Seasoned Perspectives On The Midnight Shift

A Few Presentation Pointers

I’ve long been a proponent of aggressive ice fishing. I’ve seen it pay off many times. Say three anglers are sitting in a fish house in the middle of the night. Two traditionalists are fishing minnows beneath floats, while the third is constantly jigging an ice jig tipped with maggots. Not only will the angler with the jigging rod usually catch more fish, but the flash and vibration emitted by his jig likely will attract more fish to his partners’ minnow lines.

In states where more than one line is allowed, it sometimes pays to jig with one rod and soak a minnow with another. During a hot bite, though, it’s often difficult to keep both lines in the water and avoid tangles. In this case, I always opt for a jig because it’s more efficient. I can tip a jig with maggots faster than I can grab a minnow out of the bucket, and I can drop a jig to the level where fish are holding faster than I can set a float. Efficiency is an important key to successful ice fishing.

My standard offering is a #10 Lindy-Little Joe Fat Boy tipped with three to five maggots. I really like the new glow colors available this year, since they’re more visible after dark. Charge the phosphorescent paint with a camera flash or a Lindy Tazer every 10 minutes or so for maximum visibility. I also add fresh bait at about the same interval to entice finicky biters.

If there’s a time when minnows produce more fish than maggots, it’s right at dusk. This is when crappie activity level peaks and the fish are searching for minnows and other forage. Too many anglers, though, let minnows sit motionless beneath a float and wait for a bite. Instead, occasionally lift the minnow a foot or so, then let it drop on a slack line. This keeps the minnow struggling against the weight of a #6 jig or lead shot pinched a few inches above a #6 hook, which triggers more bites.

Another minnow tip is to hook the bait through the tail or just beneath the skin behind the dorsal fin. Hooking a minnow too deeply usually kills the bait or at least impedes its swimming ability. And instead of setting the hook immediately as you would when a crappie takes a jig and maggot combo, let the float ease down the hole a foot or so before setting the hook.

A Closer Look At Jigging

If I don’t see any fish on sonar, I usually begin my jigging routine with my rod tip about three or four feet above the hole, depending on the size of my shelter. I slowly jerk and wiggle the rod tip down to the top of the hole, then start working it back up again. The objective is to make the bait look alive and attract the attention of any fish holding nearby.

Once I see a fish on sonar, though, I stop the aggressive jigging and begin quivering my rod tip. This maneuver, called pounding, primarily keeps the jig from spinning in a circle and also makes it look like living prey in a sort of defensive posture. As the fish moves closer, I keep the jig quivering in place. Consistency at this point usually triggers more strikes than sudden jerky movements.

Countless refinements to this system, of course, but the basics are enough to put crappies on the ice. Just make sure that all of those fish don’t go home in buckets.