuggie )... action and presentations is most important in my opinion.

I also agree that there are times when you need to match the hatch or downsize. Fatboys, Optic Stealths, Marmooskas, Hali, Ratsos/Shrimpos... there are a ton of options out there...

I'm a huge fan of plastics and that's what constitutes most of my arsenal. I typically try to leave the livebait at home. Plastics have really come a long way and work on negative fish too. Take some of your summer plastics and cut them down, they work too

[NCLaker]

Love them Little Atom Nuggies - one my go to baits, usually out fishes live bait for jigging! Will definitely be looking to add the jumbo's to the arsonal before the season starts.

Matt, Do you tend to have better luck with large plastics during early and late ice?? I tend to do better with the small stuff during mid-winter, not had much luck with the bigger stuff when they are less active during this time of season. Last year was my first season experimenting with platics so still working on the learning curve.

It is always fun to go out with the guys that live and die by live bait in the winter. They laugh when I pull out the plastics. Doesn't laugh long cause I will usually our fish them 2-1, and they are waste a lot of time rebaiting while I am busy fishin. I usually have to stock up on the platics, because it never fails, I am handing them out cause they want to get a piece of the action.

[dan z]

purple and white colored jigs depednds on the fish I guess I like to use marmooska's ratso's shrimpo's and forage minnows. if it aint a treble I tip with waxies or minnows

[NCLaker]

If you are fishing at night, glow jigs are a must IMO. Get a mix of colors (green/red/blue). Don't forget to pick up a tazer or something comparable so you can charge them up. You can get away with using your lantern, but doesn't charge up as well, and it can be a quick way to melt your line.

[Bobb-o]

NCLaker, you should give black jigs a try at night sometime. Last year i caught a lot of nighttime crappies with a black diamond and a red nuggie.

[NCLaker]

Bobb-o, Thanks for the tip ... I have the red nuggies (I assume you meant the ones that don't glow red), but usally used them during the day (Sunnies late ice were all over them). I have some Diamond Jigs, I'll have to check to see if I have any in black. I like that I can get these down to depth quickly despite their small size/profile. Most jigs of this size take way to long to get it down to the target depth. they also provide a good feel for the bait - smaller jigs can be so light sometimes it is can be more difficult to manage lure control unless you are site fishing or have a camera.

I assume you hook the nuggies on the diamond jig so they the tail is horizontal. I always assumed that that is the way most people hooked them - but in the post by uwecsteeple on this thread, it looks like the red nuggie tail is pointing upwards on the jig.

My most common jig with the nuggies has been a genz bug. I'll be doing a lot more experimenting this winter.

[uwecsteeple]

I always assumed that that is the way most people hooked them - but in the post by uwecsteeple on this thread, it looks like the red nuggie tail is pointing upwards on the jig.

It only looks like that because it is a vertical jig, not a horizontal one. I think it was a "glitter glows" from jb tackle

or a moon glow from jr tackle, both quality jigs

[Jim Uran]

For me I like a demon and a crappie minnow, that's pretty much what I use and have a lot of good luck in my neck of the woods.

[NCLaker]

I use these a lot when using live bait. Smaller ones tip with waxie or eurolarva. Larger ones I'll start off with a whole minnow tail hooked - if that doesn't work, I'll go with a minnow head.

uwecsteeple - thanks for the clarification ...that makes more sense now. I wasn't paying attention to the position of the eye on the jig, assumed it was a horizontal jig.

[united jigsticker]

I know this is far from believable, but it is true to the last letter.

One time, while ice fishing, I began to get that groaning urge...you know the one.

So after a few hot and cold flashes, I dropped the overalls and took a Duke in the hole. As I watched it sink on the FL-8, I soon realized that some poor fish must not be using the olfactory sense. A big red blip cruised toward the falling turd, and 2 signals turned into one. The fish ate the turd!

A half hour later (no joke) a buddy catches a 3 pound Northern, releases it, and comes over to gripe about the fishing coughing up some brown stuff that reaked of doo-doo.

HA HA.

And no, I don't use tootsie-rolls on my tip-ups now because of that

[NCLaker]

Watching your turds sinking on your Vex!! You reeeeally must have been having a slow night

Don't think that will make my list for for favorite bait for crappies

[Matt Johnson]

I use larger profile jigs all winter long. The 2-inch Power Minnow stays on my line and is one of the first things I drop down. A great search lure and is at least good for a couple aggressive fish before making the switch to a small offering. I like to fish fast and cover ground. There is an active school somewhere. Instead of tinkering with the inactive fish, I tend to find myself moving and plucking out active fish.

Great tip on the black jigs. I use black/purple quite a bit through the ice. Black gives off the best silhouette against the light source. And, when dealing with up-feeding fish, you definitely want the most visual silhouette for the fish to see.

The black jig is also blacker/darker than ANYTHING else in nature... this is gives off little or no ambiant light allowing it to be seen as having the best outline. Fish are used to feeding on dark colored insects and plankton, so a giant (in the fish's mind) black jig is easy for them to hone in on.

For me, the blood red was a bigger winner last season. Excellent on the sticky-bottom gills!

[NCLaker]

Thanks for the info Matt! Do you use black for your plastics as well, or just the jig head?? And do you use the same colors for night vs. daytime??

[Deitz Dittrich]

I myself am a huge fan of horizontal jigs. marmooska/diamond jig types are my fave. As for color, I like Orange/Yellow. Not sure, but its always been a confidence bait for me.

[Bobb-o]

Matt, if you wanna really slay the sticky bottom gills, try dropshotting a San Juan Worm or a size 16 hook with a red little-atom micro-noodle.

[Scott M]

Still haven't found a favorite bait. I have an ever expanding selection of jigs to choose from. Quite honestly I start with whatever tickles my fancy and based on reaction I'll try and gauge aggressiveness and mood, and adjust size, profile, weight, action, etc.

Bobb-O, the fly/drop shot idea is intriguing. Have drop-shotted in open water for gills and bass, now just need to apply it in the winter. Sounds like you've had some success the last couple years in the winter. Nice article BTW. Well done.

San Juan or red micro-noodle sounds like bloodworm mimicry. Can't go wrong there.

Gun to my head I would probably go with a Shrimpo, as it is a bait that I have fished the longest. Great action, almost impossible to fish wrong, glows, and catches anything from walleye (I caught my PB on a shrimpo) to slabs and bull gills.

[smeese]

Kens lures rock. They are typical teardrops of different sizes and colors found on the tear off cards at local bait shops. Usually about a buck each.

[Borch]

For me horizontal with a ratso, nuggie, or the first lure down a 2" power minnow. The power tubes get a lot of time as well.

Colors, well that depends but glow chartruese in the power minnow is a favorite as well as white nuggies.

[Matt Johnson]

Northland has a new line of ice jigs and plastics... keep a close eye on these ones. Some excellent choices...