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Yes, I’ve had good luck fishing with a Northland eye ball spoon with a shiner dead sticking for pike & bass. Frommy experience, it works well in lower light conditions from snow cover or overcast days & stained water. I’d imagine it makes it easier for the fish to zero in on. But it def works, I’ve seen guys use them in their tipups as well.
I dought that the "eye" is what is attracting fish...I have posted about this many times; How "eyes" on lures are, in many cases a deterrent and not an attractant. look at predator-prey relationships throughout the world and in each case, the fake "eyes" are a deterrent. From fake eyes on fish, insects and it is even used to deter Bengal Tigers! In parts of the world where tigers are a real concern the woodcutters walking into the forest through the tall grass in a line will have the last guy in line wear a mask with prominent eyes. The tigers would often "grab" the last guy in the line after they had walked by. With the mask, not nearly as often. Years ago there was a study done in Fl with predatory fish in a tank and each time they were fed baitfish the researchers recorded the vectors the game fish used and the success rates of each attack. It was clear that; 1st the preditors tried not to attack when the eyes were visible to them and when they did attack when the eyes were visible, their success rate went down. I am sorry that I can not sight the study, but it was coved in an issue of In-fisherman. There is a more recent study done with cattle and painting eyes on them;Study confirms that painting eyes on cow butts helps ward off predatorshttps://arstechnica.com/science/2020/08/study-confirms-that-painting-eyes-on-cow-butts-helps-ward-off-predators/Food for thought...What I have found is that eyes are best at catching Anglers! I think one of the best examples of this, is the "Scum Frog" and its many variations. A lure that is fished over the top of Lilly pads that is rarely seen by the fish and the tackle companies put great effort into the eyes even making many of the frog eyes look Mad or evil as if 1. the fish can see the eyes (they can't) and 2. that they know or care what the frog is thinking... Anglers on the other hand...All this being said, if you feel that eyes make a difference or are important, then you should fish them as confidence will catch you more fish than eyes will, but if like me, you try to find the best science you can to help with decisions than don't worry about the eyes. I don't cut them off my lures, but I rarely buy lures with multiple "fake" eyes on them.
I have heard good things about using a single hooked Mepps Cyclops and a shiner on tip ups. Will definitely give it a try this year but was wondering if anybody fishes this way or has had success with it.Thanks guys, forecast looks a little better for ice in the coming weeks.
PerchMan45, looking forward to hearing of your results. Best advice I can give is to be versatile, so many times I’ve had success by changing up rigs on tipups and jigging rods. Whether it be a live bait, dead bait or using either of the 2 on a flashy jig or spoon. It can make the difference from getting the skunk off your back. A quote to keep in mind.Werher Von Braun - “One good test is worth 1000 expert opinions.”