Winter is coming or maybe it is already here and you have one mission this season. Pulling some trophy fish through the ice! Every year us diehard ice fishing fans brave the frozen temperatures and windchill from Maine to Minnesota to break the ice and catch our favorite fish. Whether it is walleye, pike, perch, crappie or trout, we need the right ice fishing gear and what matters most is on the end of your line dangling in front of that potential catch.
There is much debate on which lures catch the most fish, but I’m positive this list will have you covered for any day on the cold hard ice. These are time tested by years of anglers and proven to catch more fish in the winter season.
Top 25 Ice Fishing Lures
Which ice fishing jigs and lures are the best? The one that consistently catch fish every season of course. We waned to know the answer, so we polled hundreds of ice anglers and a number of lures were mentioned over and over again. Here we present the top 25 ice fishing jigs and lures you need in your tackle box this season.
Rapala Jigging Rap 07 Fishing lure
Originally designed as a Winter lure, the Jigging Rap has proven itself as a year round vertical jigging lure. Swimming in tantalizing circles, the Jigging Rap reaches fish that other methods can’t. When Winter jigging through the ice or to catch large fish holding on deep structure, the Jigging Rap is truly effective.
Rapala Jigging Shad Rap
The Jigging Shad Rap has more pronounced movement, with slow circle down action. Raising in a sharp “snapping” motion will cause the bait to circle faster. A quick “vibrating” motion can also be used at fixed depths to prompt strikes from otherwise lifeless fish. A deadly weapon under the ice, or fishing open water for suspended fish, also the right choice for working deep, submerged structure. Single reverse hooks on both ends with center treble and eyelet that can be tipped with your favorite bait. Zinc weighted, shad profile in natural, glow and UV color patterns.
Salmo Chubby Darter
From its introduction in 2002, the Chubby Darter remains the only vertical wobbler in the world. Designed for ice fishing, it works vertically whether or not it’s rising or falling. To achieve a proper control of the lure it’s very important to use the correct tackle. A sensitive rod with that can be used as a strike indicator and the thinnest line available are the critical elements of the set-up. These allow you to use Chubby Darter features with maximum effectiveness and, quite simply, catch more fish!
Acme Kastmaster
Kastmaster’s balance produces wild action without line twist! Because of its aerodynamic design, it’s the master distance caster, and catches fish from pan-sized trout to bragging-sized stripers – in fresh and salt water. The Kastmaster is precision machined. It will not break, bend or corrode and it retains its luster even after repeated exposure to salt water.
Custom Jigs & Spins Pro Slender Spoon
New paint patterns and wickedly-sticky hooks make a great bait better! Since its introduction a few years ago, the Pro Series Slender Spoon has fast become one of the most popular ice baits of all time.
With its erratic, slow flutter on the fall action, the Pro Series Slender Spoon produces strikes when other spoons simply do not.
Goture Ice Fishing Jigs
A favorite for walleye ice fishing. The head and tail are provided with hooks which make it difficult for the fish to escape. The jigging fishing lures are perfectly balanced to create an enticing circualr swimming action. This fishing lure set is composed of high quality components for superior performance in the water; the classic minnow body design gets you to the fish quicker.
Dynamic Lures HD Ice Fishing Lure
Dynamic Lures has produced one of the most versatile Ice Fishing Lures on the market. With its hollow construction, Dynamic was able to create the perfect combination of sound and action that anglers depend on in the winter months. This vertical jigging lure was created specially for trout and other small to medium sized fish. This lure is not your typical ice fishing bait. This is a high action lure that brings in vicious bites. If you are looking for an advantage on the ice, look no further than the HD Ice.
Live Target Golden Shiner
The Golden Shiner Rattlebait is a must have for every tackle box. The internal composition is perfectly balanced for a yo-yo style retrieve. Virtually all freshwater game fish, including Bass, Pike, Trout, and Panfish will inhale this lure. The harmonic rattle is so loud, it can be heard chiming from below the surface. For a winter Walleye bite, use this bait on the vertical drop through the ice.
Bay de Noc Swedish Pimple
The Swedish Pimple is a superb ice fishing jigging lure. Their proven ability to take walleye, trout, Coho salmon, northern, bass, pan fish and many other fish species makes owning this lure a must for most fishermen. As a general rule the larger sizes are for game fish in deep water lakes.
The smaller sizes are for pan fish or trout, bass, etc in shallow lakes. All sizes will produce game fish and pan fish if both types inhabit the same waters. Ultra-lite and light action rods, with balanced reels spooled with 2 or 4 lb test line teamed with a Swedish Pimple has brought many large pan fish to the dinner table.
Bay De Noc Lure Co. Do-Jigger
When ice fishing with the lure, bait a treble hook or use single hook with minnow, fish eyes, worms, grubs, etc. Use a chugging or bobbing action, a sharp lifting action of about one foot. Extremely effective while ice fishing for walleye, northern, perch and trout. This is very effective in the dead of winter when colder water makes the fish too sluggish to chase a fast action lure. Use with bait! The flash attracts the fish; the bait provides the scent and taste.
Northland Tackle Buckshot Rattle Spoon
The Buck-Shot® Rattle Spoon is deadly for vertical ice fish jigging perch, walleye, trout, bass and pike. Jig aggressively in a lift-fall manner to call fish from a wide radius and make them strike. Tip with a minnow head, waxworms or IMPULSE Minnow Head and Perch Eye. Molded from metal & features a noisy brass Buck-Shot® Rattle & highly reflective “holographic” Baitfish-Image® body that lures fish from a wide radius. It thumps, ticks, clicks and clatters and “rings-the-dinnerbell” for Perch, Walleye, Bass, Trout and Pike.
CLAM Dave Genz Drop-Kick
The Drop-Kick was designed by Mr. Dave Genz to be the perfect cadence jig. It features a 90-degree XL hook with a larger tie-eye, stronger wire and increased hook gap for better hook-up percentage compared to other jigs. When the Drop-Kick is jigged correctly, it creates a “kick” that Panfish can’t resist. They also designed the top of the jig with a large flat surface, perfect for seeing on your sonar unit with smaller size jig. The Drop-Kick comes in six colors and are all UV coated giving these jigs a great finish. Drop-kick the fish on your next trip on the ice.
CLAM Leech Flutter Spoon
The Leech Flutter Spoon from Clam Pro Tackle has the ultimate unique flutter that falls and tumbles back-and-forth. The highly reflective plated color finishes flicker light like fish scales. Lure em in with the metal flash and flicker like an injured baitfish. The Leech Flutter Spoon falls slowly because of it’s lightweight and environmentally friendly zinc alloy material. The attracting feathered treble fools ’em every time. Now in high-vis Glow and UV colors that shine brightly to lure fish in. Simply charge with our blue light Jig Charger and watch’em glow.
CLAM Time Bomb Spoon
Time Bomb adds an elusive sound that fish know well. The clicking, ticking sound of prey moving along bottom. The underwater world is full of chirps and ticking sounds, but nobody has been able to replicate the ‘bottom click’ better than this. Time Bomb is a fast-dropping bait with an amazing array of attractions. Tiger-bar pattern in six color schemes. Swarovski gem eye. Glowing epoxy treble. The deal-sealer is the brass element and how it clicks against the other components.
Fish Sense Lures Binsky
The Binsky is a vibrating blade bait that can be vertically jigged while ice fishing. It is designed with a shape and action to maximize all the fish catching qualities available in a metal lure. Fish Sense Lures Binsky offers you the most alluring and productive blade bait on the market. The Binsky is designed to produce extreme sensitivity and feel at deeper depths than any other blade bait on the market.
HT Enterprises Marmooska Jig
One of the best all around pan fish jigs for years. Horizontal type with a fine wire hook. Fishes heavy and is easy to see on electronics. All colors have glow in them. The Marmooska jig is a successful European design which features a heavy, bumble bee shaped body with black eyes and glow-in-the-dark color schemes. These jigs are proven winners when jigging for panfish, trout and finicky walleye.
Lindy Quiver Spoon
Constructed from lightweight tin and engineered with a distinctive bend, Lindy’s Quiver Spoon descends slowly through the water column with a tantalizing, flashy quiver. To maximize flash, every Quiver Spoon is chrome- or gold-plated on the back. Front colors include four proven Glow colors and Metallic Red, Perch, Chrome and Gold. All Quiver Spoons come with a strike-prompting red treble hook. The Quiver Spoon, which can be tipped with a minnow head, larvae or plastics, comes in ¼-, 1/8, and 1/16-ounce sizes, so there is a good match for everything from pike and walleyes to panfish.
Nils Master Jigging Shad
Proven to catch monster walleye, pickerel, pike and jumbo perch. The Nils Master jigging shad series is specifically designed for vertical jigging through ice or in open waters. Also available in glow-in-the-dark colors which are more visible in murky water conditions. The design, paired with the aggressive color schemes provoke fish to strike.
Northland Forage Minnow
The Holographic Forage Minnow Spoon’s erratic, crippled-minnow action catches everything from walleyes to perch, bass, trout and panfish. Jig it aggressively for maximum flash and flutter, or slow things down and twitch the treble when gamefish move in to investigate. Tip with a minnow head, waxworms or IMPULSE Minnow Head and Perch Eye.
Northland Tackle Bro Bug Jig
Deadly on bluegills, crappies and perch, the horizontal-hanging Bro Bug Jig works wonders when vertically jigged either through the ice or below a boat. The long-shank hook with BarblessWire Bait Collar is deal for balancing the streamlined, buggy looking jig head with live waxies and wigglers or dainty soft-plastic tails.
VMC Rattle Spoon
VMC Rattle Spoon made with an un-matched resonance chamber made of brass and multiple beads gives anglers the edge over other rattling spoons on the market. The shortened chamber allows the fisherman to impede sound with minimal jigging distance while maintaining action to the lure. Couple this with a wide variety of colors in UV, natural baitfish, holographic finishes and Ultra Glow pigments lasting up to 15 minutes and no fish can resist to bite!
Williams Nipigon Lure
It seemed only fitting to name this new Williams lure after the famed Canadian watershed that produced the world record speckled trout. The Nipigon is a slender bodied 2-1/2“, 1/3 oz. spoon that imitates a baitfish in distress. Effective when jigged while ice fishing. A multi-species lure that can be worked at a wide range of speeds. Finished in the trademark Williams’ precious metal finishes of genuine silver and 24k gold, nothing reflects any and all available light like genuine silver and 24k gold. Offered in 8 colors, all with a red treble hook and a 3D eye.
Sebile Vibrato Baits
As its name implies, the Vibrato has a natural vibrating action. But unlike any other vibrating lure it vibrates on the fall, when jigged, twitched or retrieved steadily. The unique constant vibration is due to the design of the body being deeply compressed with a wider belly and a thinner back, causing it to vibrate regardless of how it is fished. Equipped with two treble hooks, one on each side, the Vibrato is ideal for light-biting fish where two trebles will ensure more fish caught. A full wire runs through the length of its body, connecting both hooks and the line tie, assuring a solid and secure connection between you and your trophy.
Acme Sidewinder Spoon
The Acme 1/3-Ounce Sidewinder Spoon is perfect for everything from panfish, walleye and pike. The Sidewinder is deadly if fished deep or near the surface. With 8 different colors and bucktail teasers or a plain treble hook to choose from, you will find the right Sidewinder for your favorite fish!
Northland Whistler Jig
Deadly on Perch, crappies, walleyes, Pike, trout and bass. Dynamite in clear or moderately stained water. Tip with live bait such as half a crawler or a Minnow, or soft-plastic Trailers. Cast and flutter around weeds, Rocks and wood. Very effective vertical jigging while ice fishing.
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