Catch-M-All's Ice Fishing Panfish Guide!

We are ice fishing maniacs, and arguably the most fun fish for us are panfish
 (blue gill, pumpkinseeds, crappies and yellow perch).
This suits our ADD because the action is fast and furious and always changing.

 Here are our tricks.

 First and most important: Choose a pond that has a lot of fish, we love small ponds or river impoundments.

Second: Once one the water drill a lot of holes in 6-12 feet of water.

 Third: Use electronics if you have them: We fished for years without the help of electronics, so skip this step if you don't have them, but if you do... trust them! Move around a lot until you mark fish. No point fishing where nobody lives! If you don't have electronics spend no more than five minutes jigging in each hole.

With our showdown sonar you can see fish just off the bottom and suspended at 7 feet!

Fourth: Using a small jig, tipped with a waxworm or small piece of night crawler. Jig from the bottom up, some fish suspend a few feet off the bottom. If you are marking fish and not getting a bite, jig differently, try dead sticking (just hanging the bait still) or really high slow jigs.

Sorry Ladies, Dave is married...

Fifth: Once you catch a fish, reel it up, let it go and get your bait in the water! These schooling fish get in an eating mode and you can catch dozens out of the same hole.

bluegill

crappie

Clay likes to use a Hali Jig, which is a heavy jig, with a chain attached to a small hook

 If the bite suddenly turns off, jig a little slower, their might be a pickerel lurking...

 If the bite shuts off for more than ten minutes the fish have moved, chase them!

Sixth: Take lots of pictures, eat a couple and have fun!