Ice expert Walt Matan highlights the advantages of premium jigs for ice fishing.

When I first started ice fishing 30-some years ago, I’d fish fast. Drill and move, drill and move, drill and move, never fishing a hole more than five minutes. My father, Poppee would be batting clean-up right behind me, looking for that hot hole. Once he found it, it was like he was wearing cement shoes; you just couldn’t move him!

I’d used lures that fished fast. (This was before tungsten really sped things up.) Jigs like the Ratso, Diamond Jig and Gill Pill. I used a longer, 40-inch Frabill Quick Tip rod and I’d hop from hole to hole, gypsy fishing. The Vexilar would check the hole first. If there was movement, I’d fish. If it was a blank screen, it was time to move on. I caught a lot of fish this way—a lot of fish!

Poppee would be moving much slower, thoroughly covering my “used up” holes. Once he’d find a few bluegills or crappies, he’d call me over to drill a few more until everything was “just right.” Then I’d set up the Aqua-Vu. He’d fish slower-falling, old-school ice spoons like the Demon, 2-Spot and Rocker: Spoons that took a little more time to get down but provided a lot more flash and flutter. Poppee caught a lot of fish this way—a lot of fish!

Back then, I had a 4-inch hand auger and an 8-inch gas auger. I can’t remember which was worse! I could hand auger a half-dozen holes before wearing out, or gas drill about the same number. (Those old gas augers were awfully heavy.) Now, I use a battery-powered Milwaukee power drill with a 5-inch auger bit and an ION electric with an 8-inch auger and two extensions for big jobs and bigger fish. They’re lightweight, easy to handle and fast drillers!

Have you ever tried to find that hot hole from last week? It’s nearly impossible on a heavily fished lake that has more holes than a block of Swiss cheese. For that, I use a Humminbird Combo Locator/GPS with a LakeMaster map chip. I can mark a spot and return to it year after year. I use it on my boat and then convert it to a portable ice machine.

I also have a Garmin Livescope loaded with maps that I use on the boat and convert for ice fishing use. I can fish fast with the Humminbird and find a spot. I’ll run it on the ATV or in the truck when the ice is thick. Then I’ll hunker down on top of the fish and watch their reactions to my jigs and see them moving about with the Livescope. The Livescope is a game changer; you can watch the fish in real time, scan an area for a larger school and save spots on the map. One thing you notice right away with Livescope is that there are a lot more fish down there than you ever thought possible!

Jigs have gone hi-tech also, with tungsten being all the rage now. Tungsten jigs really shine in shallow water when panfish huddle up in the weeds. You need a jig that is heavy enough to pound down to the bottom of the weeds where these fish are lying. The size 12 or 14 Custom Jigs & Spins Chekai Jig is a great jig choice, tipped with a smooshed wax worm. Using this tiny, yet heavy jig, you can drop it down a weed filled hole and jiggle it to the bottom of the weed stalk, where the big ones lurk.

If you want to keep the little ones off the hook, switch to a size 10 tungsten Wolfinkee. It has a finesse plastic tail offers plenty of action to lure the sows in!

Learn more about the best gear for successful ice fishing in the winter issues of MidWest Outdoors, available by subscribing on our website.