Favorite ice jig of the year?

For me it has to be the new VMC tungsten ice fly. I knew it would catch fish for me but had no idea how versatile it would be.

The first day I hit the ice this season I only had about an hour so I was really rushed and forgot all my plastics. For me that’s a big deal cause plastic is my goto. That is when I got lots of confidence in a bare Tungsten ice fly, the first two drops I made that day brought in and sealed the deal on fish. Sense then some of my biggest gills of the year have come on plain ice flys. But most of the time I do run them with plastic or a couple of spikes. My favorite way I have found to rig with plastic is with a Trigger X 1 1/2″ wax tail with part of the body pinched off, then threaded all the way on. I also have done well with a mustache worm but really like the Wax Tail. That’s been my goto this year but what’s been yours?

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When I was on Mille Lacs last week I had a lot of lookers but no takers in one spot. I put on a VMC Ice Fly with a waxie using my Bullwhip and immediately caught a tullibee. Both the rod and fly held up great.
DT

I use my custom jigs and spins diamond jig a lot or Skandia jigs.

I love using spoons and this year the VMC flash champ and tingler spoon iced some good ole North Dakota walleyed and some nice Minnesota crappies

Ice fly. When I first saw it all I could think was it’s going to catch fish.

Do you get a lot of short strikes with the long tails? It seems they would have to be pretty aggressive gills to eat that.

Home made. 1/16 oz sickle hook with a blue tube with silver tenacles. Remove half the tenacles (sp). Crappie have liked it.

With as tough as this year has been for me (at least locally), my favorite jig is whatever they hit on that day. Its been the toughest season I have had in a long time

Fiskas epoxy 3mm clown or #63 (glow white,black dots) either plastics or a spike, it’s my go-to

5mm & 4mm Brantner Tungsten with spikes or plastic. Also tried the VMC Ice Fly and it performed great. These jigs have produced everywhere we’ve fished this year.

TripleA
I have found that you can definitely get some short strikes from less aggressive fish, but I have also found that often by upsizing it keeps some of the small fish off and seems to help seal the deal with the bigger fish. If I am getting a lot of short strikes and not getting any bigger fish taking it I can always cut the tail shorter or take it off all together.

My old stand by has always been a green demon glow jig..

Clam drop kick in glow pink with a pink power bait whipworm. I have been out fishing my buddies all year in the same bait. Last week I got this 16″+ crappie.

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VMC Tungsten Tubby Jig with eurolarve. I’ve become a bluegill catchin’ fool my last 3 trips on the ice with occasional crappie mixed in. Most of the fish I’m getting are small, but that doesn’t matter to me all that much. Getting little fish keeps the pressure off from having to clean fish. I prefer to catch fish and release them to be caught another day, not catch ’em to clean ’em.

Greg Perz wrote:

Clam drop kick in glow pink with a pink power bait whipworm. I have been out fishing my buddies all year in the same bait. Last week I got this 16″+ crappie.

Beautiful fish GP. Going to mount or a replica maybe?

It’s not a jig per say…. But replacing the trebles on my jigging spoons with the new VMC glow resin hooks has definitely been my favorite new thing this year.

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Will Roseberg wrote:

It’s not a jig per say…. But replacing the trebles on my jigging spoons with the new VMC glow resin hooks has definitely been my favorite new thing this year.

Those looks like the cats meow but add the new $4 VMC glow resin to an already $5 jigging spoon and it seems like thats quite a bit to possibly loose to a toothy critter

I have found the “shad dart” made in Alma Wi. to be my favorite panfish jig, using 1 inch Maki mino alone or with a wax worm.

Mocha wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Will Roseberg wrote:</div>
It’s not a jig per say…. But replacing the trebles on my jigging spoons with the new VMC glow resin hooks has definitely been my favorite new thing this year.

Those looks like the cats meow but add the new $4 VMC glow resin to an already $5 jigging spoon and it seems like thats quite a bit to possibly loose to a toothy critter

Especially now that my time on the ice is limited by family obligations a few extra $$ to give me a better chance at putting fish on the ice doesn’t bother me at all. If I start doing silly things like keeping track of my costs for fishing I would realize I spend 5 times that much on gas just to get to the lake for an average trip

The vmc tungsten nymph jig in the green orange glow has been working well for me.

I will get a replica. I let her swim.

Greg Perz wrote:

I will get a replica. I let her swim.

Sweet. When you get it back post a pic.

Haven’t been out much but the vmc tumbler spoon has worked best for me.

I mostly fish spoons and after my trip to Upper Red and multiple Mille Lacs trips my favorite spoon is the new buckshot flutter spoon, I have a few different colors and all have produced for me

-b-

I am going to have to give this award to the 1/8oz Northland Tackle Forage Minnow Jig. When tipped with a small live emerald shiner we were able to catch everything from gills, perch, and crappie to pike and walleye. I have this lure in multiples of every color and it has proven its worth in my line of tackle. Not many other lures/jigs have offered me such versatility. Truly one of my favorites and a stand out for me this year.

I have to say my two favorite jigs have been the northland banana bug and the clam maggot drop in glow red and pink shades for the crappies I’ve been chasing this year. Honorable mention goes to the vmc tungsten tubby jig. Been using the vmc flaptail plastics heavily, as well as Crappie Tom’s own glow red ice stinger tails.

Tingler Spoon, in perch pattern. I’ve done very well with it on southern MN wallies this winter. Lost my pink uv to a pesky pike. Never had luck with it until this winter, now it’s a confidence lure.

The glo goldfish in the tingler spoons have been awesome this year on leech and then the buckshot flutter spoon in electric perch. I am starting to like the vmc ice fly for the panfish in leech too.

Panfish assassin’s worked well in our short ice season of two days for me.

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Will I think is onto something with that glow treble. Panfish seem to be pulled to whatever is glowing and in many instances it is the tail end of a plastic. The treble has the glow at the center of the hook mass so hits are more likely to include hooks. I’ve done some trial stuff with my plastics since last fall and began moving the glow portion of a plastic bait from the tail to the front of the body where the hook is and it has made a difference in getting more consistent hook-ups. Just something to think about.

Those trebles are not that hard to make either which will pull costs way down.

Thanks for the bump Cody!

These were done using a colored powder in epoxy.

Seems anything with a white glow back to it has put out for me. No specific lure in general.