Jigging, no, I’m not about to expand on some kind of fancy dance move, but the term “jigging” is also a common term used to describe a technique frequently utilized by fishermen.
Basically, the term “jigging” describes the movement of a bait or lure up and down while suspended at various depths.
Many fishermen will often jig a lure with their spinning rods while sitting in a boat or even fishing from shore.
Of course, in open water, jigging is just one of several casting and retrieving techniques that can be used to hook a fish, but when it comes to ice fishing, you are pretty much limited to setting tip-ups or jigging.
You can set tip-ups that automatically hook a fish when it takes the bait, or you can perch over a hole or two and jig fish with ice fishing rods.
You are limited to five devices, so that some ice anglers will set three tip-ups and jig with two rods. More often than not, however, most ice anglers just work their jigging outfits while perched in their ice tents.
Most ice fishermen will be perched over one or two six or eight-inch holes while working their jigging rods. Of course, the goal with any fishing technique when presenting lures or bait is to detect the strike and properly set the hook. There are several approaches ice fishermen use to detect strikes.
Many ice fishermen will simply attach a small, and I want to emphasize the word “small” bobber to their line so that the lure suspends at the desired depth. Obviously, any movement of the bobber should result in a quick strike. This is probably a good approach if you are just getting into ice fishing.
There is another technique that relies on sight to detect a strike and involves a short, flexible metal strip or spring that attaches to the tip of your ice rod. You run your line through the eye at the end of the flexible tip, and the slightest tug on the line will cause the tip to flex up and down, indicating that you are getting a hit-set the hook.
While I have used and still use the above techniques, more often than not, I go with the ‘feel” rather than the sight approach. With this technique, your strikes are all picked up by what you feel when that fish sucks in your bait; oftentimes, it’s just a very light tap or slight tug. I will say, however, that I also watch the line closely. Even if I don’t feel anything, if I see the line slowly moving to the edge of the hole, I will set the hook.
Another important thought for successful ice fishing is to match your lure size to the fish you are after. Most of my ice fishing is usually geared for panfish-bluegill, crappies and perch; therefore, I use jigs that are small enough for them to get into their mouth with little difficulty. A size one-thirty-second is a pretty good choice. Crappies have a larger mouth opening, so a little larger may be fine if crappies are your goal. When Ice fishing, like most ice fishermen, I like to add a wax worm or some other small live bait to my jig.
Well, my ice fishing buddies and I have already been out and had some decent action. Hopefully, the ice will continue to hold out in the days to come, and we’ll get some more of that jigging action.
