Top Baits/Lures

What are most peoples go to baits/lures were for ice fishing.

For example I normally just do a tear drop jig with a wax worm for sunnies, A sucker minnow and a trouble hook for pike, and crappie minnows for crappie.

I was wondering if anyone had any good lures or other bait types to try out, I personally have never really tried plastics or any type of lure through the ice and was curious to see how well they worked and what lures I should go for.

I usually go with spoon type lures for multiple species, particularly the slender spoon and tingler spoon. I’ve caught perch, crappie, and walleye on these, usually tipped with a minnow head.

If I’m targeting crappie specifically, I start with what you mentioned and put a crappie minnow on a small jig.

I only use tip ups for catching pike through the ice and like using quick strike rigs with two trebles.

For panfish I start with:

Spoons tipped with wax worms, usually slender spoons but I don’t think brand matters all that much on most days. Great and fast search tool, and a lot of the time you can fish all day with spoons once you get the color combination figured out.

Then depending on mood I’ll go smaller or bigger if I need to:

Tungsten tipped with wax worms for finicky fish.

Rippin Rap/Slab Rap for ultra aggressive fish or when you know there are bigger fish in the area but can’t keep the smaller fish off your bait.

Don’t bypass the various micro-plastics..I’ve done well tipping a lead or tungsten jig for sunnies and crappies……sometimes better than waxies and such…..

So far this year wonderbread with a maki, and bricker bugs. Had some nice fish on these so far this season

I just bought the new leech flutter spoon and am pretty excited to try em out.
In the past I used Swedish pimples for walleye and perch, even crappie. But flutter spoon and tingler are also good.
I use a variety of tungsten Jigs for panfish tipped with either plastics or waxies.
When trying out new Jigs I always drop it a few inches in the water and figure out how to jig just right. There is a different technique for different lures.

So far in my experience everything has its time and place. Jigs with plastics can outproduce at times, other times plain hook and minnow can. Guys I fish with are religious on their plain red hook with crappie minnow, and have put alot of fish on the ice.

Last week fishing a basin for crappies they were holding real tight to bottom. Started minnow head on rattle spoon, lookers but no takers. Switched to minnow head on flutter spoon, same. Waxies on spoon, nothing. Jig with wax, nibble. 3 jig colors later one nice crappie. Few plastics later the mustache worm pounded em and had my limit before the 3 others combined had 5 fish using minnows and bobbers. Packed er up and headed to a neck down area for walleyes at dusk. It’s that finicky picking through baits on any given day and water that intrigues the hell out me for ice fishing. Let the fish activity on your screen guide your lure choices. Fish that day had to be enticed, reaction strikes. Artificials give you that. Sometimes they just want meat, others a mix.

PK spoons and the Lindy Rattlin’ Flyer are by far the most productive for me for jigging Walleyes, because in use them the most often.

Outside of that, I have caught more fish (and the biggest I’ve caught) on a glow-pink Gomakatsu hook, tipped with a shiner, with a few beads under an ice breaker bobber, than anything else. It’s a fool proof presentation that can work on fish across the activity spectrum (aggressive to negative).

With all of the marketing and fancy lures out there, things get over thought. Most of the time we are finding patterns that aren’t really there (size, color, action, etc). You know, some guy catches the first fish and everyone switches over the same spoon/size/color. Then it turns into, “they’re really hitting on X,” when really you’d be fine with a wide range of things. Fisherman can drive a good statistician insane.

I will say, however, one new lure that I love this year that has been working great: Lindy Wally Talker. Been absolutely killing huge crappies with it (we’re talking 13-15″).