Looking for some advice.

I have always been a casual ice fishermen and am looking to get a little more active in the game.

The way I always have fished is put a permanent shack out where all the other shacks are, drill some holes, throw a crappie minnow on the brightest jig I have, mix a cocktail, occasionally jig for a minute and wait for a bite.

I want to get more in the active role and chase fish, so this year I watched a bunch of YouTube videos and fishing shows on tv. I went out and got a portable house and some better electronics.
So now I think I have the concept of chasing fish down in my head, punching holes and scouting with the electronics and following the school.

My next question is bait or lack there of? It seems in videos and shows barely anybody is using live minnows. I see some wax and euro larva. Any help on what to use? I get lost looking at all the jigs in the stores and typically pick the brightest most glowing jig I can find.

Sorry for the long post just looking for any advice I can get. I also forgot to mention I usually am fishing for crappies.

I typically find wax worms work great for bluegill and minnows/minnow heads on spoons works well for crappie. The easiest way to increase your fishing production is to decrease your cocktail mixtures. (I know for a fact). Being mobile helps a TON. As for the use of plastics VS live bait, remember the shows you typically watch are professionals, they in turn are also sponsored. Being professionals if they say a bite requires plastics over live bait then I have no ground to argue, but from my limited experiences I would START with live bait and work into the plastics if you get looks but no bites. I believe the Pros work in a similar fashon. I really like reading tips and tales from others on IDO but the only real confidence will come with experience, so get out there safely and form your own opinions based on your personal experience! I am in the same phase as you, it requires time to aquire knowledge! Good luck bud.

I would reverse that, fish plastics first especially if targeting crappies. They’re normally more than willing to chase plastics.

If your making fish but they won’t bite plastics then switch to a jig packed with spikes.

If targeting crappies or blue gills on flats or anywhere there isn’t significant weed growth I will walk and check holes until I mark fish. Nothing on the graph and I keep walking. After about a dozen empty holes I’ll drop a jig for a minute or two just to see if there’s roaming fish near by. No point fishing where they’re not, especially during the day.

I usually have 4 rods rigged with different colerd jigs and styles.I start with plastic and see if there interested.If not switch to live bait,meaning waxies or spikes.Most of the time,fore me the plastic gets aggressive ones and then bait is for the less aggressive ones.Sometimes when the bite slows change colors same jig different color plastic or shape.

Thanks for the advice guys! When using plastics do you go with small spoons or jigs? I just went to mills fleet and got a couple small spoons and a couple tungsten jigs.

I will run plastic on spoons or jigs but most the time chasing crappies I will start with tungsten. My jig of choice is a VMC Tubby Jig in 1/16oz teamed with a mustache worm or wax tail worm. I start with the heavier tungsten because most the time chasing down schools I want the bait to drop as fast as it can to get to the fish before they move on. One of the other things I like about plastic is even in extreme cold when moving around it doesn’t freeze like live bait. So when you mark a fish you can just drop, you don’t have to fumble with re baiting and then dropping.

I would mostly agree with riverrat56 in that I would start with plastics and then switch to live bait if you get lookers and no biters. Especially early in the season! Think aggressive at the start of the season and get smaller as the season gets longer.
I also don’t even drop a line down until I mark fish. It is just a waste of time trying to “call them in”. Then once you mark a few, drill a few more around the marked hole. That way you can hole hop if they turn off.
Just my thoughts.

Remember if you are going the small jig route to back it up with small line. I myself use 2lb. test. That’s for pan fish

I was in your same shoes a couple years ago and if I were to start over today I would definitely reduce the amount of tackle I have to small spoons like flash champs from VMC, slender spoons from Custom Jigs and Spins or others like these. For horizontal I go with tungsten from custom jigs and spins along with VMC pug bugs. This year I will try the chandelier thing from VMC as well. I guess what I am saying is that before you buy everything just get a good assortment of colors from these three and some different sizes and you will be fine you don’t need everything. The use of maki plastics and trigger x mustache worms are all I use for plastics. You can modify them by taking pieces off or what not. They work better than bait in some instances you will figure that out but have wax worms along with red spikes. If your targeting walleye I don’t have much advice on that..

As far as minnows you will hop around to find fish once your on them a dead stick with minnow is always good to have next to you in a shack or outside on tip downs for bonus fish.

Have fun it is an addicting sport for sure but rewarding when you get into it and take the time to make a plan and find fish. Good luck this site and membership has helped me a lot and also the shows.

Good stuff here.

One of the best natural baits in the world for sunfish is a goldenrod grub. They aren’t sold in shops…gotta go get them in road ditches and field corners or slough edges. Look for the dried plants that have the “ball” growing about 2/3 of the way up the plant. Check each ball for signs that birds have beat you to the draw. Use an ice cream bucket and collect away until you have the bucket full. Keep the bucket in an unheated out building or garage.

Use a sharp knife to cut open the “ball, or gall as it is properly referred to, and pluck out that tiny worm. I do mine before leaving home and generally cut about 25 galls. The worms can go into a little corn meal in a zip lock. Fish them like you would a spike or waxie, but only one at a time.

These are super baits and the best thing is that they are free. You have to invest some time in the field, but you won’t regret it.

if youre chasing crappies you cannot beat the fun of watching the school of them 15 feet off the bottom chase your bait another 5 feet up and inhale it. I have always done well with the mustache worms as well. The ultra light rippin raps also work well.

I love using tungsten with Little Atom Nuggie plastics. Great action in the tail, great smell to the fish, great selection of colors to choose from. I use these on light fluorocarbon line 2 lb or 4 lb for gills, perch, crappie, small walleye with a slow bite I put wax worm on or take the plastic off and load it with spikes.
I like using Moonshine Shiver Minnow for lake trout, pike, and big walleye. Again great action, great glow colors to choose from. On a slow bite I will tip the treble hook with a small fathead minnow head.
A great tip for using your flasher for first clear ice is to bring a bottle of water with you to look around. Pour a small amount of water on the ice so your ice ducer can make the connection. This helps find fish that are active before ever drilling a single hole. I have had days on the ice when I searched for active flashing fish on the flasher for an hour or more, but then only drilled 4-6 holes all day and caught fish all day. Stay safe and happy fishing!