# Ice Fishing Lures for Strawberry and Scofield



## JWM (May 20, 2012)

I am taking up ice fishing for the first time this winter and am trying to get my tackle bought.

I plan to focus on strawberry,scofield and possibly deer creek. What kind of lures should I get?


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

ratfinki in various colors. Tipped with waxworms

-DallanC


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## martymcfly73 (Sep 17, 2007)

Paddle bugs. Various colors including white.


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## cbassonafly (Oct 5, 2012)

I have another question to add to this subject... if your fishing mainly for trout are you jigging your lure or do you let it sit for the most part? I dont jig a lot and seem to catch perch and gills that way... but i've never really tried trout. and i agree with DallanC, i've always had good luck with ratfinki


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## Grandpa D (Sep 7, 2007)

Maniac Cut'r Bugs, Gizzy Bugs and Gizzilla jigs are my go to ice tackle.
I also use Rat Finkies, small jigging spoons and other tube jigs.
I will bait all my ice jigs with either Wax Worm or Perch Meat.
At Strawberry I will use Shinners instead of Perch Meat.


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## martymcfly73 (Sep 17, 2007)

cbassonafly said:


> I have another question to add to this subject... if your fishing mainly for trout are you jigging your lure or do you let it sit for the most part? I dont jig a lot and seem to catch perch and gills that way... but i've never really tried trout. and i agree with DallanC, i've always had good luck with ratfinki


Action catches fish.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

martymcfly73 said:


> Action catches fish.


I have a two pole permit as does my wife. We each jig one pole, dead stick the other... there are days either the jigged ones or the dead sticks outdoes the other. Its wierd, I cant say consistantly one works over the other. I've seen MANY times on the fish camera twitching a jig has run off a fish, I think it comes down to what the fish want on any given day.

I talked personally with the guy that makes ratfinkies and he is aware of the weak hook problem they have. He was researching a stronger hook for us trout guys. I havent seen anything new in their catalog though.

-DallanC


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## Catherder (Aug 2, 2008)

For Strawberry, I start with a maniac ice cutter on a jig head. Get various shades of white or chartreuse. I also have a selection of ice flies that I use every now and again. A foxee jig also works well up there if you can find them. Paddlebugs are similar to ice cutters. Do take more than 1 color. It is often that color matters. At the berry, tip the jig with either mealworms, crawlers, chub meat, or good old powerbait. If you can get a fresh shelled crawdad tail, that can do it too. Change bait types if you aren't having bites, especially if you can see fish on the fishfinder come in and not bite.

Scofield used to be a smaller jig place for me. Ratfinkies or a small gold ice spoon that lit it up there. With the new regs and lots of BL cutts now of good size, I'd probably start by fishing it like I do Strawberry. I didn't get up there last year.



cbassonafly said:


> if your fishing mainly for trout are you jigging your lure or do you let it sit for the most part?


It depends, as was explained. If you have a fishfinder and can see how the fish are reacting to your offering, you can figure it out quickly enough.


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## wagdog (Jan 6, 2009)

I have fished DC and Scofield through the ice. I am a big fan of ratfinkees in pink and chartreuse. I also did very well using jammin jigs neon tigers in pink glow. I believe that was the name. I use wax worms, crawlers, or perch meat if legal to add a little flavor to my jigs. I typically have two rods rigged up if the catching is a little slow and like others have said, dead stick one and jig the other. Now we just need ice...


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## wagdog (Jan 6, 2009)

Here is a link to jammin jigs: http://www.jamminjigs.com/sections/prod ... roup_id=63


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## utahgolf (Sep 8, 2007)

I caught more bows at strawberry on an ice fly than I did on jigs. As far as jigging, the bows like that steady action, cutts on the other hand it can be different. I had one fish cruise around for 15 minutes on the camera, we tried everything to get him to bite, finally I just layed my jig down on the bottom tipped with cut bait and he came right in and scooped it off the bottom. that's why like others have said, a dead stick setup as your 2nd pole.


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## cbassonafly (Oct 5, 2012)

sounds like I will be purchasing a second pole permit  thanks for the info, i'm ready for ice


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## gmanhunter (Dec 27, 2007)

I use a lime green pepper flake jig tipped with a meal worm or small chunk of minnow. As far as jigging goes, I jig it a couple of times and then let it set. I have a underwater camera and have seen the fish swim off if it is being jigged to much, or if the set up doesnt look right. At the berry presentaion is one of the biggest factors for catching fish there (my own opinion) . If you want to learn how the fish react to different set ups or jigging, get an underwater camera and watch the reaction of the fish. I have learned more from the camera than anything else. I have seen fish come right up to my bait and if it doesnt look right they will not bite. You can fish all day and think there is no fish, when really there is. The only down fall useing the camera is, it doesnt work when the lake is merky, and sometimes its more frustrating watching them swim by. Hope this helps.


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## Chaser (Sep 28, 2007)

I have never had much luck with spoons or shiny lures of any sort through the ice at Strawberry. Most of the fish I have caught up there have been on Maniac Cuttr bugs, Gizzy Bugs, and tube jigs, with the occasional fish being caught on a ratso or finkie. It has only happened once, but we slayed them one day over by the Ladders on Gulp! minnows too. Its hard to say what will work from one day to the next, but one thing is for sure- the best colors at the Berry are white, chartreuse, and glow.


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