Your favorite recipe for success with ice fishing

[HarryToolips]

Looking to slay some rainbows with my 6 this ice fishing season, I'm more of an open water fishing guy, but want to improve on my ice fishing knowledge..what bait/lure combo works for you?

[sawmill]

I use chicken skin.The thin skin from a thigh cut in a 3/8 in. wide by 4-5 in. long strip and hooked at one end with a single red egg as well.. You can make it dance and swim like crazy and it`s tough so it stays on. Works killer for me here.

[JoeSixPack]

Fish in 6-15 feet of water, (8-12 is my preferred), use a small jig head, about an 1/8 ounce (anything from 1/16th - 1/4 is fine). my favourite colors are orange and pink, but it doesn't really matter. Tip with a piece of shrimp and fish about 1 foot off the bottom. I prefer a slower almost shaking cadence with the odd pop of the rod than a full blown up and down jigging cadence. Dead sticking the rod can also be very effective. Follow this and you will catch some trout.

[sawmill]

And, being white it REALLY shows up well. Get a 2 man shelter too, you would shit if you saw what is going on down there sometimes.Sitting by a hole, you can not see into the water, black it out and you can see 25 feet to the bottom. More times than you would know a huge trout will be cruising slowly around, nose bumping the bait but not taking it. I you can see them you can get creative and force them to take it.
Lots of time they suck it in then spit it out so fast you never have a chance,unless you see it. If I have a picky eater I like to drop the bait right to the bottom and stir up a little mud then pop it back up 6 inches. Drives them crazy, like they think dinner is getting away.I out fish a lot of guys who are just sitting on a chair jigging and hoping for the best.

[wrenchhead]

I use a larger spoon, whatever is handy in the box. And tie on a 10 inch leader with a hook on it, tipped with a metal worm or shrimp. Send it to the bottom then bring it up about a foot.

[lovemywinchester]

I use a larger spoon, whatever is handy in the box. And tie on a 10 inch leader with a hook on it, tipped with a metal worm or shrimp. Send it to the bottom then bring it up about a foot.

The best rig for rainbows by far. A spoon with a dropper to a small jig tipped with worm or shrimp or corn or power bait or whatever works that day. A steady jigging of a few inches to get the spoon flashing. The bows can't resist anything flashy. A tent is great if your fishing shallow but a good graph is needed for deeper water.

[bottles]

1. Tie up a drop shot with a piece of live worm about a foot off the bottom. Or you can use a piece of worm with a split shot.
2. Jigging spoon tipped with a piece of worm. If the spoon has a rattle; even better.
3. Swedish pimple tipped with a piece of worm.
I add a piece of worm to everything while ice fishing, but you can probably use shrimp or anything to give it some scent.
I always fish real close to the bottom. Sometimes they want a light jig, and sometimes you have to jig aggressively. Find out what they want.

[BRvalley]

I always have a spoon with a dropper tied on, is my go to start the day usually...jigging spoons and little jigs, small plastics, all work well for me, rapala jiggin raps

for a kid though, hard to beat a small slip float, split shot and any choice of bait on the hook, shrimp, worm, mealworm, etc...good visual seeing the bobber drop, and can still jig the bait and look down the hole and see the trout

[two-feet]

Last few seasons i have been using bear fat as bait, usually on a spoon. It has out fished my buddies using roe or shrimp. Rainbows, cut throat, bull trout, lakers all seem to love it.

[warnniklz]

shallow water

Jighead with raw prawn (where bait is allowed)

Make sure you replace your reel with good line. I run fluorocarbon or ice braid.

I find rainbows often come in schools, so you'll have a hot 20 minutes and then die for a bit and then get hot again. And for some reason, a hot hole is a hot hole. Buddy can be fishing right beside you and be jacking them all day where you can't touch squat even with the same rig.

Another trick that sometimes works is if there's a dirty bottom, bounce your bait right off the bottom and create a disturbance, and slowly lift your bait. Imitates some grub emerging from the bottom.

[Wild one]

shrimp, worm, or cheese tipped jig with a spinner blade

[Wild one]

Last few seasons i have been using bear fat as bait, usually on a spoon. It has out fished my buddies using roe or shrimp. Rainbows, cut throat, bull trout, lakers all seem to love it.

Now this I have never tried

have you tried other other kinds of fat ?

[rocksteady]

Like JJ used to say on the old TV show.


DYNOMITE!!!!!!

[two-feet]

Now this I have never tried

have you tried other other kinds of fat ?

yes i have used bacon fat with the same results. It makes sense that an energy rich bait would be appealing to them

[HarryToolips]

Wicked info guys, thanks..

[Bigdoggdon]

I do a lot of ice fishing for rainbows in the winter. I generally fish smaller lakes (about a mile or so long) where the terrain is easier to judge.

My tried and true setup is take a 4" silver/blue or silver/gold Williams Wobbler spoon, take the hook off it and replace it with a swivle. Tie an 18-20" leader down from the spoon to a #2 or #1 red Gamegatzu octopus hook.

I buy the 71-90 count bags of frozen shrimp from walmart for $9.99 a bag. Although I've also had good success with roe taken from other trout.

Cut the shrimp in half and thread it onto the hook so that the eye of the hook looks like the shrimps head and the curve and point of the hook looks like the shrimps tail. Fish in 8-12 feet of water about a foot off the bottom.

Every couple of minutes I raise the line to the surface by hand (not reeling in) and let the line drop, the big spoon acts as a flasher and rolls and dodges on its way down and draws the attention of fish that might be swimming buy on the far edge of range. When the lure settles I let it rest for a minute or so to see if I've got any takers then pull up and try again.

Works good for brookies too. Although brookies are a lot more suttle when they bite in the winter time (prefer to watch for them down the hole using a pop up shelter)