Worms

[Troutlife]

Now, some might call me crazy, but I exclusively use worms to tip all my jigs.

because:
1. they are very durable on the hook
2. they are easy to dig
3. they store easy (just buy some cheap worm bedding)
4. they don't cost anything
5. they are resistant to the cold
6. they can be cut in pieces (usually 1 worm = 3 baits)
7. they don't lose their "meatyness" even after many fish
8. you don't need to rely on bait shops
9. fish love them!

We the people, hold these truths to be self-evident, that all baits are created equal.

[Kevin23]

What are you fishing for? What you are fishing for makes a world of difference. I assume trout, if so trout LOVE garden worms. I fish for bluegill and crappie, I have tried garden worms, nightcrawlers, red worms, angler worms, ect. and they dont work half as well as waxies or spikes.

[Troutlife]

here in Mass I fish for trout, bluegill, crappie, white perch, yellow perch, ect. They all latch on and dont let go.

[1MOFISH]

What are you fishing for? What you are fishing for makes a world of difference. I assume trout, if so trout LOVE garden worms. I fish for bluegill and crappie, I have tried garden worms, nightcrawlers, red worms, angler worms, ect. and they dont work half as well as waxies or spikes.

dip them in ammonia will smell the sme as maggots    mo

[geothefisher]

I honestly have NEVER used worms when ice fishing.  I do have some nightcrawlers left from the fall, maybe I will give them a try. 

[fiesty]

we use night crawlers until we cannot get em anymore...right now the compost pile is starting to get a little frosty....

[ctibbetts]

I regularly use worms/crawlers on my tip-ups, especially for trout (rainbow, brown, and brookies).  I have caught many nice smallmouth, more perch than I can count, cusk, and salmon on them too.  I prefer gulp or mealworms for my jigs because I use very small teardrop jigs and find it simpler.  I started using crawlers on my tipups a few years back when I didn't have money for shiners.  I caught a lot of fish.  I kept an informal score and find that I have about a 50/50 average crawlers/shiners over the past few seasons.  Give them  a try on tip-ups- especially if there are trout around.

[Kim]

Hard to dig in frozen ground

[ctibbetts]

Hard to dig in frozen ground

True- but many baitshops and Walmart around here carry them year-round.  I've also had better success than you might think using a giant mealworm on a tipup- something I plan to try a bit more this season.  The pet store always has those.

[Kim]

If you use smelts at all try your local large food store, sometimes they have and cheaper than bait shops. Some chinese like them to eat.

[ctibbetts]

If you use smelts at all try your local large food store, sometimes they have and cheaper than bait shops. Some chinese like them to eat.

Usually catch my own, or have a buddy do it for me.  IN a pinch the local grocery store will do, though...

[ctibbetts]

Just a follow-up.  Very slow day yesterday, but that said, the only flags we got were on night crawlers.

[spikeit]

do you suspend them like a minnow or do you put them right on bottom?

[ctibbetts]

do you suspend them like a minnow or do you put them right on bottom?

It depends on the species you're after.  For brookies I fish them shallow and a foot off the bottom.  Brown trout just about any depth and combination you can figure- they're all over the place around here.  Slamon and rainbows about three feet below the ice.  Perch and about everything else, two to three feet off bottom.

Funny yesterday I had on on a tip-down in about fifteen feet of water.  Watched it bob up and down for quite a while then checked the bait.  chewed off the crawler on both ends right up to the hook.

[spikeit]

thanks for the info.  I picked some up today and will give them a try this week.

[wesson4]

I got made fun of the other day on the ice for having night crawlers in my sled. i can honestly tell u it was the first day that i ever tryed them though the ice, but come sundown i was the only person carrying fish off the lake and the only person that had crawlers. thanks a ton fellas... this site is priceless