Trying something new this year for lakers .

[Homewrecker]

Normally I use a 2 oz tube jig tipped with a minnow for ice fishing.
In summer , I use an anchovy and tooth pick rig for down rigging.

So why not take that same anchovy tooth pick  rig set up and attach it to a 2oz weight
Drop it down the hole and just let the anchovy float around.

What do you guys think ?  Anyone try this  ?

[appleye]

I think it would work I'd use a quick strike rig with the lightest weight I could get away with. A lot of time I use a lighter tube jig with meat just not moving on the bottom, catches lots for fish.

[Gunflint]

What the heck is an anchovy toothpick rig?

[Homewrecker]

Its a plastic hood that fits over the anchovy head, then you place a tooth pick threw the plastic hood threw the head and out the other side.
Your fishing line is attached to the hood and then a stinker hook at the end of the fish . With this set up you can troll with it ,as the plastic hood protects  the fish from falling apart .  Hoods come in many colours.
 
Many times if you place a hook threw bait the hook will fall out when dropping it down 100 ft or more.
But these tooth picks hold on even after the bait has been hit a few times.

Just something I want to try .

[Gunflint]

Thanks for the explanation. I mostly use tube jigs.

[Homewrecker]

Yes this is what I have been using also . White  Tube jigs around 4 -5 inches long tipped with a minnow ( 2oz weight inside)

I just find most  lakers  last  few year do not not want to take bait that big  any more ,as they are full even before the sun comes up.

 I was in 95 ft of water last year and my LX7 screen started show very large groups of bait fish that would fill the whole screen ,i mean from the top down to 95 ft .   I thought something was wrong with my LX7 ....but I looked down the whole and it was full of bait fish about 5 inches long .

So I need to slender  it down what i but down the hole.

Been getting harder to catch a keeper as they upped the size at cold lake . They now have to be 29.5 inches long, and you only can keep one.
Takes me 3 hrs to drive to this lake and i just want to bring as much as I can to test what they are biting on.
Fishing this lake more than 20 years some winters you catch 10 and one is a keeper. Now you catch 3 and none are keepers.
They are just full ,but still like to chase !

[Gunflint]

I found photos of the rig on line.



Seems complicated to me. I typically tip the hook on a spoon with a bit of worm while trolling in the summer and that has worked great for me trolling behind cowbells.

Are cowbells legal for you. They seem to make a huge difference? I think cowbells while trolling are more important than the lure itself.

If I didn't use them, perhaps anchovy rigs are what I would need.

[eyeflyer]

Best lure I ever used for Lakers in the winter was a 2oz. jig with a greenish see through plastic body. The jig had a very bright strobe light in it and it was a magnet for Lakers. Finally lost the jig, I had bought at a sale where I guy had some on his table. I have looked online for years and find some similar but they never worked as good.

[Homewrecker]

Wallmart had some a few years ago  .