Setting tip ups in fast moving water?

[stripernut]

I don't know if we will have enough safe ice this year, but in years that we do, I fish a few spots where the water is moving right along under the ice (and before any one starts, I understand the dangers of ice on moving water). I am often in about 20 ft of water and with the sounder I am finding that a weighted line is ending up about 6 ft or more down current. I am wondering what presentation anglers are using to keep there shiner near the bottom, without adding so much weight that a fish/walleye would drop the bait after the pick up...? The current can vary a great deal with in a hour, so when I have set the leader with a reasonable amount of weight for the current speed of flow and come back to check and my shiner is "sweeped" half way up the water column... I don't want to reinvent the wheel if someone already has an effective technique.
I have been thinking maybe a slider rig with the weight set so it is on a dropper and stays stationary on the bottom. When a fish hits the shiner, the line slides through the dropper rig and trips the flag (and does not spook the fish, I hope)... Has anyone tried this? Is it common in other parts of the country?
What do you guys use in the Midwest on your rivers? I also wonder if you hook your shiner in moving water differently? I am thinking a "nose job" would be best...
I do jig and get most of my fish in the moving water that way, but I also want to do better with the tilts while jigging...
Thanks.

[hardwater diehard]

I did some research on this topic some time back ...don't think I will be fishing any river waters near me any time soon due to the up/down winters and temperature we have been experiencing in my neck of the woods.

http://www.in-fisherman.com/ice-fishing/ice-fishing-current/

[stripernut]

Thanks diehard, some great info on jigging walleye. Have been doing OK jigging them, but more info is always good, it is to bad they did not cover any info about Tip ups in current...

[hardwater diehard]

I would think a Ball type jig would be best based on my previous post as spoons may just twist and tumble ...even a bottom bouncer could be effective...but maybe too much hardware should the fish run or just go down stream .

[stripernut]

So, you suggest a ball type jig on a tip up? I would think that the fish would drop a heavy jig before I got to my tip up...
 On my jigging rod I have had good luck with Chubby Darters, I have to set up my transducer in a different hole down stream to see my jig (about 4-6 ft), but that is not a big deal...

[hardwater diehard]

Never ice fished any river water but I'm kind of comparing it to trolling to some degree...you want your presentation at the level of fish activity ...which can be achieved by different weight jigs .Could even try a egg sinker rig on your tip up.

http://www.insideoutoutdoors.com/inside-out/the-egg-sinker-rig

this will get the bait down and offer little resistance after taking the bait.
once again not a river guy just spit balling  ...these are things I would likely try if I ever get the opportunity .
Hopefully others will chime in I could use some more ice fishing knowledge.

[Old Goat]

I too think the egg sinker is feasible split shot below the egg(small) then distance to hook,jig,floating jig etc.

[JiggingIowa]

I would think a drop shot rig with a 3 way swivel would help remedy this

[RapShack]

Take a large egg sinker (the type with the eye for tying on) of as much weight as you fell you need and tie on a couple feet of light mono.  Tie the other end to a small barrel swivel, run your main line through the open side of the barrel swivel so that it can slide freely on the line.  Put a barrel swivel on the main line then run your normal leader to your bait.  Drop the whole mess down to the bottom then pick up the slack till the line is almost taught and set the trap.  This will keep the bait up off the bottom and blowing downstream just a bit, when a fish grabs it the line pays out through the swivel while the weight stays where it is.

The main problem with a setup like this is going to be getting solid hook sets, especially if they pull a bunch of line before you get there.

[JoeGG]

Why not try a length of leadcore and a flouro leader? I have fished with smelt in 20 fow where the water was running pretty swiftly under my feet. No weight. Hooked them through the lips. Let out 20 feet of line and the smelt was right under the ice but 20 feet away. Caught bows, salmon and pickerel this way.

[BlackDogAlpha]

I think the dropshot rig would work but then have a real hairtrigger on the trap, the problem is walleyes in current are usually a real soft touch and tripping the flag might be an issue with them, although the leadcore idea is a good one. Bait rigging, if you miss a lot of flags, add a trailer hook if your state allows and lip hook/tail hook the minnow, we used this a lot riverfishing walleyes. You are one crazy person for fishing current too, I do not like looking up at ice from the riverbottom.

[32footsteps]

Ive used a Wolf River rig and they work well.  The trick is in fine tuning the right amount of weight to drop off the bottom of it tofind that sweet spot of how much weight you need to just hold it in place based on the strength of the current you are in.

[esox_xtm]

I've used a hybrid Wolf River/dropshot rig with good success in a number of situations. It works like this: the dropper is a heavy weight on a predetermined length of line with a single swivel on the other end. The main line passes through the swivel and then, in order, a bead (clear or colored), bobber stop and your hook/lure on the end.

I like this because it functions like a slip sinker, light biters cam take line without having to drag the whole weight with them. I can also easily adjust the length of my presentation from the weight by moving the bobber stop. It can be right there or even a few feet away.

Running water is an interesting animal. We've fished a small slough off a local river. Pretty typically the river there does not freeze but there can be 2 feet of ice out of the current. Late season the best spot to set up is right at the mouth of the slough to take advantage of fish moving in and out of the area. I've drilled holes through 18" of ice and only been maybe 2 feet from the open, moving water. Kinda creepy....

[stripernut]

Take a large egg sinker (the type with the eye for tying on) of as much weight as you fell you need and tie on a couple feet of light mono.  Tie the other end to a small barrel swivel, run your main line through the open side of the barrel swivel so that it can slide freely on the line.  Put a barrel swivel on the main line then run your normal leader to your bait.  Drop the whole mess down to the bottom then pick up the slack till the line is almost taught and set the trap.  This will keep the bait up off the bottom and blowing downstream just a bit, when a fish grabs it the line pays out through the swivel while the weight stays where it is.

Thanks RapShack, that is almost what I was trying to describe in my first post... Do you Fish this ri through the ice?

Ive used a Wolf River rig and they work well.  The trick is in fine tuning the right amount of weight to drop off the bottom of it to find that sweet spot of how much weight you need to just hold it in place based on the strength of the current you are in.

32footsteps, With the Wolf River Rig (what we call a three way rig), doesn't the fish feel the weight on the run or am I missing something? I have worked and found the "Sweet Spot" for weight, but then they open a canal and it changes, then half a hour later they close it...

Thanks esox_xtm, just what I was thinking of doing, I use a Ball Bearing Snap Swivel to attach my leader to my Dacron and I will use that as a "Stop"... I will look around for the best Snap to slide over the Dacron, at least it does have to have any quality...

Thanks everyone for some great suggestions and input!

[Ice Scratcher]

You could take a bigger egg sinker and drill it out and chamfer the edges of the hole (all to help the line slide better)..  Use a plastic bead as a stopper, three wraps through the bead. After the bead, a 20-30 inch lead with a lightweight hook or even a floating jig head..

Drop the rig down and set it with the bead pulled against the sinker on the bottom..

That's what I would try anyway.. The bigger sinker the better because if the fish swims away the weight of the sinker will affect the hook set too..

<°)))>{

[Damn Yankee]

I would think a typical Carp Rig with a lead (possibly 3oz. or whatever would be needed to hold bottom) on a carp lead clip with a 12" hook link.
The alternative would be the same rig with a Rubberband-Trick (with the proper circle hook) added to the set-up.

[RapShack]

Do you Fish this ri through the ice?

I have played around with it a little bit in a thinking outside the box sort of way, but I wasn't live baiting.  If we get a good enough cold snap that I can feel confident walking out over the main channel of the Mississippi I'll give it a shot sometime this winter.