I was gill & perch fishin' the other day, and the danged cold front had em' all screwed up. Fished about 3 hours for just a few bites, when the light finally came on in this thick head of mine.
I was anchored in a protected cove as the wind was out of the NW at 10 to 15, and gusting to 20. I was using a 1/32 oz jig tipped with a waxie, and that almost always works. But not on this day.
Yes, it's relative to ice fishing, so just hold on. Anyway, I finally remembered my golden rule for tough fishing, and when I changed over, I started catching those bluegills like gangbusters.
So what did I do? Got rid of the jig, is what. Tied on a #10 thin wire Aberdeen hook on the 2 lb. test line, and put a 1/32 oz. bull-shot about 10 inches up. Put two waxies on the hook & dropped er' down to 15 feet, and that unlocked the jaws of those gills like you wouldn't believe.
Why the double waxie? To cover the hook. And I had no swallowed hooks, that's how finicky they were.
Now why wouldn't that work for ice fishing on those tough days? I think it will! What think you?
