Ice Fishing Pool 4 Backwaters

I like to ice fish – I mean really like it! So another day on the ice was in order. I decided to check out a couple areas of the backwaters on Pool 4 looking for nice bluegills. The ice is still a solid 6 inches, although there was some water on top of it in places. It was very slippery and ice creepers are a must.

I used a diamond jig tipped with a waxie. These are new this year and seem to really be the hot ticket so far. The best color today was glow red. I was fishing in about 5 fow and working the jig up and down the water with short little jiggles. The fish usually hit while the jig was moving.

After checking out several holes, I found a good concentration of fish in a small area. They were actually quite aggressive today, but there were a lot of small ones. I easily caught over 100 fish today, releasing all but a few for some good eating.

Sounds like the night time temps are going to be back below freezing now, so I think the ice should remain in good shape. Try some of these new diamond jigs tipped with a waxie and I think you will be impressed. Now if I can get some reel weeds to try with them – boy, those fish don’t stand a chance! Hope you can get out to try some of this great ice fishing soon!

An 8+ inch gill.

10+ inch crappie.

Dinner!

nice fish looks like one good dinner

Those diamond jigs are my pet right now, easily setting the jigging spoon back a notch when the bite is not quite hot. The plain red and solid black have been good for me. I like the ways these jigs fish.

Here is a pic of the Diamond Jigs.

The red I mentioned is a bright red….not the glow. I also have had some hot luck with the hot pink. The red and black I have “doctored” a little by adding two very, very small dots of green glow to each side of the jigs. By looking at the jigs casually one would not even know there was glow there. I swear that in doing this the fish have a strike target.

The red glow that Mike sells was used a lot at the Red Wing marina [Baypoint],open water fishing off the docks and it was a solid producer there.

I still start out with the jigging spoon to see what the fishs’ mood is, but if they want compact this is it.

Another thing I do. You will find a small bead being held on the hhok by a piece of clear tubing [darned hard to see, but you can feel it]. I cut that tubing off and remove the bead. The length of the hook is such that you have little room for adding a plastic to these jigs unless this “extra” stuff is gone. I can’t see where the bead has any use or positive effect anyway.

Regardless of how you chose to fish them, they are one stellar little unit. I have just about every color times at least twice in sizes 14, 12, and 10. I have a couple of colors in 16 just for “those” days. And by the way, Mike has a pretty good assortment to chose from.