Worms for ice-panfish.
Posted on March 2nd, 2022When it comes to ice fishing I seldom hear of anglers using nightcrawlers for bait. It’s usually minnows and grubs. Worms can work as well through the ice as they do in open water for a variety of fish and definitely panfish.
When I’m targeting the “sunfish-family” (Bluegill and Pumpkinseed). I usually use a 1/32 to 1/8 oz jighead depending on the depth and the size of the panfish I’m targeting, the smaller the pinfish the smaller the jigs.
To the jig I only add a small section of worm usually about 1/4-1/2 long. I try and hook the section of worm so most of it is on the jighead with only a little protruding past the hook.
My favorite jigs to use are those that lay “horizontally”, not vertically when suspended off the bottom. The Gentz Bug series are some of my favorite.
I find that a gently shaking action brings the panfish in and as soon as I spot them on my sonar I usually stop shaking my jig and just let it rotate back to it’s resting position and that’s when panfish usually inhale it. Hit’s are light and I often use an additional sensitive strike indicator on my rod tip to detect the lightest takes.
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