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huh...seems kind of wierd, I never thought of using beads/blades with ice fishing.....seems like more of a trolling/horizontal tactic. You guys vertical jig those setups, or just let the bait pull the blade around on a dead stick? I might have to try this....works good on softwater walleye
imo, trout make one of the BEST Muskie and Pike baits of all time for tipup fishing.
close...(Image removed from quote.)Smelt (as in rainbow)
so....you use blades and beads for deadstick, but NOT jigging? Seems like a blade/bead would be much more effective on a moving bait?you get walleye on dead stick/bait?
Crazy rules, i would like to use trout but we can use perch if caught in the same water your fishing for pike.Jig em then bait em.
Probably a dumb question, never fished with tipups or used perch as bait; do you cut off the top fish that has spikes if you use it as bait?
I have been running half of my tipups with beads and/or blades and the other half just bare fluoro for 3 years and VT allows 15 lines/person so I've seen enough fish to notice some trends... Red beads and small gold blades have yielded probably 50% more flags and fish, except in clear water where the plain leader works better. My one tip is to put a heavier glass bead above the blade, this pushes down on it and lets it spin much better. I've watched lively minnows under the ice and the blades spin and flash remarkably well.