NAIFC

Jason Mitchell

We might be able to catch walleye or lake trout by ripping and snapping a lure with maneuvers that can be measured in feet but panfish often require certain subtleness. Lure manipulation for panfish is often micro with the tightest bobs and pounds imparted to make the hook merely kick and dance. So often when the quarry is panfish, lure manipulation is less about attracting the fish as much as countering line twist. Usually, line twist and lure spin is the common nemesis. Catching panfish isn’t rocket science by any means but with a lure that inadvertently wants to spin as built up memory in the line unwinds; triggering tough panfish is the process of manipulating lure spin. You will catch more bluegill, crappie, sunfish and perch by understanding this key concept. When an ice jig hangs still, the lure generally spins. Now fish will often chomp a jig that is spinning oh so slowly but as a rule, the faster the spin the fewer the fish. In fact, panfish will often stare at a spinning jig for a considerable amount of time. Until either the memory of the line unloads and the lure finally stops spinning one direction (before countering to the other direction) or until the lure is moved or rocked which will momentarily cause the lure to stop spinning. During these brief recesses from the spins, interested fish often make their move. What is important to note however is the fact that fish will often basically just stare down the lure without committing until they get this recess described above.

A slight twitch or subtle bob might seal the deal but what many panfish anglers find surprising is what this game of cat and mouse actually looks like under the ice. So often, anglers imagine that this subtle hop or jiggle triggered and enticed the strike. From watching fish however we can also surmise that these micro moves might only enable the strike. The fish is often already aroused, already triggered, just needs a chance to pounce. Anglers who can master and manipulate the spin on the lure basically give fish more chances to make this pounce.

Sight fishing is an excellent education for catching pan fish. Underwater cameras are also a great learning tool. When we can physically see the fish, we can see exactly what we are doing wrong. When we can see fish interested in what we are doing, we just make better decisions. Amazing for example just how many times panfish will approach the wrong end of the jig and hit the lead end where there is no bait or hook. When we are sight fishing or using a camera, we can physically twist the line with our fingers to turn the hook towards the mouth of the fish. We can also dance or bob the jig just enough to keep everything looking alive and twist free down below. Yes being able to see the fish and your presentation has a few advantages and if we use this information, we can become much better anglers.

With all of the advantages to “watching” the happenings of down below, why not make a point to always watch panfish by either flipping up the Trap or using an underwater camera? The answer is because physically watching the fish has distinct disadvantages that counter the advantages. Watching fish generally takes some kind of shelter so that we can get our immediate surroundings dark enough to see down the hole. We also have to assume that the water is clear enough to see to a depth where the fish are. We also have to assume that the spot that we are camping on is a good spot because tactics that rely on “watching” fish will cramp mobility. Stained water and deep water also eliminate the use of a camera. Many cameras have infrared lights but these lights seem to bother fish. I don’t know how many times I have seen this first hand during my time as a guide for the Perch Patrol on Devils Lake. Without the camera, fish came through at regular intervals. Drop the camera lens down and fish still came through. Turn the lights on and game over. This was thirty plus feet of water that was basically too dark to see without lights. Another consideration or side note regarding cameras. Cameras worked great for educating our customers when they worked and here a few scenarios that were conductive to camera use.

Down viewing was the only way to fly since finding the lure is so quick with this process of sliding the lens down the same hole you are fishing with the lens pointed straight down. Fish would sometimes wrap around the cord but they slid right up the cord in most cases. For down viewing to work well however, we had to have enough light and clear enough water to be able to keep the lens preferably four feet above the fish. We used a Vexilar when lowering the lens down so that we could avoid stirring up the bottom when setting up the camera. Here is an important phenomenon that we noticed over and over too often to be a coincidence. Perch would swim up to the lens and actually peck at the lens but never swim within a couple of feet under the lens. What this means is that if the lighting is too low where you have to have the camera within a few feet of the bottom to see the bottom, you won’t be able to get many fish to swim under the lens. They will swim up to the lens but not under where you can see them. Middle of the day often provided enough light to see bottom perhaps four to five feet above the bottom without using the infrared lights. As the day progressed, the bottom became darker and the lens had to be inched closer to the bottom, as the camera lens reached closer to the bottom, fewer fish would swim right under the lens. We could surmise that the lower light levels brought decreased activity from the perch and they quit moving but we found this usually wasn’t the case because as soon as the lens was lifted, we could indeed detect the presence of fish and still catch fish by using a Vexilar.

The immobility of cameras and dark houses however is a valuable tuition. The information you learn from actually watching fish and watching the presentation is invaluable. Having a visual mental image of the presentation spinning and what each move or maneuver does to counter the spin is invaluable. Each species of panfish seems to approach the presentation with a different style. Bluegill and sunfish for example often seem to stall six inches or closer as they judge the bait. Perch on the other hand seem to stall from further back, often a foot, sometimes twenty inches. A school of perch would often appear to form the spokes of a wagon wheel, all facing the bait from different directions, all the same distance from the bait. One perch would flirt forward suck the bait in, spit the bait out and backpedal. Then another perch would inch forward and suck the bait in from the opposite direction. We found that many of the perch we missed were the result of fish hitting the wrong end of the jig. Now common fishing theory would dictate that missed fish was the result of too big of a profile, too much lure. The first reaction for many would be to downsize. If you are missing fish when using five spikes, try something smaller and use even fewer spikes. What we often found to actually work better however was the exact opposite. By packing more bait on to the hook, we found that we actually hooked more fish because more stimuli on the hook end caused fish to eat the right end of the jig more often, increasing our hooking percentage. Also important to note that some controlled spin is necessary because you still can’t control what direction the fish comes from. If the jig or lure did not spin at all, what are the chances that the fish approaches from the back or side where the hook gets sucked into the mouth. By monitoring and controlling the spin, we can essentially turn the meat end of the presentation towards the fish and trigger the bite.

Manipulating line twist so that lure spin can be controlled is part of the equation. Running the line between our fingers to stretch monofilament helps take out memory and undo some built up line twist. By far, my favorite line for ice fishing when using monofilament is Berkley Sensation. This type of line isn’t marketed or branded specifically for ice duty and the line comes on a larger spool which also seems to help defy memory and twist. Often, I tied a tiny barrel swivel about fifteen inches above horizontal jigs and other lures that worked best with a Palomar knot. Or used tiny snap swivels for attaching small spoons and dropper rigs. The swivels will not prevent spinning but do seem to extend the amount of time that fishing line can be workable. Black seemed to be important as well as silver swivels sometimes distracted fish from your presentation more so. Also, swivels that were tied within fifteen inches of the lure also sometimes pulled fish away from the business end. You don’t want something on the line that competes with the hook for attention.

When fish are hitting the baits well, they suck in the whole lure, turn the lure to consume and not let go. They chomp and hold. These fish make everybody look good. When fish don’t chomp and hold but chomp and spit, chomp and spit again, getting the fish to chomp the right end of the presentation is much more crucial. Jigs with a single hook can become more effective with a profile that is conductive for fish to hit the right end of the jig. Genz worms for example have a profile where the head of the jig protrudes well past the eye allowing fish to often swing and miss the wrong end of the jig. On a tough bite, this lure can be made much more effective by taking a pliers and snapping off the front bead. When fish swing and miss the presentation when the going gets tough, we struggle because these fish aren’t persistent. We get one chance, maybe two and on to the next fish.

Balancing horizontal jigs to fish slightly hook down also seems to cause fish to hit the right end of the jig. Most of all, bulk up the hook end. Most of the time, fish will hit the end of the lure that has the most bulk and smell. Now bulking up the bait on a panfish size jig creates a new set of problems because a fish can grip onto a mouth full of wax worms or spikes and still get no hook. On a tough bite where I am clawing for every fish, what I often do is slide a small treble hook onto the shaft of the jig hook. A common recipe might be one wax worm, small treble hook, and one more wax worm. This dangling treble rarely falls off and sticks more fish than you can imagine. Not the answer on a torrid bite where the goal is to get unhooked and back down as quickly as possible but amazingly effective when the fish are sucking and spitting or won’t hold the bait. What size treble? Well I have a box full of the smallest size Jigging Rapalas but I hate the tiny hooks that are attached to the bottom of the lure so I upsize to a treble large enough to handle a perch eye or minnow head, all of the left over little treble hooks I have from these Rapala recon efforts are used for the tip described above.

Manipulating and imagining lure spin and the reaction to fish when cameras are no longer practical because of mobility or usefulness in deep or dark water takes an intimate understanding of your electronics whether you use a digital LCD graph or an analog flasher. For this intimacy, I believe the Vexilar with bottom zoom features offer anglers a distinct advantage because the display is live action and the image isn’t filtered. This enables you to determine whether the fish is moving or stalled by the flutter in the image representing the fish.

This idea of being able to visualize the lure and the fish, being able to better gauge the temperature of the fish’s attitude is beneficial. Understanding line twist and the affect this unloading twist has on lures is crucial for triggering panfish under tough conditions. The education received by using underwater cameras or by sight fishing is invaluable. Taking these lessons learned to deeper and darker haunts can make you a much better ice angler.