Author Topic: Fish chasing on the flasher, but not biting -- what to do?  (Read 17113 times)

Offline michiganice

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Last year was my first year using a flasher and I loved it.  Watching the tungsten jig on the screen and seeing how the fish respond is a lot of fun.  However, some days it seems like they will just chase it and chase it, but never bite.  What do you guys do in these situations?  Switch baits, move somewhere else, wait it out?  I've tried all sorts of different jigging motions, letting it sit still, but seems like they just won't bite sometimes even though they're there.

Offline lefty2053

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Re: Fish chasing on the flasher, but not biting -- what to do?
« Reply #1 on: Dec 05, 2013, 08:54 AM »
Sometimes something smaller,other times you might try and keep the jig moving and not let the fish get a good look at what it is. When you pause the jig/lure they get a good look at it and might not like what they see. If you keep it twitching some it might help. Also I found a lot of fish before on the bottom and none would hit. I saw very few up in the water column at 10 FOW and moved to that area. Less fish but they would hit. ALso a trailer hook with a fly or just a hook with bait could help.
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Offline hardwater diehard

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Re: Fish chasing on the flasher, but not biting -- what to do?
« Reply #2 on: Dec 05, 2013, 09:06 AM »
Several things to consider....add a swivel ...stops the lure/jig from spinning ....I start with a large lure/jig and move up from the bottom to the top of the water column  to locate the active fish... start aggressive then less aggressive  ...if no takers then start scaling down in size ....more aggressive than less aggressive  and so on .....switch baits ...some lakes I fish the crappies love minnow heads ...other lakes like spikes or waxies ....some days/nights I use glow lures ... also play keep away with the fish...it separates the more aggressive fish from the crowd  .... and always use a dead stick ...sometimes that is the only way they'll bite .
Give a man a fish he eats for a day .Teach a man to ice fish he has an obsession for a lifetime

Offline Swift

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Re: Fish chasing on the flasher, but not biting -- what to do?
« Reply #3 on: Dec 05, 2013, 09:41 AM »
Much smaller, darker presentation and basically dead stick it in their face often solves the problem. If small didn't work, larger and brighter jiggled in their face may get them angry enough to strike. Situation is annoying but happens all the time, just keep trying in a outside the box approach. Sometimes the better fish aren't looking for a 45* presentation that Tungsten jigs tend to show. Go horizontal with something imitating a pinhead minnow can solve the problem, aka 1/80 trout jig with a weedge, whip, tri=tail, etc.....don't be afraid to trim the plastics down to size

Offline michiganice

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Re: Fish chasing on the flasher, but not biting -- what to do?
« Reply #4 on: Dec 05, 2013, 09:50 AM »
Sweet, have some good ideas to try out...hopefully in a week or so  :tipup:

Offline stripernut

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Re: Fish chasing on the flasher, but not biting -- what to do?
« Reply #5 on: Dec 05, 2013, 10:26 AM »
Also try raising the jig away from the fish, often they will commit when that happens... One more thing and you may have this covered but, you might be getting hits and not even know it... Time spent on the camera show just how easy it is to miss a bite...

Offline lefty2053

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Re: Fish chasing on the flasher, but not biting -- what to do?
« Reply #6 on: Dec 05, 2013, 10:37 AM »
And,don't drop your jig/lure on top of the fish only above them. If you drop it into the fish they may scatter.
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Offline Swift

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Re: Fish chasing on the flasher, but not biting -- what to do?
« Reply #7 on: Dec 05, 2013, 10:49 AM »
One thing many don't take into account is in the transducers cone and the depth arc it shows under the ice. Usually our jigs are directly below the transducer showing its true depth. The arc of distance of the cone is showing distance from the transducer, not the objects true depth under the ice. If the jig is directly below @say 10' and a fish shows up on the outside edge of the signals cone showing 10' the fish may only be 9' under the ice due to the arc. Often one hears of the fish coming up to hit the jig as you lift it up when actually the fish finally sees it and is simply swimming over to it. Possibility that they aren't swimming up to the bait but actually swimming above it off to the side. They may not know it's even there

Offline Whopper Stopper

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Re: Fish chasing on the flasher, but not biting -- what to do?
« Reply #8 on: Dec 07, 2013, 06:19 AM »
Lot of good tips. I know some days I just simply pack it in.

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Offline UFCreel

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Re: Fish chasing on the flasher, but not biting -- what to do?
« Reply #9 on: Dec 07, 2013, 07:58 AM »
Stick a camera down there and see what they are. Could be shad.
Flags up! Bobbers down!

Offline tomturkey

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Re: Fish chasing on the flasher, but not biting -- what to do?
« Reply #10 on: Dec 08, 2013, 09:49 AM »
Stick a camera down there and see what they are. Could be shad.

I bought a camera last year and could not believe how the fish acted to different presentations. Watching a gill suck in a 1/4 inch of a plastic and spit it out while the rod showed a bite was enlightening.

I also watched blue gills suck in and spit out wax worms that I had dropped down the hole after taking them off the jig. Suck in and spit out a number of times and never actually eating them.

I think that if I was watching this stuff going on with flasher it would have drove me nuts.

I also watched gills take the swivel I had to keep jigs from spinning and run off with it. Just need to make a jig with a swivel with a hook on it.

Offline Swift

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Re: Fish chasing on the flasher, but not biting -- what to do?
« Reply #11 on: Dec 08, 2013, 10:06 AM »
I bought a camera last year and could not believe how the fish acted to different presentations. Watching a gill suck in a 1/4 inch of a plastic and spit it out while the rod showed a bite was enlightening.

I also watched blue gills suck in and spit out wax worms that I had dropped down the hole after taking them off the jig. Suck in and spit out a number of times and never actually eating them.

I think that if I was watching this stuff going on with flasher it would have drove me nuts.

I also watched gills take the swivel I had to keep jigs from spinning and run off with it. Just need to make a jig with a swivel with a hook on it.
Watch a big Perch mouth it sometimes, spring bobber and line won't even twitch, simply amazing to see. Fish don't have hands as we do. The way they go about it is with their mouth, they're curious but not really hungry. Many times, if you have something on your line outside of what has a hook, there's a monstrous hit, hook set nothing there, aka sinker suckers. Fish are simply tasting/feeling out a sinker or swivel. Watch fish in a aquarium sometime. The fish near the surface takes a dump, it slowly sinks down. The fish near the bottom often suck it in, assess it, say no and spit it out. Their memories are minimal at best, that same fish will do it again shortly. They are curious, the only way to test anything is with their mouth for taste and texture. Simply need to understand and take advantage of it. Small and dark often peaks their curiosity and we can take fish even when they're not biting

Offline spudsaway

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Re: Fish chasing on the flasher, but not biting -- what to do?
« Reply #12 on: Dec 08, 2013, 04:09 PM »
Sometimes fish hate seeing something get away . Like if I ain't having it no one is. Pull it away from them they go and grab it that also solves the detection issue. It is easy to feel a fish putting the breaks on your lure skipping out.  Works on lake trout when you see them on a screen looking start cranking away it pisses them off and smack.  May work for the small stuff. I never fished for Blue Gill in winter.

Offline fishing202

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Re: Fish chasing on the flasher, but not biting -- what to do?
« Reply #13 on: Dec 08, 2013, 04:41 PM »


Good info. Happens to me too.

Offline Lobes

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Re: Fish chasing on the flasher, but not biting -- what to do?
« Reply #14 on: Dec 12, 2013, 09:10 AM »
One thing many don't take into account is in the transducers cone and the depth arc it shows under the ice. Usually our jigs are directly below the transducer showing its true depth. The arc of distance of the cone is showing distance from the transducer, not the objects true depth under the ice. If the jig is directly below @say 10' and a fish shows up on the outside edge of the signals cone showing 10' the fish may only be 9' under the ice due to the arc. Often one hears of the fish coming up to hit the jig as you lift it up when actually the fish finally sees it and is simply swimming over to it. Possibility that they aren't swimming up to the bait but actually swimming above it off to the side. They may not know it's even there

X2 - This is the best description of what goes on around those marks on your flasher. Excellent information!

                                                                 :tipup:
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Offline lefty2053

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Re: Fish chasing on the flasher, but not biting -- what to do?
« Reply #15 on: Dec 12, 2013, 10:15 AM »
One thing many don't take into account is in the transducers cone and the depth arc it shows under the ice. Usually our jigs are directly below the transducer showing its true depth. The arc of distance of the cone is showing distance from the transducer, not the objects true depth under the ice. If the jig is directly below @say 10' and a fish shows up on the outside edge of the signals cone showing 10' the fish may only be 9' under the ice due to the arc. Often one hears of the fish coming up to hit the jig as you lift it up when actually the fish finally sees it and is simply swimming over to it. Possibility that they aren't swimming up to the bait but actually swimming above it off to the side. They may not know it's even there
Thanks for this very useful information. I will try and I mean try(old age) to remember this.
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Offline slipperybob

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Re: Fish chasing on the flasher, but not biting -- what to do?
« Reply #16 on: Aug 02, 2018, 09:29 PM »
As previously mentioned, it's not always that they're rising to the lure, they may just be coming in from the side.  If they're swimming right up to lure and inspecting it and not biting, the scenario is what was the jig doing prior up to that point.

If it was jigging motion.  It may very likely be that the jig has induced line twist.  Now that jigging motion has stopped, the jig in now spinning from the line twist.  There's a few solution to try. 
- Tie up a swivel to the main line.
- Ensure you have fluke tail type of plastics.  They're less likely to circle and induce line twist during jigging motion.
- dropper hook line.  An inch or two away from the jig head/spoon/weight.

There are times when downsizing is the solution.  Sometimes, it's actually upsizing.
There are times when dead stick is the solution.  At other times, it's a more aggressive raising of the lure to trigger a reactionary bite from the fish.
There are times when one will need an inline reel solution.
For more information read my MN nice journal

Offline Sylvanboat

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Re: Fish chasing on the flasher, but not biting -- what to do?
« Reply #17 on: Oct 04, 2019, 03:29 PM »
Doug Stange did a video years ago and discovered the fish would ONLY bite if he jig, jig, pause, jig, paus, pause, pause, jig, then repeat.  Seemed preposterous but he swore it was the only way.

Offline Seamonkey84

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Re: Fish chasing on the flasher, but not biting -- what to do?
« Reply #18 on: Oct 07, 2019, 10:47 PM »
If I see them chase but won’t bite when I pause to twitch, I’ll use a slow steady retrieve and see if they speed up to not let it get away. I’ve had crappie follow more than 7’ before hitting it. If it’s trout I’m after, it’s a straight up keep away game.

Offline Duke M

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Re: Fish chasing on the flasher, but not biting -- what to do?
« Reply #19 on: Oct 23, 2019, 07:59 AM »
Thank goodness fishing isn't easy all of the time. Watching the reaction and paying attention along with making subtle adjustments, one at a time, can often turn a poor day into at least a satisfying one.

With experience, you learn a variety of techniques, if, and only if you actually pay attention. Last Winter I was with a friend and we were marking scattered gills of good size, (we caught one of two early), when the action stopped we tried down sizing, changing color, plastics, spikes etc. Eventually we figured out if we dropped a 3 m/m tungsten in the silty bottom and pounded it at least 6 times to raise a tiny cloud of silt, then ssslllloooowwwwllllyy, raised about 2 inches off the bottom and held it still, we'd watch a mark come in and, nothing. Last resort was to switch to a palm rod with a super sensitive strike indicator and repeat the mud daubing, slow rise. When the mark came in and appeared to be right on the jig we ever so gently raised the palm rod and lo and behold, the strike indicator showed that the fish was holding the lure in its mouth. Never saw the actual bite, just that the strike indicator would not rise up when we gently lifted. A quick hook set and there they were.

I have also noticed over the years, that except during activity periods that can last for as little as 20 minutes to as much as 2 hours, only the anglers paying extreme attention seem to consistently catch a few fish during the slow times. When we take teen aged boys out ice fishing and they complain that we are catching fish and they are not, we have to remind them to concentrate on what they are doing. Lots of anglers sit on their bucket and repetitively go through the motions, jig pause, jig pause, but they really aren't concentrating. Whenever we see the boys getting bored, fidgeting, looking around, etc. we can tell they are not paying attention and their catch will suffer.

Offline hnd

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Re: Fish chasing on the flasher, but not biting -- what to do?
« Reply #20 on: Nov 13, 2019, 08:09 AM »
One thing many don't take into account is in the transducers cone and the depth arc it shows under the ice. Usually our jigs are directly below the transducer showing its true depth. The arc of distance of the cone is showing distance from the transducer, not the objects true depth under the ice. If the jig is directly below @say 10' and a fish shows up on the outside edge of the signals cone showing 10' the fish may only be 9' under the ice due to the arc. Often one hears of the fish coming up to hit the jig as you lift it up when actually the fish finally sees it and is simply swimming over to it. Possibility that they aren't swimming up to the bait but actually swimming above it off to the side. They may not know it's even there




this was something i made a while ago to help with this description.

I always tell people fish don't just rise up from the bottom like magic they come in from the side of the cone which extended to the bottom is always longer on the side. 

totally makes you change your thought process when trying to get the tight lipped to bite.  jigging 2' on the dial higher may actually put it right on their nose depending upon depth. 

Offline Gunflint

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Re: Fish chasing on the flasher, but not biting -- what to do?
« Reply #21 on: Nov 13, 2019, 08:43 AM »
(Image removed from quote.)
(Image removed from quote.)

this was something i made a while ago to help with this description.

I always tell people fish don't just rise up from the bottom like magic they come in from the side of the cone which extended to the bottom is always longer on the side. 

totally makes you change your thought process when trying to get the tight lipped to bite.  jigging 2' on the dial higher may actually put it right on their nose depending upon depth.

Nice explanation HND and Swift!
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Offline Muggsy

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Re: Fish chasing on the flasher, but not biting -- what to do?
« Reply #22 on: Nov 13, 2019, 11:27 AM »
Thanks for the diagram, that is an excellent explanation of things.
Maybe someday I'll think of something clever to write here...but I doubt it.

Offline Seamonkey84

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Re: Fish chasing on the flasher, but not biting -- what to do?
« Reply #23 on: Nov 13, 2019, 06:16 PM »
Youll see exactly that happen on camera/panoptix vs flasher. fish will dart in from even 8-10ft away and intercept the jig/lure as it hits bottom.

Offline liquidonyx

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Re: Fish chasing on the flasher, but not biting -- what to do?
« Reply #24 on: Jan 15, 2020, 09:47 PM »
This thread was a great read...thanks to the poster and the contributors!

Offline kpd145

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Re: Fish chasing on the flasher, but not biting -- what to do?
« Reply #25 on: Jan 16, 2020, 09:59 AM »
I change cadence and presentation.

Slow jig moving a little to fast jig kind of ripping it off bottom. Dead stick it 5 to 10 feet up depending on water clarity.

I'll twitch on the bottom and if I feel them suck up the jig, I'll Bill Dance that crap  ;D

Then I'll change lures to see if that helps.
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Offline eyeflyer

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Re: Fish chasing on the flasher, but not biting -- what to do?
« Reply #26 on: Jan 17, 2020, 04:55 PM »
When fish aren't biting I have not found a presentation that will always work. As you can see from the other posts anglers try almost everything. My best luck has been to slow down and down size, that is not consistent either but has probably worked best for me out of all the things I have tried. I believe downsizing represents the natural food best especially for trout. In lakes around here and most trout lakes in Alberta chironomids and scuds are two of the main food sources that are active year round, they are small and they move very very slow which makes them an easy target.  If you have ever pumped a trout in the winter that is mostly what they have in them.......sometimes the odd boatman/beetle as well. 

This trout had three different sizes and 2 colors of chironomids in him. The orange are parts of dead scuds, dead scuds will be orange, usually lots of these in the winter.

Offline potatoe

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Re: Fish chasing on the flasher, but not biting -- what to do?
« Reply #27 on: Jan 17, 2020, 05:14 PM »
good info, my problem I lose my confidence

I am trying to move around some and look for marks

Offline Gunflint

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Re: Fish chasing on the flasher, but not biting -- what to do?
« Reply #28 on: Jan 17, 2020, 05:29 PM »
When fish aren't biting I have not found a presentation that will always work. As you can see from the other posts anglers try almost everything. My best luck has been to slow down and down size, that is not consistent either but has probably worked best for me out of all the things I have tried. I believe downsizing represents the natural food best especially for trout. In lakes around and most trout lakes in Alberta chironomids and scuds are two of the main food sources that are active year round, they are small and they move very very slow which makes them an easy target.  If you have ever pumped a trout in the winter that is mostly what they have in them.......sometimes the odd boatman/beetle as well. 
(Image removed from quote.)
This trout had three different sizes and 2 colors of chironomids in him. The orange are parts of dead scuds, dead scuds will be orange, usually lots of these in the winter.

X2 - I find that if I go smaller, it almost always helps.
Veritas Odium Parit

Offline Seamonkey84

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Re: Fish chasing on the flasher, but not biting -- what to do?
« Reply #29 on: Jan 18, 2020, 08:15 AM »
The trout I catch out of one of my favorite lakes are usually full of snails and water boatman/back swimmers. Then in spring they’re full of damsel/dragon fly nymphs and case maker caddis.

 



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