Got back into doing some ice fishing this year. Anybody have any ice fly patterns they’d like to share? I fish for panfish–crappies, perch, bluegills, etc.
Thanks
A buddy of mine swears by an ice fly he calls his “ice flea.” it’s a size 12 or 14 straight eye dry fly hook tied with peacock herl on the shank - yep, that’s all! The straight eye allows the fly to stay perpendicular to the line in the water.
Here, in Nebraska, it is legal to use two hooks on one line so it works well above a jig tipped with a waxie. He tends to out fish the jig 2 to 1 on his ice flea.
Sorry there’s nothing technical about it. Be safe on the ice!
Thanks, SKershaw. I’ll try that and make some patterns of my own. I thought there would be more response to this. I always send the heavy guys onto the ice first to check it. Seriously, if I’m not satisfied with the thickness of the ice I won’t go on it. I fish for trout with flies 99% of the time. I only kill panfish for eating and it’s something to kill the winter doldrums.
The Best,
Bruce
Its nice to have a bit of weight on an ice jig to get it down quickly (without having to add split shot) and keep your line reasonably tight.
Try 1/80 oz jigheads tied with your choice of materials/styles. Tie sparsely. Examples of materials would be craft fur, kip tail, rabbit/squirrel, or small feathers. Or chenille body/marabou tail. Lots of choices, tie a variety of colors/materials and see what the fish want.
Keep the tails fairly short for finicky short-biting cold-weather panfish.
Good luck!
Thanks All: I’ll get down to some tying tonight. The Eyes Fly pattern looks intriguing. I may tie it with some small, red barbell eyes.
Tim, thanks for sharing that interesting pattern. Its creator developed it to target perch through the ice. Have you (or anyone else that’s used this) had any success with catching crappies or bluegills on this? I may have to give these a try.
Dave: I caught perch with the eye fly. I used two craft beads for the eye. But I have not fished it enough to give you an assesment.
Tim