Today (Friday) I went out onto one of my favorite Lakes in WIsconsin to hit some panfish. I got there early and caught a few crappies and bluegills, and then on the aqua view, I would watch the fish come in, look at the bait, and slowly turn and leave. I treid marmooska jigs, rat finkees, northland bloodworms, and ratso’s. I was using waxies and spikes for bait. Any advice on how I could trigger those fish into biting? 
Jake, I try to entice them by banging the bottom and slowly raising… if you get a chaser keep pulling up, alot of times out the view of the camera, they will grab it 
Then again sometimes, nothing works 
At least you were fishin’, I got to work today 
big G 
I have read this time after time here and I am NO expert but I think what all are looking for is somewhat simple ….
Stable weather conditions, Ive noticed when the weather is as has its been lately it shut the fish down to a point and when the weather tends to get little better the fishing gets better.I also watch the barometric pressure,,when steady or rising the fishing gets better for me, not all trips produce but atleast I am out fishing giving it my best. When it is slow that gives me the time to try something I dont normally do “outside the box ” kind of things and places.
There is a post here about just that But I couldnt find it. We are upon some tuff fishing weather conditons and it takes alot of time and patients to land some finiky bitters.
Better conditions are soon to come .
Sometimes using finese plastics on a mini-mert or rat finkee from BfishN triggers strikes during periods of lock jaw syndrome….might be something to consider trying next time the scenerio presents itself.
Yesterday the same thing happen to me. Was out on the ice around 2 pm and located fish. After about an hour of no bites I put the camera down. I watched the gills and crappies swim right up to the baits, look them over, and slowly swim away. If I even moved the bait a little it would cause them to fly. I held out still 4 pm and the those same fish that would only look at the bait decided it was time to eat and the bite was on. For then next 2 hours it was none stop. At least that was all the longer I had to stay out to fill my share.
Move and find active fish. It may mean just drilling more holes in the same area or maybe to a different part of the lake. Sometimes this is the easiest way to deal with negative fish.
Pounding lures on the bottom can be good. Tapping the reel may lure a few in. Just tapping the reel with a fingure a few times seems to give your lure a quick, very small jigging action. Some days it drives them nuts.
More times than not hole hopping or trying a new area seems to work best.
What Mike W said. Hole hopping. That is why I usually only fish gills when it’s nice enough to fish outside. A fish house can be a major hindrence in this situation.
Even when you do locate fish in a hole you may have to tease them for a bit.
You can make your own jigs that will work really well this time of year. They look more like natural food.
I get lead wire, like that pictured, at Gander Mountain and wrap it around a hook a bunch of times (see picture). I use fly hooks, tyically nymph hooks in the size 12 – 14 range this time of year.
If you fish the jig horizontally with half a wax worm they are more apt to bite it.
Everyone covered it pretty well. Cold Front conditions can be tough. Like Mike said, keep after them. There may be only a few active fish in a group, you have to go find the biters. If it is to cold to move then you have to use everything you have at your disposal to get them to bite. I usualy go with a smaller jig and more bait.
If you have a camera here is a good test.. drop a wax worm down the hole and if the fish watch it fall and don’t attempt to eat the wax worm, move, they aren’t going to bite.
Good tip about the camera Scott. Ive do something similar with a flasher. Drop 2 or 3 or more larvae down the hole and watch what happens on the flasher. My motive was to try to lure fish and and start then feeding. Sometimes it works to lure a hungry one or 2 in. Other times its like what you said. If they dont want free food its time to move on.
Last winter at the LOTWs get together someone dumped over a minnow buck in a hole and started a small feeding frenzy below us.
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