Saturday, February 8, 2014

skandia tungsten ice jigs for big panfish

Its been a few years since I first added Skandia tungsten ice jigs into my winter time tackle box. Tungsten has really made a huge impact in the ice fishing scene in recent years. Nearly twice as heavy as traditional lead, tungsten allows jig manufactures to make lower profile jigs at half the size as before. Finicky fish often prefer a more diminutive profiled ice jig and with tungsten you can have low profiled jigs without sacrificing the weight.

skandia ice jigs
Tungsten also eliminate the need for the use of split shot. These jigs fall fast enough to get your bait down to the fish quickly, very helpful when fish are packed up. You may have only a minute before the school moves off and so being able to make rapid presentations makes sense. Get your baits down to fish more quickly.

skandia hook sizes

Tungsten jigs penetrate better then lead. That's right, penetrates. It punches through slush filled holes as well as through weeds, helping get your baits down to fish level. I've also experienced times when all the big fish are on bottom and slow falling jigs couldn't get down quick enough past the small fish hanging out up high. Tie on a tungsten a drop that bait like a rock.

bluegill on tungsten ice jigs
Spring bobbers sometimes are too sensitive to use with the heaviest sized tungsten jigs. When using a spring bobber with these jigs, I normally don't use the heavier jigs that I would use on a rod with no spring bobber. With that being said, heavy jigs can make your everyday ultra light ice rod even more sensitive. With all that extra weight, even the slightest jiggle can now be felt all the way through the rod and down to the handle.

I will never fully give up on my lead jigs because they have many practical applications in ice fishing but the benefits of these tungsten bombers are here to stay.  

3 comments:

  1. I got into a bunch of yellows and sunnies today. Jigging pan fish is a lot of fun. I think I may try to get a hold of these for next year. Thanks for sharing.

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    Replies
    1. Tungsten is my go-to lure when fishing perch, especially for finicky fish in 20 fow or more.

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  2. Tungsten is good stuff guys, though they have yet to come out with the diversity found in shapes and sizes of lead jigs out there today...

    Savage, check out Ebay, they have some bulk packs of Skandia ice jigs for under 20$

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