Hali Ice Fishing Jig
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I have found Hali ice fishing jigs to be among the best of the popular ice fishing jigs around. They come in many sizes, shapes and colors, all to match whatever type of fish and mood of fish you are after. Hali is a name that is not that well known in fishing circles, but has a great following in the ice fishing realm. From the microscopic jigs that are panfish killers to the lead minnow like jiggers to the bigger spoons some with even dropper rigs attached to them, you will find just about any type to match what you require and add to your ever expanding amount of ice fishing gear. Here is a quick synopsis of each kind:
Hali Marmooska Ice Fishing Jig
Hali Marmooska Ice Fishing
For me, this is the key jig in the Hali line that made me a believer in their product. Born out of the need for a heavy fishing jig that is still small enough for panfish to eat and not notice it is there comes the Marmooska jig. The beauty of these jigs to me is the small size that they come in. You can get as small as a size 14 hook (which is pretty darn small for those that aren't adept at knowing what a size 14 hook looks like. If you want to know, the next time you are at your favorite fishing store go and find some size 14 hoooks. Hint the best place to find them is in the trout fishing or fly tying section of the store. You will notice they are 1/4 the size of a normal hook that you see for catching fish through the ice). Sorry for that side track, but the small size of these lures allows for the fish to suck the bait and really not even notice that it is there. This is great for that finicky panfish bite that we run into at times while out ice fishing. I prefer to tip the Hali Marmooska with either a spike (fly maggot) or a wax worm. Due to the small size many baits like a minnow are far too large to use with the Marmooska. There are times you will find that no live bait is even required, but I always start with some meat on the end of my line to test the waters. If the fish seem particularly aggressive I will go away from adding the bait and see if I continue to catch fish. It is always easier to not have to bait a hook, especially when ice fishing, but it doesn't seem that the opportunity presents itself near enough.
- Hali Ice Fishing Spoons
Hali Ice Fishing Jig Spoon
Designed to add a bit of flash to your underwater presentation, the ice fishing spoon is a willow leaf shaped lure that is meant for slow jigging. Normally this will have a treble hook at the bottom of the spoon, but single hooks are also used by some ice fisherman. For me I love the small treble hooks as they just seem to hook up with fish much better. You can fine tune the color you are using based on the water conditions and what the fish like, but a hammered gold or silver is generally a great place to start. For those finicky perch a dropper rig like the one shown in the picture on the side here is a lethal weapon. The flash entices them over for a closer look, with the chain or line "dropping" the hook about 6 inches lower. This allows for a finesse presentation for the actual bait with the added wow factor of the lure itself flashing and bobbing around. I tend to fine tune the bait attached to these lures to the fish I am after. For instance a wax worm or a crappie minnow head are great when targeting perch or other panfish such as sunfish and crappie. However, this might be too small of a presentation if you are looking to land a northern pike or wallleye. In those cases I would look to use either a hole crappie minnow or more likely a bigger minnow such as a fathead or shiner. Really it is trial and error to find what the fish want that particular day.
Hali Ice Jiggers
To round out the Hali ice fishing jigs we have the ice jigger. This lure is meant to be jigged up and down to entice a fish
Hali Ice Jiggers
to come and eat it. Usually you tip this with a minnow head of sort sort, I normally go with a crappie minnow or fathead minnow head. If you use the entire body you will screw up the action it imparts. Some of these lures have "wings" which cause them to flutter left and right as they drop. The best way I have found to impart this action is to snap the rod up such that the lure is moving 6 inches to a foot upward and then just drop the rod tip allowing the line to be completely limp. This will allow the lure to be completely free of the line and be albe to impart any action the water allows. The drop is where you will get 90%+ of your hits, so make sure to be ready to set the hook once you have made contact with the lure again. These type of lures I like to match the size to the species I am targeting, so look for a small jigger when ice fishing for perch and a larger one when targeting walleye or burbot (don't laugh, there are some people that absolutely love to fish and eat burbot, or their more derisive name of eel pout).
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[...] I have used personally and have had success with. As mentioned in the previous post about the Hali ice fishing jigs, I have found success with some jigs and want to share with others. So, onto a favorite of mine, [...]