Smaller gear may help ice anglers
January 10, 2008
A few years ago a friend gave me a couple of Russian ice fishing rods, each less than a foot long and rigged with line that wouldn’t test a full pound in strength.
He also included a couple of Russian and Polish ice jigs. The jigheads were about the size of this letter “O,” and the hooks were about size 20.
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It was obvious that the people who used these things were finesse fishermen of the first water. And part of that may be explained by the fact that while the fish we Americans pursue tend to be aggressive predators, even smaller species like sunfish and perch, Europeans often fish for members of the minnow family that are prey fish and a lot spookier.
But I think most Americans could probably benefit from scaling down their ice fishing gear, especially when targeting panfish and walleyes.
For the past several years, my primary panfish and walleye rigs have been two limber, carbon-fiber spinning rods 14 and 16 inches long. They cost $19.95 each and are equipped with tiny ultralight reels, one spooled with four-pound fluorocarbon and the other with two-pound.
These rods allow me to work very small jigs of various kinds that wouldn’t perform properly on heavier line, and they’re excellent for fishing natural baits like wigglers, waxworms and leeches.
I also carry a stiffer, 24-inch ice rod with a baitfeeder reel rigged with eight-pound fluorocarbon main line and six-pound fluorocarbon leader. This rod is used for harder-hitting species like trout and bigger walleyes in lakes where there are underwater weeds or other structure.
The baitfeeder looks like a conventional spinning reel but has two drags, one front and one rear. The front drag is set at the tension I want when playing the fish. The rear drag is set so that a fish can turn the spool and take line without feeling resistance.
With a 20-pound fluorocarbon shock leader replacing the six-pound, the stiffer rod is a good pike rig. I use it on a homemade wooden rod stand instead of a tip-up.
When a pike takes the bait, it can move off with it. After picking up the rod, I give the pike enough time to be sure it has the bait well inside its mouth, then turn the reel handle to engage the front drag and set the hook.
Baitfeeder reels are available from Okuma, Daiwa, Shimano and other tackle companies starting at about $39.
Eric Sharp
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