Plus Bonus Buzz Stixin’ Tricks

Swimming Lures—In the hands of an expert puppeteer, string-activated puppets can be made to move, dance, and prance in lifelike fashion. Anglers can develop similar skills with their ice rod and line, making swimming lures appear lifelike, too.

Swimming lures have a baitfish profile resembling a minnow, chub, shiner, shad, or young-of-the-year panfish. Properly timed, every lift, drop, hop, bounce, shake, and hold are ways anglers can manipulate the lure to duplicate the moves real baitfish make that cause fish to strike.

I start my jigging sequence with a basic lift-fall-hold. Start by lifting the rod tip up between 12 to 16 inches; let the bait free-fall and settle back into place, then hold for a few seconds. It’s the most unrealistic jigging move, considering that baitfish rarely repeatedly dart up and away and then back down to the same spot, but it’s one of the best moves to attract fish. Once you spot a fish below (often visible on electronics), a variety of other, more realistic jigging moves can make your bait appear lifelike.

My favorite move is mimicking a minnow trying to escape. A minnow that spots a fish getting too close instinctively tries to swim away. Likewise, a fish that recognizes its prey trying to escape often ambushes before the opportunity is gone. It’s why purposely moving a swimming lure up and away often triggers the fish to rush and crush the bait. (See the illustration.)

A nervous jiggle is another move that best imitates the movement a baitfish makes before it gets ready to take off. Just before a baitfish darts off, it begins to move and quiver, coiling its body, fins flailing and rippling, preparing to flee. Predators anticipate this movement and often react by biting before the baitfish gets away.

It’s a fast maneuver yet is barely a movement up and down. Concentrate on shaking the bait, just moving your hand up-down. Don’t try to move the rod tip; that moves the lure too much. Concentrate on your wrist or your hand to make the lure roll or flip left-right, left-right on its axis, mimicking a baitfish preparing to flee.

A stunned or unsuspecting baitfish totally unaware of any danger is an easy meal for fish. A baitfish in such a state is often motionless, so it makes sense that fish would strike a stationary lure.

Holding a lure steady for 30 to 90 seconds (or longer) is the challenge. If you can’t hold it still that long, put your rod on a bucket or in a rod holder and deadstick the bait a few feet from bottom. When a fish moves in, resist the temptation of trying to tease a strike via jigging—not jigging is probably the reason the fish is interested. Wait and watch for a strike.

No takers? Drop the bait to bottom and let it sit there for 5 to 10 seconds. Having used my underwater camera for several seasons, I’ve watched lots of fish **** spoons and flash lures right off bottom. On the other hand, bottom crashing (see illustration) can also be used in this situation.

Ideally, specific jigging moves cause your lure to respond and fish to react—a simple formula that keeps anglers connected to fish. Use the best lure for the conditions, learn specific moves that make your baits perform, and select the best move based on fish behavior. After that, it’s up to the fish.