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some of those fish look a lot like kokanee
I hope you like to eat trout...cuz it looks like the slammer has a 100% mortality rate. I would probably jig with hair jigs/spikes or egg imitations myself, if we had a place to icefish for L.O. run trout in NY.
Those bows look like footballs. WOW Very, Very. Nice Question, since you are fishing with a jigging rod I am assuming you can only use two(i.e. two hand helds in NYS.....I am assuming you caught those bows in NYS)
Gotta ask what is the limit on steelies there, because in that one pic i counted 10. That's just crazy. I only ask because here in NY it's a 1 steelhead limit.
It looks more to me like hunters08's GAFF has about a 100% mortality rate and I sure would be eating 5 pound browns and steelies. FIRE UP THE GRILL!Gaffing big rainbows and browns when ice-fishing is a common practice where allowed.With a Slammer Tip-Up and a suspended bait, most fish are hooked in the corner of the mouth or upper jaw. When slack-line floater-bait rigging in current, yes, they can take the bait down their throat. But one little #6 or #8 single hook or #16 treble down the throat is NOT going to cause that much blood.Unless he's using 7/0+ sized hooks, all that blood is either from a gaff hook, bullet wound, or intentionally bleeding the fish (especially hens with spawn inside). You can easily see where my buddy gaffed this fish which got wrapped up in the line and came in goofy.(Image removed from quote.)It's much better to do a nice solid neck shot.Hey hunters08 - Get an eye shot on that hook-jawed male brown or what?? You're not shooting those fish with a .22 are you?