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[cool][#0000ff]Sure, I have used my share of bitty jigs and waxworms. And, I have caught quite a few fish of several species on the small stuff. But, I have taken more fish and bigger fish while jigging spoons tipped with a chunk of fish meat.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have posted some of the attached pics before. I have been making and using my "Perch Urchins for over 20 years. Quite a few other Utahns have also used them with a measure of success.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]In one of the attached pics (new) I show step by step how I make the perch colored jigs. The ones in the pic are all 3/4 oz. and are some of the new "casting spoons" I now make, to replace the old hammered sinker spoons/jigs I made for many years. It is easier to pour them and paint them than it was to hammer the sinkers.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]When I finish them, I use both treble hooks and single "decorated" hooks/flies. I find that the single hooks hold a big piece of meat better and that both hooking and holding on larger fish is better. The single hook is also less likely to snag up.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]A piece of crawler can work very well, but I prefer perch meat (where legal) or a small whole minnow (dead). Chub, sucker or cisco meat (Bear Lake only) also work well to flavor these larger concoctions.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Originally designed to get a lure down deep to perch in Deer Creek and Yuba, they have proven effective on walleyes, smallmouth, largemouth and all species of trout too. I have also taken some big cats on them, even through the ice.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I used to use mostly prism tape, and I still do use some on some patterns. But, with the new metallic vinyl paints and all of the glitter colors available, I am using more and more of that. Anybody can add prism tape to a Kastmaster, like I started out. You need a good paint and glitter collection to really get hinky.[/#0000ff]
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Thanks TubeDude, You always have educational posts. I'm interested in how much you work the lure while fishing it. Do you jig and let it set or do you keep it moving all of the time?
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There is some interresting info there. Last year I got really serious about my ice fishing and started to pay close attention to stomach contents of the fish I was catching, mostly trout out of Red Fleet and Steinaker resevoirs. I was seeing tons of bluegill and baby bass, from 1 to 3 inches in length. So I started to fish larger baits that resembled the minnows I was finding. My results didn't really change that much; generally speaking I would get a bite out of almost anything that came across the sonar, whether I was fishing mealworm tipped ratfinks or larger minnow baits. The only difference I could find was the larger stuff turned up an occasional large mouth bass, but the smaller stuff turned up a good sized bluegill from time to time. I don't know if my experiment means anything except that I need more research, alot more research.
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Thanks as always for the valuable information. Have you used these lures at Deer Creek for walleyes before you moved to Arizona? I tried commercially made lures similar to these at DC through the ice without success, but my technique could have been wrong and I wasn't using sonar. (A problem I have since rectified.)
BRING ON THE ICE.
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When I started ice fishing for Perch I used the standard ice fly dropped below a flasher spoon but by the end of last season I was only using the spoon with a chunk of meat on it. I don't know if it matters much but I like a piece of Perch cut into an elongated triangle with the skin still on. I found I might miss a few smaller fish (not really a problem) but the fish I did catch were bigger on average. The attached pic is of a fish my son caught using a Sweedish Pimple with yellow prizm tape and a chunk of Perch on a single hook. I usually use a Perch colored Kastmaster.
FM
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[cool][#0000ff]I left the computer early last night and did not keep up with the responses. I will address the first four on this one post. I'm already a Sturgeon and don't need to run up my post count.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]KJFN: Good question on the action. A lot of ice anglers don't give that enough consideration. The answer on the jigging spoons is simple, but not. Use whatever works best on any given day. That means you have to experiment. Sometimes they want more action. Other times I have only been able to get hits while the lure and bait were resting absolutely still. The one general statement I will make is that usually less is more. I drop the baited spoon to the bottom, bring it up a few inches, and then just "shivver" it...letting it rest between wiggles. The slightest movement makes the baited hook wiggle around a lot, on the split ring connection. It is an "articulated" lure. A variation is to give it a "shivver lift". This is slowly raising the rod tip, while shivvering the jig. Sometimes a good way to trigger a reaction bite from a neutral but curious fish that has been just eyeballing your stuff. In late season, when the oxygen levels are lower and the fish are slower, I have taken lots of big perch and even walleye while soaking a heavy jig straight down, with the rod setting on a bucket. The weight allows you to detect even the slightest nibble, and that is sometimes how they take it when they are sluggish. Hope that helps.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]fairwayphilly: Keep up the research. It's a good way to spend the rest of your life. You have made some of the same observations I have. Basically, bluegill and other "sunfish" respond better to smaller offerings, and predators appreciate a full plate. I have had lots of trips where these theories have been reinforced.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]doggonefishin: I introduced my new line of Perch Urchins to Deer Creek the first year we were able to get the DWR to open it to ice fishing. Slayed the perch and caught plenty of big rainbows and browns. The trout had to be released for the first few years of ice fishing on Deer Creek. There were not many walleye in DC in those days, but I did catch 3 through the ice on urchins before I headed south. I also caught bunches of them out of Yuba on urchins. I have determined that they are not a magic bullet, but if you present them in the right place, at the right time, the right way, you have a good shot at having walleye on the table. Sonar? I didn't use sonar then either, but I suspect that it would not have made much difference on the walleyes. They kinda cruise in and out, and will whack a jig on the way by if you are good...and lucky. Best bet is to position yourself in a good spot and just keep working it. Oh yeah, the one thing I think I have learned about getting 'eyes through the ice is to keep quiet. Almost every walleye I have taken below the ice has been while fishing alone, or with one or two quiet folks, sitting on seats and not moving around. And, everytime I have been taking them with regularity, the action shut down as soon as somebody else decided to join me and began drilling holes and tromping around. Technique? Fish aggressively and effectively for perch, or other species, and you will pick up a walleye or two, if they are in the area. I have never been successful at targeting walleyes specifically. Better to keep busy while you are waiting for them to bless you.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]fishmagnet: Nice perch pic. Doesn't look like that fish missed many meals. Judging from the grin on your son's face, it looks like he is hooked on ice fishing too. Fishing a tandem rig, with a spoon and a smaller jig, is a popular setup. Sometimes they hit one. Other times the other. Give 'em a choice. But, I seldom add a smaller offering while fishing a baited up spoon, unless I am not getting any action at all. As you point out, even the small fish will smack the larger lure, but you tend to get more attention from bigger fish than with small stuff.[/#0000ff]
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Thanks TD-
That's really helpful info. Nice pictures, too.
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i like to use a 1/4 ounce kastmaster in firetiger or the gold firetiger... also the silver with a blue stripe works welll also. i got a monster perch at echo last winter. it was 14inches long and weighed about 1.8lbs it was a toad. i use the castmaster with perch meat or with shiner heads.
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Sometimes perch or chub (sucker) meat on a kastmaster or swedish pimple works well at Fish Lake - but not for me[unsure]. I try the big guns on the bottom there and they just get soggy. I can catch rainbows forever on ice flies, Foxies, or whatta crickets (a shameless plug for HFT[shocked]) and some splake with the same set up and perch/sucker meat. For some reason the big 'uns just keep away from me. WHAT AM I DOING WRONG?????[mad][mad][mad][mad]
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[cool][#0000ff]If I had all the answers I would be wealthy and retired by now. I ain't and I ain't.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Most folks who tackle Fish Lake are overwhelmed by the multispecies options. There are several species of trout (besides the perch). Some of the trout species overlap in their habits and habitat, and you can score two or three species in one hole. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]If you go strictly for macks, it takes a combination of knowledge, being in the right area, good timing and good luck. Even the guys that know the lake well and have all the right stuff do not harvest macks on every trip. The big boys (and girls) are well known for humbling the proud.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]If the macks are cruising, and venture into the same areas you are finding rainbows and/or splake, you sometimes get lucky and get a major bend in your stick. Most of the time, however, you need to spend a lot of time with the auger and the sonar to find where they are hanging out or cruising through on a regular basis. Typically, they will be deeper or on humps out in the deeper water. And, also typically, the macks will take a larger lure than you usually use for rainbows or small splake. But there have been more than a few Fish Lake anglers that have been pleasantly surprised to hook up with good sized macks on smaller lures.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Don't beat yourself around the head and shoulders. It is probably nothing to do with your choice of lures, baits and techniques. More than anything it is likely location. As the old saying goes, you can't catch them where they ain't. That is a big lake and the mack population is not nearly as large as it once was. 90 % of the fish will be in only 10% of the water...or less.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Now, if you had an Aqua View camera, and it showed that the bottom was paved with big macks, and you couldn't get bit, then you might wanna check your deodorant and make sure you were holding your mouth different. That's the problem with electronics. Too many times they only show you what you are NOT catching.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Bottom line? Always go prepared with a full range of lures and baits. Try different depths and different actions. Spend some time with other anglers with more time on that particular water than you and pay attention to what they can teach you. Then, keep on working and experimenting yourself. And, keep a log book. You would be surprised how often you can use old entries to help you score on another trip at the same time of year.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]PS...I'm sure that James appreciates the plug.[/#0000ff]
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Ah, the good ol' days! It seems as if I did better in the past before all the electronics were available. Perhaps the element of surprise and the ignorance in not being aware of what I was not catching. "Gee, they seem to be hitting down about 30 yanks of my line (one yank = the distance between my bail and the first guide)." You know, that kind of "sonar".[blush]
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Good info, TubeDude. Those urchens look awesome, as well as the spinners and the others.
I think I'm going to start out with my first mold being like a 1/8 oz. type jig deal. I'm gonna get 1 or 2 for Christmas, and maybe by next ice season I'll get an urchen/spoon type deal, so I can make some nice perchie imitations like you've created.
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[cool][#0000ff]If you would like to start by making some hammered sinker lures, like I did, I still have a bajillion of those sinkers left over. I bought out a big bin of them from Smith and Eddies about 1980. They range anywhere from about 1/4 oz. to an ounce. Easy to hammer into shape, then all you got to do is paint them or prism tape them. I have caught a whole lot of fishies on the sinker jigs. But, as I write this, my tackle desk is covered with about a hundred of the new "casting spoons" in a variety of new colors, waiting for the epoxy paint to dry.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Let me know if you want some of those sinkers. You can come over and I will show you how to pound them flat.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Also, after you get your molds, we can get together for a remedial course. You can also use any of mine you need until you get them for your own collection.[/#0000ff]
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