Deadstick/tip-up rigging ideas

[JJ Mac]

Well, it's been a decent season for walleyes on ice for me this season. However, all fish have come jigging. Not even a single walleye have I caught on a tip-up or deadstick rig this year. I fish both inland lakes as well as Bay De Noc (clear water conditions).

For tip-ups, I normally run a 4 to 7 inch sucker, large grey minnow, or golden shiner. It's hard to find suckers up my way this year, so mostly I've been using goldens. On my tip-ups, I've been running 8lb Seagar Flouro to a #8 treble hook. I usually run the bait about a foot off bottom, but have run it suspended several occasions as well. Would switching to a single hook help?

For a deadstick rig, I run a slip bobber set-up with ice buster bobbers and 6lb P-line. On the business end I've tried genz worms, standard jigs (with and without stingers), even tried tail hooking bait and running it off pimples and such. I've run this rig either 5 ft off the bottom or just off bottom. I usually don't run it at the depth I'm jigging because things look a little "cluttered" on the electronics. Should I? Also, would it help to switch to just a single hook and split shot?

No luck at all. Sometimes I wonder why I even cut a second hole anymore. Some of the reason could be that I've become a more accomplished jigger over the years, and that accounts for why the fish all go for jigging.

Anyone have any rigging success stories they'd like to share?

[Vex]

Never did all that well using tip-ups for 'eyes, especially when compared to actively working a bait. Pike, diff. story. Very simple rig, too. 30-50 lb. braid, circle gammy, and chunk of hot dog, the cheaper the better, cheaper dogs got more salt/oils. When you get a strike, just slowly and steadily hand over hand the line in after giving the fish a few moments to turn. Don't set the hook. Never used a steel leader, never had a bite off. Hot dogs work at least as well as any live/dead minnow type baits with much less hassle and expense. Left over hot dogs you can eat yourself.

[Icefishingmaniac]

You could try using a smaller hook. I use 10's or 12's for walleye, a number 8 seems to be a bit large. Try different bait as well, this year I was catching many walleyes on crappie minnows. Sometimes they want big sometimes small, the key is the bait must be lively. I hook the minnow through the back, be careful not to paralyze the minnow. Also make sure that your tip-ups spin very very freely in the cold water. If not there will be a lot of drops.


Icefishingmaniac

[REW]

The one thing that I might suggest with the dead stick rig is to make sure that the dead stick or bobber or tip up is at the exact same depth as which you are jigging. If you are catching fish at a certain depth, it only makes sense that the best bite would be at the same depth.

If you aren't willing to do that, I would drop the line to the bottom, and lift it up about 3 inches.

Also, on the dead stick line, I would use a single #4 or #6 hook, with a single bead in front of the hook, then a single split shot about two feet above the hook. I would also down size the line to 4 lb test line. Make sure that you use a longer softer rod on the deadstick line and have a very good drag setup for the reel. Also, make sure that you have a good gaff handy if you want to use this light line for dead sticking. Never try to pull the fish through the hole - especially if you are using the lighter line.
Practice using the gaff a bit, so that you don't miss a big one.

Another nice thing to use with a dead stick line is to put it in a jigging machine. That way, you can activly work your jig rod, but have the jigging machine bump the line on an intermittent basis. If the bait never gets moved, the minnow stops moving and essentially stays still on the end of the line.

Also, when you hook the minnow, hook it upside down and also hook it as far back as possible. By hooking it upside down, it will struggle longer to upright itself, and by having the hook all the way at the tail, it allows the minnow to have a more dying fish appearance which makes it more attractive to predators.

Take care
REW

p.s.
Sometimes tying on a 1 or 2 inch piece of brightly colored yarn about 2 or 3 inches in front of the bait, provides the necessary atraction to bring the big fish in as well.

[FishOn1]

>You could try using a smaller hook. I use 10's or 12's for
>walleye, a number 8 seems to be a bit large. Try different
>bait as well, this year I was catching many walleyes on
>crappie minnows. Sometimes they want big sometimes small, the
>key is the bait must be lively. I hook the minnow through the
>back, be careful not to paralyze the minnow. Also make sure
>that your tip-ups spin very very freely in the cold water. If
>not there will be a lot of drops.
>
>
>Icefishingmaniac
i use a #10 or #12 hook with 4-6lbs clear line. i use 2 to 4 inch walleve minnos. about 2-2.5 feet off bottom. the fish up higher are more active and have more luck with the tip-up up about 2 feet. just take your time bringing them in