AN INTRO TO ICE FISHING FOR PANFISH
BY: JESSE JAMES PIONTEK
If you are a person that lives in the far north who LOVES to eat delicious bluegills or crappies, you may want to try out the exciting sport of ice fishing. Ice fishing for bluegills is very relaxing, very fun, and not a very expensive hobby to get into. The last 20 years of advancements in the ice fishing world has made ice fishing a much more enjoyable experience. In this article, I will discuss the beginning, basic steps that can give you an introduction into the great outdoors in the winter months. I am not a professional, I am not an expert, I am a passioniate enthusiast that tries to simplify fishing. I don’t pursue trophy fish, I am out looking for quantity and fun. If you are looking for tips on trophy fishing, hire a professional guide, such as Dale Stroschein, Brian Brosdahl, or Josh Teigen, and they will put you on the best water for trophy fish, with their secret tactics that may catch you a fish of a lifetime.
The first concern of many people who live in the northern states, is the cold weather. As an outdoors enthusiast who loves winter, I will be the first to admit I HATE BEING COLD! But when it comes to winter fun, with proper clothing, and heat, the outdoors can be a blast even well below zero degrees. I know you think this sounds crazy, but the best way to put it – I can not stand late season bowhunting from a tree in 35 degree weather, but love moving around in zero degree weather looking for small game with a shotgun. I need to be warm, I need to move around. When it comes to ice fishing, its simple. First you find the fish, then you setup a very portable shack with heat blasted, and if the schools move, you move. And your heat comes with you!!
For equipment, you can keep this very cheap if on a tight budget. A Strikemaster laser hand auger, about 6-7” blade, is the perfect tool if you are fishing up to 12-14” of ice. The design is incredible, they drill VERY fast with sharp blades, and are extremely lightweight. They typically run around $50-$70 dollars and will last a lifetime. When your budget expands, and your love for ice fishing expands to a point that you want to pursue fish all winter, then you later will want to invest in a premium quality gasoline, propane, or electric drill. My personal choice is a Jiffy. I used a huge, heavy 3 horse for quite a while, it was terrible to lug around but drilled better than any auger I ever seen. It was a powerhouse and I loved it. After a crime spree hit my neighborhood and the auger was stolen, I was fortunate enough to end up with a new 4 stroke Jiffy in the lightweight series. This is the finest auger I have ever been around, period. They are very spendy, but worth every penny. Simple maintenance, and the use of ethanol-free premium gas will keep this baby running for decades. This Jiffy design is so quiet, so much lighter, yet it drills almost as fast as the old heavy 3 horse beast. Other options such as the propane or electric models would be very convenient alternatives, it is a personal preference thing. I am sure any powered drill will beat old-school hand-drilling, but on thin ice, hand-drilling is the way to go.
For equipment, you can keep this very cheap if on a tight budget. A Strikemaster laser hand auger, about 6-7” blade, is the perfect tool if you are fishing up to 12-14” of ice. The design is incredible, they drill VERY fast with sharp blades, and are extremely lightweight. They typically run around $50-$70 dollars and will last a lifetime. When your budget expands, and your love for ice fishing expands to a point that you want to pursue fish all winter, then you later will want to invest in a premium quality gasoline, propane, or electric drill. My personal choice is a Jiffy. I used a huge, heavy 3 horse for quite a while, it was terrible to lug around but drilled better than any auger I ever seen. It was a powerhouse and I loved it. After a crime spree hit my neighborhood and the auger was stolen, I was fortunate enough to end up with a new 4 stroke Jiffy in the lightweight series. This is the finest auger I have ever been around, period. They are very spendy, but worth every penny. Simple maintenance, and the use of ethanol-free premium gas will keep this baby running for decades. This Jiffy design is so quiet, so much lighter, yet it drills almost as fast as the old heavy 3 horse beast. Other options such as the propane or electric models would be very convenient alternatives, it is a personal preference thing. I am sure any powered drill will beat old-school hand-drilling, but on thin ice, hand-drilling is the way to go.
STRIKEMASTER LAZER AUGER
JIFFY 4G Lite 4 STROKE GAS AUGER
Now one spendy piece of equipment that may not satisfy your budget all that well is a flasher. For the most part, ice-fishing is a cheap sport. But to really find the fun and fight boredom and immediate lost interest in this activity, you really should have a flasher. It changes everything. What amateurs don’t realize about fishing is that most lakes are 90% void of fish. You need to find fish to catch fish. Fishing is not all about luck. It used to be. But with the tools of fishing available since the 1970s to now, so much guess-work and luck has been taken out of the game. I simply do not fish unless I know I am on a school, period. There are many options available. The one positive about the flasher budgets is that the cheapest model will catch you fish like crazy. I own the Marcum VX-1, the cheapest model on the market at the time. It has a bottom zoom feature, has a crystal clear display, I love this thing. It increased my catches 10:1 no doubt, and eliminated so many fish-free trips. If your budget is larger, there are many more expensive, loaded models available. If your water isn’t crystal clear or too stained, an underwater camera can work at times too. I love these things when the bite is hot, but on several trips it scares the fish away. You can see bites that you cant detect with a bobber or pole and you wont miss the hook set. But the fish need to be feeding aggressively on these days to not spook from the camera. My recommendation is buy the cheapest Marcum, Humminbird, or Vexilar that you can find, and you will be catching fish like crazy with a very easy learning curve.
As far as shacks, your budget determines EVERYTHING. My best advice is to keep the shack as light as possible, unless you use 4 wheelers and snowmobiles to drag them. The hardest part about ice fishing is dragging all of your equipment to your spot. At the same time, this kind of outdoor exercise can’t be beat! If you are going to fish solo, no doubt you need to buy a “one man” setup. If you have children or a hot wife that likes the outdoors, like myself, go with a 2 person setup. But keep it light. I have the simplest of designs, an Eskimo that sets up like a bowhunting hub-style blind. Cheap, lightweight, portable, I love it. I carry it on my shoulder like a camping chair sling. Now if you want better insulation, and a built-in sled to haul all of your items, you need to check out Frabill’s killer line of shacks. My first shack was a one-man Fish Trap Pro, a genius design from my early childhood, I believe by Dave Genz. I loved that shack, but it doesn’t fit well in most cars, you need a pickup truck to haul it. A family of mice nested in it and ate the walls, resulting in its sad disposal to the dump a few years back. Currently, the hub-style shack works better for me, when my snow cruiser is a Subaru WRX. I don’t have the trunk space for a Fish Trap style shack. I think that Frabill’s newest models are improved version’s of the Fish Trap styles from decades ago. The material used to be so thin, these are so well insulated. A one man design can be heated very well with a simple single-burner stove on a propane cylinder. A 2-3 person shack will need a bigger heater to keep it hot like a warm cabin. My idea of fishing on the ice means the shack should be warmer than my home. When you look outside the windows at the nasty windy winter weather, you laugh as you pull up fish wearing a t shirt.

To start my day, I look for the seasonal patterns. You need access to a contour map to look at depth structures. You may purchase maps in stores locally, or better yet, in Wisconsin our DNR has free lake maps on “find a lake” on their website. As long as the lake gets no deeper than 25 feet deep, usually the panfish hang around the deepest hole near a point. You need to start there. Drill holes all over the area. After at least 5 holes are scattered, use a cheap ice skimmer to clean all of the holes. Drop your flasher transducer in each hole. You will mark a solid bottom, and the red lines suspended off the bottom represent either fish, or branches from a brushpile of fish crib. Fish typically move on and off the display, so they slowly vanish over time. Or they may move vertically higher or lower. Brushpile branches or cribs never move. Typically weeds are very thin, giving the sonar a green return line on the flasher. Weeds typically hold fish nearby. I don’t start fishing until I check the holes and find a bunch of lines. If none of the holes mark anything, drop a jig to the bottom of the lake, let your jig smash into the bottom, rip it up as fast as you can, let it drop again. Then slowly jig your pole while reeling until your jig is about two feet off of the bottom. If no fish rises off of the bottom within 10 seconds, abandon the area, drill some more holes, and start over. You may want to move closer to a contour change, go shallower, go towards a different point, a creek entry area, or an area marked with vegetation on a lake map. Typically a sand flat not marking fish will hold some very scattered random yellow perch. You could fish these for hours, and might catch a perch or two every few hours or all day. It’s not worth it! You need to be mobile, find fish, and light them up!!
Now when you continue to hunt for fish, and you finally find a magic hole with one or more fish marked off of the bottom, or you manage to get one to pull his belly out of the sand and rise up to look at your lure, you can stay put for a bit. I wouldn’t set up the shack until you land a few fish quickly and know a school is there. As far as jig styles and colors, relating to fishing conditions, I have a pretty simple approach. If the barometer is ABOVE 30” on a local weather site, I assume the bite will be tough. I downsize everything. Use dull colors, not super bright. I start with purple or black. I buy silver wigglers on my way to the lake on these days. If you are with a buddy, have him experiment with a bigger jig, or a bright color, or with a fat wax worm, have him fish near you, and figure out the pattern. Chances are on a tough day, the bite will be slow, the subtle color will beat the bright color. But don’t assume too much in the outdoors. These are wild animals, there could be a plankton deal going on and a feeding binge that is unpredictable. One of you will figure out which combo is working better, then switch to the better option. If the barometer is BELOW 30” I assume the bite will be hot. Especially on a cloudy day. I start with white jigs, but change frequently to hot pink or chartreuse until I start getting bit. I start with a bigger jig and a fat wax worm. If fish are looking and leaving, I switch to a silver wiggler, downsize the jig one size, and go to purple or black in color.
Now to understand how fish act in the winter months, you need to understand their metabolism. They are cold-blooded. They eat less and slow down in winter. The neat thing though is that you will notice bass are very sluggish in winter months, smallmouths almost hibernate, largemouth are caught on occasion on tip-ups with shiners on bottom, maybe on a jig pole on accident, but northern pike, walleye, perch, crappie, and bluegills move VERY fast even in the cold water. I wouldn’t jig super fast, but you will see at times on your flasher that they will race up several feet in a very short time to pound your jig. It makes you very confident in a hurry when you see this. Its also very exciting, and makes you feel like you are playing a video game. On most days of panfishing through the ice, I don’t honestly feel like they bite to feed all that well. I bet 75% of my fish caught are when another fish or many fish are present, and as the jig slowly drops from the ice down to the “fish zone,” one fish rises to take a look, and another flies up and crushes it, just so the other one can’t have it. I think I catch almost all of my fish just in a competitive state, and I find it very fun and predictable. In most cases, the non-trophy fish are the most aggressive. If you are catching tiny ones non-stop, you may want to move around to find a school of better sized fish. Most of the time though, it seems like schools cycle through, and the fish sizes vary. I might catch 4 little ones, but then a nice one shows up. Typically for me the small ones are near bottom, the highest suspended fish are the biggest ones, or when fishing the highest ones, a big aggressive fish may come off the bottom and rise 7 or more feet to crush your jig in front of a suspended fish. When you see that fish rise quickly, right before his line is even with your jig line, quit watching the flasher, what your rod tip for the tiniest tap, then set the hook as hard as you possibly can. Keep constant pressure on the fish at all times, any slack at any point is pretty much a guaranteed lost fish through the ice. Stay on the fish all the way to the top of the hole, get it away from the hole ASAP so it doesn’t flop back in! Another important thing to remember when ice fishing, as soon as you land a fish, get that jig down there as fast as possible! They can leave very quickly! You don’t want the flurry of bites to leave. You need the competition to continue as long as you can because the bites can be so sporadic. A lot of times, the majority of fish caught in a trip were in a short, red-hot window of a feeding frenzy.
If fish are marked, and checking out your jig but not committing to a bite, you have many techniques that may entice a bite. The correct method is different with every fish or with every changing weather condition. Sun or lack of sun changes fishing presentations dramatically. Partly cloudy days can really mess with the bite as the sun hides and comes back out. Keep changing it up. I tend to jig very aggressively, compared to most. You want the jig to be almost vibrating in place. Once in a while, a quick huge snap will get them to look, but then I let it free fall slowly back to place. I almost never put a jig in there face, most of my bites are when I present the lure about 1-2 feet above them. Crappies are always looking up, and an aggressive bluegill seems to want it above them too. If they continue to ignore you, let the lure drop below them a few feet. If they slowly chase it down, that means they are very interested. At that point, reel it back above them VERY SLOWLY. If the fish then comes back up, stop everything you are doing. Deadstick the jig. Watch for the weakest, tiniest tap of the rod tip, then jack them with a Mike Morazzini super bombing of a hookset. It’s a game of teasing them at times.
Now when you continue to hunt for fish, and you finally find a magic hole with one or more fish marked off of the bottom, or you manage to get one to pull his belly out of the sand and rise up to look at your lure, you can stay put for a bit. I wouldn’t set up the shack until you land a few fish quickly and know a school is there. As far as jig styles and colors, relating to fishing conditions, I have a pretty simple approach. If the barometer is ABOVE 30” on a local weather site, I assume the bite will be tough. I downsize everything. Use dull colors, not super bright. I start with purple or black. I buy silver wigglers on my way to the lake on these days. If you are with a buddy, have him experiment with a bigger jig, or a bright color, or with a fat wax worm, have him fish near you, and figure out the pattern. Chances are on a tough day, the bite will be slow, the subtle color will beat the bright color. But don’t assume too much in the outdoors. These are wild animals, there could be a plankton deal going on and a feeding binge that is unpredictable. One of you will figure out which combo is working better, then switch to the better option. If the barometer is BELOW 30” I assume the bite will be hot. Especially on a cloudy day. I start with white jigs, but change frequently to hot pink or chartreuse until I start getting bit. I start with a bigger jig and a fat wax worm. If fish are looking and leaving, I switch to a silver wiggler, downsize the jig one size, and go to purple or black in color.
Now to understand how fish act in the winter months, you need to understand their metabolism. They are cold-blooded. They eat less and slow down in winter. The neat thing though is that you will notice bass are very sluggish in winter months, smallmouths almost hibernate, largemouth are caught on occasion on tip-ups with shiners on bottom, maybe on a jig pole on accident, but northern pike, walleye, perch, crappie, and bluegills move VERY fast even in the cold water. I wouldn’t jig super fast, but you will see at times on your flasher that they will race up several feet in a very short time to pound your jig. It makes you very confident in a hurry when you see this. Its also very exciting, and makes you feel like you are playing a video game. On most days of panfishing through the ice, I don’t honestly feel like they bite to feed all that well. I bet 75% of my fish caught are when another fish or many fish are present, and as the jig slowly drops from the ice down to the “fish zone,” one fish rises to take a look, and another flies up and crushes it, just so the other one can’t have it. I think I catch almost all of my fish just in a competitive state, and I find it very fun and predictable. In most cases, the non-trophy fish are the most aggressive. If you are catching tiny ones non-stop, you may want to move around to find a school of better sized fish. Most of the time though, it seems like schools cycle through, and the fish sizes vary. I might catch 4 little ones, but then a nice one shows up. Typically for me the small ones are near bottom, the highest suspended fish are the biggest ones, or when fishing the highest ones, a big aggressive fish may come off the bottom and rise 7 or more feet to crush your jig in front of a suspended fish. When you see that fish rise quickly, right before his line is even with your jig line, quit watching the flasher, what your rod tip for the tiniest tap, then set the hook as hard as you possibly can. Keep constant pressure on the fish at all times, any slack at any point is pretty much a guaranteed lost fish through the ice. Stay on the fish all the way to the top of the hole, get it away from the hole ASAP so it doesn’t flop back in! Another important thing to remember when ice fishing, as soon as you land a fish, get that jig down there as fast as possible! They can leave very quickly! You don’t want the flurry of bites to leave. You need the competition to continue as long as you can because the bites can be so sporadic. A lot of times, the majority of fish caught in a trip were in a short, red-hot window of a feeding frenzy.
If fish are marked, and checking out your jig but not committing to a bite, you have many techniques that may entice a bite. The correct method is different with every fish or with every changing weather condition. Sun or lack of sun changes fishing presentations dramatically. Partly cloudy days can really mess with the bite as the sun hides and comes back out. Keep changing it up. I tend to jig very aggressively, compared to most. You want the jig to be almost vibrating in place. Once in a while, a quick huge snap will get them to look, but then I let it free fall slowly back to place. I almost never put a jig in there face, most of my bites are when I present the lure about 1-2 feet above them. Crappies are always looking up, and an aggressive bluegill seems to want it above them too. If they continue to ignore you, let the lure drop below them a few feet. If they slowly chase it down, that means they are very interested. At that point, reel it back above them VERY SLOWLY. If the fish then comes back up, stop everything you are doing. Deadstick the jig. Watch for the weakest, tiniest tap of the rod tip, then jack them with a Mike Morazzini super bombing of a hookset. It’s a game of teasing them at times.
On very slow frustrating days, it seems like a super slow drop to the bottom, a bump or two on the bottom to stir up the silt, then raising it to one foot up is the way to go. Let it deadstick for a while. If the biting is really slow, swap out the waxworm for a crappie minnow. It might be all of the difference. When still slow, I would recommend using no live bait at all. Take a small 3 mm tungsten jig, cover it with some JB’s FISH SAUCE, and dead stick or jig very slowly. Move around every 10 minutes until you hope to find a more active school. High barometer days in winter with clear skies and below zero wind chills bring many poor fishing result days in the winter. Dropshotting a small red hook with a small wiggler may be the only way to get bit, on a super slow drop speed. If everything fails, set up tip ups and go to jigging spoons for walleye and pike, throw a football around, and grill some deer meat up and have a party.
As far as rod and reel setup for panfish, you want a “noodle rod.” This would be a VERY flexible fiberglass rod blank that have a moderate taper for battling panfish. The line of choice would be 2# test flourocarbon. 3# or more can cut your bites down 50-75% on tough days. I prefer a spinning reel. Most good ice rod combos cost $10-$20. A very cheap deal for sure! The rod tips an break easily in a car door or dragging on the ice out of a sled, so a rod case or ice fishing bucket for transport is a wise idea. They will last a long time with care. After a few years the cheap reel models may crack or blow a bearing, but replacement is usually less than $10 at most stores. Of course spendy, high quality models are on the market, but are usually more aimed at the walleye jigging anglers. You need backbone and quality for proper hooksets on giant fish through the ice.
As far as tackle choices, the past few years have resulted in some very cool products. Lead is being replaced by tungsten. Tungsten is much more dense, and transmits bites much better through your rod tip, feeling more sensitive than the dullness of lead. I am very excited about the new Acme Pro Series Tungsten Ice jig coming out now for the 2018 season. We are a dealer and will have a few for sale this winter.
As far as tackle choices, the past few years have resulted in some very cool products. Lead is being replaced by tungsten. Tungsten is much more dense, and transmits bites much better through your rod tip, feeling more sensitive than the dullness of lead. I am very excited about the new Acme Pro Series Tungsten Ice jig coming out now for the 2018 season. We are a dealer and will have a few for sale this winter.
ACME TACKLE PRO SERIES TUNGSTEN ICE JIG
GULLICKSON BAIT COMPANY'S BEAVERTAIL BAIT
The most exciting tackle that has come out in recent years is a new alternative to wax worm fishing. Gullickson Bait Company of Wisconsin has invented a waxie clone, but made out of actual beaver tail. Can you imagine how tough these are? Instead of ripping waxies off constantly on a high numbers bluegill day, you can catch a limit of fish on a Beavertail, put it back in its sealed bag, and reuse it on your next trip. The Gullickson team has two colors available – white waxie or hot pink. Both colors probably have their moments, I would use white on most occasions, but pink would be my go-to on a killer crappie bite. Crappies love pink! The Gullickson Beaver tail is infused with oil-based scents that will totally fool the fish into biting. The oil-based scent should last a very long time. After a while, if the bite slows, maybe add some scent, such as JB’s Fish Sauce in crawfish, and you may see an immediate response to it.
I hope these tips give an amateur ice angler an idea on how to start jigging, how to get out on a budget, and how to bring home a delicious, healthy meal of panfish for the family. Stay off the lakes until you are confident that there is a minimum 4-5” of hard ice (after a snow-free deep freeze weather pattern.) When in doubt, bring ice picks and a life jacket, as well as a rope. The tasty fish will be there when the ice is thicker, don’t take chances. They bite very well typically a month after the ice gets safe, as long as the lake isn’t too heavily pressured. The 1-2” ice guys are trying to get to the fish before the pressure turns them off. In that case, find a different lake! Falling through the ice would be way too cold for me!!
Enjoy the season, stay safe, and email me with any questions. I am not an expert or a guide, but I can give a beginner a good starting point. See you on the ice! If you smell the venison near the red Eskimo shanty, stop on over!!
Jesse James
I hope these tips give an amateur ice angler an idea on how to start jigging, how to get out on a budget, and how to bring home a delicious, healthy meal of panfish for the family. Stay off the lakes until you are confident that there is a minimum 4-5” of hard ice (after a snow-free deep freeze weather pattern.) When in doubt, bring ice picks and a life jacket, as well as a rope. The tasty fish will be there when the ice is thicker, don’t take chances. They bite very well typically a month after the ice gets safe, as long as the lake isn’t too heavily pressured. The 1-2” ice guys are trying to get to the fish before the pressure turns them off. In that case, find a different lake! Falling through the ice would be way too cold for me!!
Enjoy the season, stay safe, and email me with any questions. I am not an expert or a guide, but I can give a beginner a good starting point. See you on the ice! If you smell the venison near the red Eskimo shanty, stop on over!!
Jesse James