Spoons/Tail Spins/Ice Jigs/Under Spins

[Schneider Fishing]

So,
when do you use a Spoon vs. a Tail Spin vs. an Ice Jig vs. an Underspin? What makes you choose one over the other?

[DL]

I use a tail spin when the are eating a tailspin and an ice jig when they are eating an ice jig. Switch it up until they eat it. With the amount of time you spend on DV you should know about switching baits until you find one they like... Just listen to the fish..

[Ron C]

...I've used ice jigs when they were eating tail spins. Don't ever do this, it sucks!

[Pete Marino]

I think you got the point across. ...maybe.

As a rule of thumb....if the fish are suspending I'll throw the tail spin and if they are on bottom I'll throw the spoon.
Although that is all useless info if you dont have a good graph or if you have a good fishfinder but dont know how to read it correctly.
A good fishfinder AND the knowledge of how to read it are the main keys to success this time of year. If you have the right graph AND the knowledge.....its almost like sightfishing..but in 30-40+ feet of water.
For instance..I have an x17 that I know how to adjust and read really good. I can meter fish and basically call my shot on whether the fish will bite or not...most of the time.
Also I can tell the difference between a school of crappie and a school of Bass in 40+ feet of water..ESPECIALLY if they are feeding.
Like I said a good graph AND the knowledge are most important.

By the way what in the heck is an ice jig??? Is that a jig that is made of ice? And wouldnt it melt after only a few minutes in the water? Doesnt seem like a useful bait to me.
Maybe I'm misunderstanding.. ...is an ice jig a bait you use on lakes that are frozen over?? I personally dont fish lakes that have ice. That must be a bait they use back East.

They wouldnt work here though..........

Pete

[DeltaBound]

Mr. Marino, Ice jigs are also known as meth or Crystal jigs. Here's a couple of fish caught on Ice Jigs:

[tunaman]

WOW - if that is the case, those folks back east must get awfully desperate once those lakes freeze over... heck, I'd never want to fish ever again if one of those ice jig thingies pulled one of those mutants out of a hole!

[DVL_Local]

A good fishfinder AND the knowledge of how to read it are the main keys to success this time of year.

I agree. If you know what to look for on the screen then, you'll know which lure you should be using.

It's like playing a video game this time of year.


DVL_Local

[Kelly Ripa]

Since I love my winter fishing "if only for the solitude on the water" here are some thoughts about your question. I have used all of the baits you've mentioned but it seems to me that only one of these baits will work at a specific time with very little overlapping when it comes to productivity. Look at what each of these baits does specifically and you will see that they have different applications for your presentations. Look at water temps and when these baits seem to be working best for you and you will see a correlation. If you are looking for a stay at home type of bait the ice jig you mention would be ideal for fishing on top of a piece of structure or fish that are more dormant as it is made to stay in the shrunken strike zone longer and the fish get a good look at it. I use a spoon more than one way. Yes, verticle is good when the fish are related to drop offs or the bottom, but it starts to really shine when the water temps plunge and the fish are used to dining on dying shad. When this begins to happen I like to throw the spoon against walls or more shear types of banks and hop it back to the boat However some time this is more specie specific here at Cachuma and the fall rate becomes critical. This is where the tailspin and spoon intersect. It seems to me that at some point the largemouth want to have the bait to slowly drop or vibrate more on the way past them and the tailspin and blade baits(silver buddy etc. you did not mention) come into play here. The under spin and the tail spin can both be worked through schooling fish and the speed that they both accomplish this at varies so then do your results. I have used maribou underspins with great sucess in very cold (48 degree) water and the more traditional under spins( plastic trailers ) in water temps up to 75. It is as the others mentioned a time for your electronics to earn there keep and YOU also need to be experimenting with those settings as it is almost impossible to leave your unit on the factory settings and see the BIGGER picture under your feet. I HIGHLY recomend doing some research on Don Iovino's sonar techniques as this time of year is when this is most critical to your sucess or lack of it. Good luck with your taste tests and remember to switch up "IF" the fish tell you to. My best example of this happened two years back for me in late December. I moved to a new location after a very slow morning doing a crank/blade thing and a boat next to me told me that they had been there for hours and while there were a ton of fish here they had not gotten one bite. On my first cast I tossed out a spoon to hop back and was crushed in the first 10 feet of my retrieve. I reeled in a very respectable winter fish. Did I cast back out? No!, I cut off the spoon and tied on a silver buddy. This day became epic in my fishing history as I slaughtered the fish for hours because the fish needed not only some flash but a lot of vibration to slow down the retrieve in the water colum they were in to make them respond in the begining of my retrieve. Just a few of my thoughts and feelings about your question. Tis the season so get with it ....

Rip

[MCSPIN]

Just wanted to let you guys know that I have caught tailspin fish at Lake Mead on windy points at the Won bass pro/ams when it was'nt winter time. Mark Tibbits , who I practiced alot for the pro/ams, would always ask me to get on a tailspin bite in the summer. every time I would pick up the tailspin I would tell Mark you wont believe it, but I just caught a fish on the tailspin. I throw them just like a spinnerbait at puddingstone (slow roll them) in 6' of water in front of the grass. Tailspins dont have to be used only in the winter time. I keep one tied on all the time.

[DanWarme]

For me it has been 2 factors that determine use. The biggest is what they want, but that's already been covered. The second factor is water clarity.
I will usually start of with a spoon, (hopkins 3/4 oz. my usual go to) in stained water. But if it is clearer than 2 feet of visability, the ice jig gets the call. Most of the time, the clearer the water, the more the ice jig will out perform the spoon.
But thats just me. You mileage may differ. To tell the truth, for better fish, I much prefer to spoon in the summer rather than the winter.
And that's all I'm gonna say on that subject.

[Kelly Ripa]

I wasn't gonna give him the whole enchilada...Or is it a tostada Grande?

[Rick G]

see those orange marks with the blue arches, those are good fish and the orange is their airblatter. This is why you need a good color LCR and that is what DVL is all about. Those fish look to me like their really chewin. Great picture. Rick G.

[tunaman]

That's why I love my 26C that you guys sold me Rick!!! Nice to have a couple of advantages...


By the way, in our last club tournament at Pyramid I caught three fish (out of 5 total) on the Tailspins that I got at Bass-A-Thon. Two were pretty decent fish, that got sumarily dumped right next to the boat and took me from hero to zero (friggin' rookie!). It was a tough bite, though, for the guys in the club, so was a great testament to the usefullness of the Tailspins. Gotta get some more before I get out on the water again, as I lost two later that day.

[DVL_Local]

Thought you guys would like this. Just a rewording of the Marine's "Rifle Creed".

[Schneider Fishing]

Thanks for the input guys.
This is one of the things I've decided to work on this year.
I've got an LMS 332c and a LMS 480. I think they'll do the trick. I am waiting to upgrade the 480 until I see what Lowrance comes up with next beyond the 332c.
Any more insights are appreciated.

[DanWarme]

Setting modesty aside for a moment, Our video "How the Pros Use Sonar" would help you with any unit you get. Best one I know of on the subject to learn how they work abd how to interpret them.

Modesty switch back on.

[Schneider Fishing]

Dan,
I think I already own all of your videos.

[DanWarme]

Very cool, thanks alot!

How about getting a set on DVD for Xmas!

[DanWarme]

Sorry, that was the Iovino in me coming out!

[Brian Linehan]

Robert, it's already here. LCX-111

[Schneider Fishing]

You guys forgot to tell me that those Ice Jigs work great for catfish. I caught a 6 pound and an 8 pound catfish, a two pound bass, a 2 ounce bluegil and a shad on it today.

[Rick G]

Robert, tell your daughter nice net job on those kittys. Kyle and I watched that show. Rick G.

[Schneider Fishing]

Ya, I love it when she comes out. I wasn't even going to go out Sunday but she asked me and how could I refuse those cute little eyes.

[Dynastyworms]

see those orange marks with the blue arches, those are good fish and the orange is their airblatter. This is why you need a good color LCR and that is what DVL is all about. Those fish look to me like their really chewin. Great picture. Rick G.

?? whats the diffrence between blue arches and blue and orange arches??

do the orange arches mean that it is a bigger fish? or there feeding??


zach

[Rick G]

The orange in the arches are the "bulk" of the fishes airblatters so the biggest ones are the ones with the largest orange area's. The regular black lines might be that the transducer cone angle did not get a complete picture of the fish, or a trout which has a smaller airbladder than a bass. Rick G.

[Dynastyworms]

Thanks Rick G!