What am I doing wrong?

[isuhunter]

I am wondering what I can do to increase my chances of catching fish.  I picked up a vexilar about 3 weeks ago and have used it every weekend since.  However, I'm not catching many fish at all.  I can mark fish and I know they are there but never can seem to hook up.  I'm using wax worms, fake gulp 1" shad minnows, fathead minnow heads.  I have been trying different lures, swedish pimples, forage minnows, shrimpos.  I've fished mainly from mid afternoon to sunset. 

Is fishing just slow right now?  I know the fishing reports have been slow.  Even though I have only caught one crappie, it still has been fun to be outdoors.

Any advice would be great! Thanks

[therealjt]

are you jigging above the fish? jigging too agressive? alot of the fish i have been catching want it sitting still

[isuhunter]

are you jigging above the fish? jigging too agressive? alot of the fish i have been catching want it sitting still

I guess if I see a fish on the vex I move my lure up or down to the level of the fish.  Then I will usually let it sit for 15-30 seconds and then jig up quick and let it settle back to the level of the fish.  They seem to stay around for 1-2 min.

[therealjt]

where you fishing at?

[isuhunter]

where you fishing at?

Public lakes/ponds around Carroll area. 

[esox_magnum]

Public lakes/ponds around Carroll area. 

 Thats your problem, Swan Lake.......... Things are slow up here to. When I lived in Carroll I traveled to fish.

[isuhunter]

Thats your problem, Swan Lake.......... Things are slow up here to. When I lived in Carroll I traveled to fish.

LOL...Swan lake is only place I've gotten bites and actually caught a fish.  But overall I don't think I've ever heard a good thing about it.

[DougU]

Fishing in early February after a hard winter!!!! Don't feel so bad, most people are struggling right now, usually panfishing slows down in mid-winter. I have been in a slump as well as most of my buddies. This time of year you get lots of lookers and bites so lite they may move a spring bobber a 1/4" in 30 seconds. I have been hitting everything from private ponds to small county parks to several hundred acre state lakes; all have been pretty much the same. I have had a little success downsizing and some upsizing as well. A trick I started using that seems to work is I have pre-tied several different lures to very small swivels and then leave a clip on your main line. This not only allows for quick changes to see what they may like but it also minimizes line twist. I have heard that spinning jigs (due to line twist) can spook fish.

[cropee]

After several years of experiencing the same thing. A few years back i purchased a camera and from watching these fish that come in and look I have found a few tricks that work. Keep in mind I am not a big person to share info but here you go........... first sounds like you are jigging to aggressively very little jig movement when the fish is nosed up to the jig, he came to the jig because of being interested allot of things will spook him away I like jigging a little aggressive just to see if I can attract fish then slow down only moving my rod tip an 1/8th inch or less.... from the camera view you only want the jig to appear suspended and just rocking not moving up and down at all a st Croix rod with a spring bobber works real well for this watch the spring closely very closely a slight movement and set the hook, split seconds here can make or break a day of fishing.......also sometimes is all they do is look, try changing colors... sometimes there are only 1 or 2 fish active per hole.....drill lots of holes and take the active fish then move even if its only moving 10 foot .........good luck there is altot to learn trial and error will get you there but for the most part a very small shake  just moving the spring bobber will get you fish this time of the year good luck

[IowaIceman]

Its not where, its not when, its not how.  It's February.  I've also been out the last 3 Saturday's on sand pits and farm ponds.  I've caught 2 fish.  I was absolutely killing them earlier in the year.  I was out with a buddy yesterday and he has a camera.  He caught 3 dinks while I only managed 3 bites all afternoon.  Stay with it, they'll get more aggresive.  Watch the fishing reports and fish where they are biting.  Sooner or later you'll hit it when they are active.  Either way, it beats working or sitting in the house.

[flyfishr]

I think cropee has nailed it.   I have fished 7 out of the last 9 days using swedish pimples with Gulp waxes. I don't have a flasher unit but use our Humminbird fish finder to see the depth of the water and if there are any fish moving around and what depths they are at.  The first 2 days we fished a fairly large sandpit lake and 12 mile near Creston and they were a bust and I was jigging like I normally do.   And then we fished some small private ponds the next 4 days with fairly good success and one thing I noticed over those 4 days was when I slowed my jigging motion down to the point as if I was bobber fishing in the summer and a slight breeze was gently moving the bobber up and down I got a lot more bites and a lot more hookups.   Then today, well yesterday now, we went and fished Lake Binder near Corning and I used the same jigging pattern. I ever so slightly wiggled the rod end up and down no more than 1/4" and I caught 25-30 crappies in about 4 hours and also missed hooking quite a few.   The only down side of it was that they were only about 5-6" fish that I caught and threw back.  I was hoping that some of the bigger fish would show up but they never did.   The other thing I noticed too was that if I watched my line in the hole as I was gently jigging it would move like there was a current pushing it and just about every time I set the hook I had a fish on or just missed hooking a fish, but never felt a bite.    I think that the fish were just taking it and slowly moving away with it without being aggressive enough for me to feel a bite.  Kind of like when a catfish picks the bait up on the bottom and pulls the line.

[63110]

What size test you using?  I use 3 lb max.  I have also been down sizing 12-14 gill pills seem to be working for me.  Maybe try spikes rather than waxies (seem to hit them a little better when things are tough).  Things have been slow around here too.  Last time I was out fished for about 2 hrs with them just coming up looking at it, then for about an hour or so the bite was on.  Then died off again.  Might want to look at the Astro Tables and try planning a trip about an hour or so before and after the primary or secondary periods.  Just a few ideas.  It's just a tough time of year.  Good luck!

[ozzy1038]

What cropee and flyfishr said.  I have been having good success lately and that is exactly what I am doing. I am BARELY moving it.  A horizontal jig like a genz worm or the like will help with the rocking motion.  If you have a problem jigging it that light, use your finger on your other hand and tap the rod with your finger.  I jig it extremely light until the fish is on it according to my flasher then I stop and wait.  A good spring bobber will pay off big with a shy bite.  Although I will say that I have been running into some fairly aggressive fish lately.  Although some have been extremely light biters and I have had to sight fish some of them.  In the past I have been mostly an aggressive jigger because that is what has worked.  When the fish have lockjaw you have to adapt.  I fish 4-5 days a week and do it to catch fish, not just sit there and drink beer (although I quite enjoy that as well) so I needed to learn how to catch more than just a couple in a few hours.  Of course there are times when you just have to move.  I have been fortunate that I have been able to locate where the fish are hanging out in the few bodies of water I fish regularly.

Another thing that may help you with hook ups is to use a very small jig like 1/64 and thread the waxie on the whole thing so when they suck it in the whole hook is in their mouth.  It helps increase my hookups and prevents them from just sucking the waxie off your hook. 

Another thing I do especially if I don't see fish on the flasher is to raise my jig all the way up until my rod hits the roff of my shack and then jig it aggressively on the way down.  It will usually attract some fish and then you can go to the lighter jigging.  It also allows fish that may be suspended above where your jig is at to see it.  Also another jig or spoon just dead sticked and occasionly jigged aggressivley will work as an attractor.  I then jig above that with the rod I am actively fishing with.

I hope some of this helps.  Good luck!!

[Ret58 1]

Now that is great info guys!!!  Almost like being at a seminar   Thanks a lot

[ozzy1038]

One thing I forgot to mention along the same lines as what flyfishr was talking about is when raising the rod high and jigging on the way down watch your line.  If it moves to the side, gets tight, or goes slack set the hook.  This is more effective if your are just letting the jig drop with out really jigging it.  I catch quite a few on the drop. Of course if you see a pretty red line racing up the dial on your flasher towards your jig get ready.   It's almost like softwater fishing.  If your line goes sideways on the retrieve set the hook. 

[flyfishr]

Even though I didn't mention it I too do the same as ozzy when I fish the swedish pimples.  I get the lure suspended just at the bottom and raise the rod as high as I can reach jigging the lure as I go up and then at full reach up, jig it a little and then start a downward stroke doing the same jigging as I did on the way up trying to catch the attention of any fish.  As ozzy said it will trigger some fish to strike on the drop and you then can get a reading at about what depth this strike happened and then you can go into the super slow jigging motion in the depth of water that the strike occurred.

[cropee]

Here is something to give you and idea of how slight you have to jig.
Take a glass of water place it on the table put a waxie on your jig and practice jigging it on the kitchen table simulating your jig under the ice
Make it just quiver, just flutter that waxie.......its killer when the bite gets slow trust me samething I am watching on a camera only difference is I can see how the fish react.
I like a custom jigs and spins ratso with several different color bodies to make it easy to change color.
A spring bobber is a must I even have a pole that I have 1lb test on just for times like these
The fish are catchable...... like i said before you might have 20 fish inside your ice hole zone and there might only be 3 or 4 of them active or less
Move 10 feet and get another 3 or 4 fish, ten holes and a hundred feet might get you 30 or 40 fish versus sitting on one hole and only getting 3 or 4 fish all day
A whole new topic is one area of the lake better then the next???
I am trying to determine this now.......my opinion is yes everytime you go to your favorite lake try a new spot and campare the results as fishing the same place you always catch fish.
I recently did a fishing tournament at a lake I had never ever fished before......... picked out a stake bed from the drn web site maps before i went
Fished that bed only never moved or drill anymore holes fishing slowed consistently from beginning to end.....still ended up 3rd out of 50 teams

[isuhunter]

AWESOME GUYS!!  Thanks for all the info.  I'll read more when I get home from work as my lunch break is about over.  I'm excited to try some of these tips out.

Thanks again!

[reddiwhip]

This is some good stuff!! I'm glad I took the time to read this thread.  Thanks for the insight guys.  

Good luck this weekend.

Best-


Rob

[TRCrappie]

If you are fishing for bluegills I would use mud bugs, bro bugs, or any other horizontal lure.  Just suggested these so you can get back down their when they move in because of the weight of the jig.  Have always just jigged a foot up til u see the fish coming and then stop jigging.  Have had good luck all season this year.  Hali's work well for crappie and bluegills and anything else, thought the size would defer bluegills but they have been the most successful bait for me for them and you can catch one and be back down in no time.  On horizontal jigs have had better luck tying loop knots versus a standard not so the bait does not just spin in circles.  They don't hit when your bait spins like that from my experience with a camera.  Hooking your waxworms like 6311 said does increase hook ups also.  Fish morning and evening for best results.  I usually get on the ice one hour before sunup and stay til around 10 and not a problem to catch fish.  If they continue to hit then I stay if not cruise.  Crappie seem to be easier to locate than bluegills during daytime because they are suspended and easy to find.  Good luck