Respecting your adversary yields increased success.
By Nathan Krusko “Fishman”
Team Panfish Persuaders
Yes I have said it Bow to Your Gills. What is this all about? The gills of winter can be finicky and all be it just hard for many to catch. With so many new ice rods on the market the lite bite is now easier to detect. There are now new spring bobbers that are ultra sensitive, there are ones that are fixed to your rod and even ones that are adjustable that help you fine tune your presentation. These may help detect the bites, but it is at a loss to many to seal the deal with a successful hookup. Now I may be taking this off on a tangent but a bite does not always warrant immediate action. Sometimes a delay is what it takes.
Over the last few years I have really taken great use of my underwater cameras while out on ice fishing adventurers. An item like this may be a luxury to many but to me it is a tool of the job. There are so many great things that come from watching underwater video. Yes seeing them is a great adventure in itself but it is in observing fish behavior, where the real education lies. The big behavior that helps is in the way that they eat. As a bluegill goes to take in your jig, it does not engulf your jig, it however grabs it as it sucks it in and in the second movement takes that bait all the way in. It is at the first movement where many anglers miss the hookup. This is the very moment where you feel the bite, but it is not the time to set the hook. At this point the fish are holding your jig with their lips. If you set the hook now, the jig just rips free of their mouths with out getting the job done.
Sounds easy to understand so far, right? Well basically yes, but now comes the challenge, reprogramming your mind. This is where the challenge may come for many but with understanding the action of their feeding process the end goal of landing more monster gills will be easier. Change may take a four step process.
A four step process?
Step one feel the bite, do not set hook. Step two, pay respect to your adversary, the slab gills that you are seeking to conquer. Bow to them! Step three, pause with your bow paying your respect. Step four, hook up and land your new found foe. The mechanics of this processes are simple but are essential in improving this success. The reason for the bow is to allow the fish to complete taking in your bait. During the feeding process the initial bite feeing you receive is the very time that you want to let your rod tip drop to allow the fish to take in your bait as they reposition it in their mouths to swallow it. By doing this, it makes more of a natural feel for the fish by not feeling the unnatural resistance of the tension from you line attached to the jig. The skill of mastering this may take time but is from understanding the mechanics of a fish's eating behaviors that you will be granted the success of landing more fish. So in your next outing on the ice chasing panfish instead of trying to immediate set the hook, drop your rod tip, take a breath and then set the hook to hopefully land your next trophy.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
Nathan Krusko
