Author Topic: Jigging for northerns?  (Read 2258 times)

Offline busler15

  • Team IceShanty Regular
  • ***
  • Posts: 282
Jigging for northerns?
« on: Jan 18, 2006, 04:52 PM »
Hello, Ive been ice fishing for about 7-8 years, and I am only 15, so Ive grown up with it. Ive grown up using the tip-ups that my great-grandfather built, but recently I have gotten new ones. Anyways, Ive never jigged before. I would love to try jiggin. Ive seen many shows in it. Ive got a few questions
-I would love to jig for pike. Nothing like bringing in a pike on rod and reel. I need ALL information on what to do, use, how, where, when.... ANYTHING WILL HELP when jigging. I know all the basics for tip-ups, but know nearly nothing about jigging

Thanks guys.
Busler15


FORGOT! Ive got a jigging pole, It seems pretty stiff, like its for walleyes or pike.
Its a HT Ice Blues 24" Medium with a MC-II spin-cast looking reel. Ive got normal ice fishing line on here that I would use for a tipup. Ive got glow in the dark beads on it.

Most of you probably just cringed. Well, How would you guys use this.

Thanks, Spencer

Offline iceintheveins

  • Team IceShanty Maniac
  • **
  • Posts: 1,199
  • If you won't fight for freedom, your not American!
Re: Jigging for northerns?
« Reply #1 on: Jan 18, 2006, 07:12 PM »
Tip ups still outproduce jigging most of the time for pike. However jigging does work and is fun.
I have caught a lot of pike on small jigs fishing for panfish or trout. If going strictly for pike, use bigger jigging raps, airplane jigs, or plastics. Also just jigging a deadbait works too. Use a heavy fluoro leader to help prevent biteoffs.
Politically incorrect, and proud of it.

Offline Barleydog

  • Team IceShanty Maniac
  • **
  • Posts: 1,833
  • MMMM Fish!
Re: Jigging for northerns?
« Reply #2 on: Jan 18, 2006, 08:45 PM »
Spencer,
First off, good for you!  Man it's great having young bucks like yourself taking to the ice! :clap: 

I don't know how much you could afford on this list....  If ya can't, try to at least "borrow" some jigging items from your pops, grandpops, uncles, etc... They can't get mad at ya!  Anyways, here's a list of jigging armament I'd start off with.

1. Jigging Shad rap or jiggin' rapala in minnow finish, tiger, or gold
2. Airplane jigs!  Bigger the better, chartrouse, red, any color you have a "feel" for.
3. Cabelas jigging spoons in real image patterns.  Perch, shad, etc...
4. Soft jigs in halogram patterns.
5. Lg. Swedish pimples tipped with bait.
6. Crocodile spoons in your favorite finish, green is good, tipped with minnow.
7. Large jigheads tipped with a 5-6" minnow, sucker, herring etc...
8. Rattling spoons, Forager minnows, etc...... the list goes on!  Just find the food source that the pike are eating in your lake and immitate that food.

Try to target lots of holes moving around after 5 minutes or so.  Try weed edges, rocky points, look at the shore line for structure, etc...  Keep moving!  Try some scent too.  I like Smelly Jelly gel in herring, sardine and baitfish, use only scent that smells like fish and not something foreign or foul!  Jig actively a foot off bottom, if that doesn't work move up a foot or so.  Stick with the bottom 5 feet or so.  If you had a change in weather, they may get lock jaw and not strike a thing.  If this happens, slow down your approach and work it slowly or not at all if your using bait.  Don't worry about your gear seems fine to me.  Stick with 10-12 lb. test, but you can catch big fish on light line, there's plenty of fishermen on this site that will attest to that!  Run a leader if you can.  Try a 18" Flourocarbon leader tied to a good swivel, or light wire leader to prevent loss of jigs.  Enjoy the fight, and fight, and fight,  don't get in a rush when he's on your line.  Guide it's head to the entrance of the hole but be carefully with the thin mono!  That hole lip is not your friend!!!!  The edge is were some of my biggest fish were lost.  From there you can take it Spencer, hope this helps?  -Barleydog
TEAM ALASKA

Offline busler15

  • Team IceShanty Regular
  • ***
  • Posts: 282
Re: Jigging for northerns?
« Reply #3 on: Jan 18, 2006, 09:03 PM »
Thanks for all the help   Barleydog and Mackdaddy. Everything is much appreciated! I think my cousin has most of the tackle that I dont already have. Cant wait for this weekend!

Thanks again guys,
Spencer

Offline northdease

  • Team IceShanty Regular
  • ***
  • Posts: 115
  • Pike Hunter
Re: Jigging for northerns?
« Reply #4 on: Jan 19, 2006, 03:31 PM »
barley said pretty much everything. i started jigging for them this year myself and it is a blast. the only thing that BD left out is that if the fishing is slow and your not seeing any action set your pole down on the ice and fumble around in your tackle box; this technique seems to work for me but you have to be fast so you can catch the rod before it is all the way down the hole. :wacko: seriously dont let the pole down for a second.

Offline busler15

  • Team IceShanty Regular
  • ***
  • Posts: 282
Re: Jigging for northerns?
« Reply #5 on: Jan 19, 2006, 09:29 PM »
Should i try a normal treble hook with a live shiner with 30lb. flouro leader? I was thinking of just trying it. Should I leave an open bail for when they hit and run then close it and set the hook?

Just some ideas

turkeyhunter_15

  • Guest
Re: Jigging for northerns?
« Reply #6 on: Jan 19, 2006, 11:03 PM »
This is my first year Ice Fishing. I tried out a Swedish Pimple with a whole 4" Shiner on it and worked beauitfull, I've pulled out im guessing 27-28 Northern this way in last 2 weeks. alot of snakes but got a monster 36" on this setup.

Offline Barleydog

  • Team IceShanty Maniac
  • **
  • Posts: 1,833
  • MMMM Fish!
Re: Jigging for northerns?
« Reply #7 on: Jan 20, 2006, 12:41 AM »
Northdease I forgot that technique, good catch! :D :D :D

Spencer,  You can "dead stick" your approach.  30 is a little big, but it will work.  You can slip tie a small rag on your line as a "flag" and leave your bail open or my favorite is to adjust the drag to REALLY LOOSE.   Good drags won't let you down.  Trebles are up to you!  I like singles for C&R purposes. ;)
TEAM ALASKA

Offline Water Wolf

  • Team IceShanty Maniac
  • **
  • Posts: 3,660
  • Ice anglers walk on water.
Re: Jigging for northerns?
« Reply #8 on: Jan 20, 2006, 02:52 PM »
Busler these guys gave awesome info, can't go wrong with what they have said. I would like to add a few extra lures for pike. I have had good luck jigging for them with Mr. twister tails or double tails in white and the different tiger stripes, all the Storm wild eye shad work well as do the wildeye salamanders. For those again Firetiger is a good one, as are the natural colors like shad, pike and perch. For jigging spoons Northland's buckshot rattle spoon it a good one in any of the glow colors also I like the Mepps cyclops and Willams warblers. Deadsticking with jigging rods is great too, just remember to have a rod holder for them, you can buy ones that sit on the ice or attach to a pail in most sporting good stores, that way your jigging rods won't be pulled down the hole. I if you try the rod holder might be a good idea to put some weight on the back of them, so the big ones don't knock them over, I have had that happen.
Most importantly all, have fun!! :)  >*)}}}>{
Looking for that BIG BITE!


Offline Tombo

  • Team IceShanty Regular
  • ***
  • Posts: 423
  • Ice Fishing Rulez!
Re: Jigging for northerns?
« Reply #9 on: Jan 20, 2006, 09:43 PM »
Busler- All good advise on here....there is one other thing you could try..It's called a 'Spinnow' (I get them from the Buzz-bomb folks) They are fairly heavy(2/3 oz.) and rotate on a wire shaft that runs right through the middle(you attach your leader on one end and there is atreble on the other) Jigging amounts to lifting it rapidly about 2ft. then letting it fall on it's own weight but keep your line tight(no slack)on the fall.
I usually use the chrome color and the idea behind it is the metal fish shaped center part revolves around the center wire causing vibrations. Pike usually hit on the fall or at the instant you stop at the bottom. I usually fish late season pike and have good success with this. Just something else to think about. Good luck  :) Tombo

 



Iceshanty | MyFishFinder | MyHuntingForum
Contact | Disclaimer | Privacypolicy | Sponsor
© 1996- Iceshanty.com
All Rights Reserved.