Ice Fishing Lures

[Kiss My Bass!]

I am going to start ice fishing this year (let's see how long its last). I have two tip-ups and plan to buy more once I try it and like it. I bought a 30 inch MH UglyStik Gx2. What are 3-5 lures I absolutely need for using the UglyStik? Not looking to break the bank yet but obviously will buy a more expensive lure to catch fish. I'm mostly interested in catching bass and crappie but if a larger bluegill wants to bite on thats great. I'll be ice fishing in MA and NH only. Thanks guys!

[Owen_007]

Well, Bass can be tricky under ice. Impossible to purposely catch at times. I have my best luck with sucker minnows on a tip-up and believe it or not, panfish jigs. I lost a 6 lb bass last year at the hole on a northland bro bug tipped with a skeleton minnow. Target panfish/crappie and you will catch the bonus bass. I’d start with some small Swedish pimples, and some northland  ice fishing jigs as well as their line of plastics for ice fishing. Love them. I have most luck on white and bloodworm plastics. Always have a pack of Waxies  in your pocket Incase the bite gets tough, sometimes that’s the only way you can get bit. I also would invest in a ML/L rod. When you start fishing light jigs with a MH for crappie you’ll find out why. Do you have a flasher?

[ratherbfishin1]

Like @Owen_007 said it is very hard to purposefully target them.  I would recommend going with a little panfish jig and put on a waxworm and you will catch many panfish and I caught a couple bass on that each time I went out last year.

[WRB]

Fish for trout under the ice and give bass rest.

I use Rapala Ice jigs to vertical fish for bass in the winter along with structure spoons, no ice or safe ice on our lakes, only in a Martini.

Tom

 

[Kiss My Bass!]

8 hours ago, Owen_007 said:

Well, Bass can be tricky under ice. Impossible to purposely catch at times. I have my best luck with sucker minnows on a tip-up and believe it or not, panfish jigs. I lost a 6 lb bass last year at the hole on a northland bro bug tipped with a skeleton minnow. Target panfish/crappie and you will catch the bonus bass. I’d start with some small Swedish pimples, and some northland  ice fishing jigs as well as their line of plastics for ice fishing. Love them. I have most luck on white and bloodworm plastics. Always have a pack of Waxies  in your pocket Incase the bite gets tough, sometimes that’s the only way you can get bit. I also would invest in a ML/L rod. When you start fishing light jigs with a MH for crappie you’ll find out why. Do you have a flasher?

what is a flasher?

[Russ E]

1 hour ago, Kiss My Bass! said:

what is a flasher?

 

sorry couldn't help myself.

a lot of us were using flashers when this song came out.

if you honestly don't know what a flasher is. It is the predecessor to modern fishing graphs. some ice fishermen still use them.

 

[Kiss My Bass!]

2 minutes ago, Russ E said:

 

sorry couldn't help myself.

a lot of us were using flashers when this song came out.

if you honestly don't know what a flasher is. It is the predecessor to modern fishing graphs. some ice fishermen still use them.

 

I saw that on a couple of the youtube videos I watched on ice fishing. Is a flasher completely necessary?

[Russ E]

we don't get enough Ice here to ice fish.

I used a lowrance hook graph, when I lived in Iowa.

fish often hold in pretty tight schools under the ice. if you don't use some form of sonar, you are fishing blind.

 

[ratherbfishin1]

4 hours ago, Kiss My Bass! said:

I saw that on a couple of the youtube videos I watched on ice fishing. Is a flasher completely necessary?

I think it really depends on where you plan to fish.  I ice fish mainly ponds and I do not have one.  I have used them before but if you have fished the area before (without ice) you can kind of know what the bottom is like and choose where to try based off what you already know.  I have had much success without a flasher.  But to answer your question, no it is not completely necessary but a big help.

[Kiss My Bass!]

14 minutes ago, ratherbfishin1 said:

I think it really depends on where you plan to fish.  I ice fish mainly ponds and I do not have one.  I have used them before but if you have fished the area before (without ice) you can kind of know what the bottom is like and choose where to try based off what you already know.  I have had much success without a flasher.  But to answer your question, no it is not completely necessary but a big help.

That's exactly what I am thinking. The two ponds I will fish are the two main ponds that I typically fish so I have the main spots already picked out

[bassh8er]

4 hours ago, Kiss My Bass! said:

Is a flasher completely necessary?

 

Yes.  I wouldn’t got ice fishing without my flasher.

 

Fish catching will increase dramatically when using one versus not.