Amazing video. I entered my first perch derby this year and the winners said they exclusively used slab grabbers! I brought one with me but didn't use it!! Now I know how to. Thank you!!
There have been some questions about detecting light bites, and yes, a camera works the best and is a lot of fun. However if you don't have a camera this is my advice. For pan fish I use a old vintage Teho rod. I like these rods for two reasons; first I love the line counter they have as I fish a lot of deep water for panfish, often on Lake Superior and it's get you back down to depth with very little hassle and is very fast. Secondly, I don't feel for a bite, I look for it on the surface tension of the water as the line pierces through it. Lastly you can rest a Teho on your knee keeping it totally still when deadsticking. Water will adhear to the line and you can see it either pulling down but most often lifting up which either brings down a cone of water on the surface or pulls it up on the line. It's very miniscule but works great. Another thing we found works great for perch or schooling fish is we keep a lure, like a Swedish Pimple down on another line with no hooks on it. Like I said earlier we fish a lot of deeper water and when using a camera we noticed fish kinda slowly swam off when you were reeling up, rebaiting and getting your lure back down. If you keep a lure down there the perch stick around. Another massive trick to keeping fish and drawing in other fish is we dump crushed seashells down our holes before we start. It's just a theory but maybe it gives a fish something different to attract them other than the same old mud bottom. If you are one of those fishermen that like looking down your hole it makes it easier to see what going on too.
"Oh a piece of candy!" *yoink* "Oh a piece of candy!" *yoink* "Oh a piece of candy!" *yoink* "Oh a piece of candy!" *yoink* "Oh a piece of candy!" *yoink*
I’m dreaming of simco and we’re in early August. My favorite ice fishing lake of all time. Mad respect for your incredible patience and determination to get the good word out there about your scientific research and knowledge.
Best video I've seen thus far describing how to jig through the ice. I may start using a jig or spoon on the bottom instead of a weight. Still waiting for Martindale Pond to freeze over because Simcoe is about 2.5 hours away.
Winter dead sticking is so much fun. I also dead stick with 6 inch swim baits for stripers. When it gets really cold I’ll drop down to 3-4 inch swim baits.
I’ve had bass, small and large, bream, crappie, goggleeye, catfish, peacock bass, tuna, pike, flounder, cod, halibut, shrimp,snow crab, but never lake perch and I hear they are delicious, will try that next time up that way.
Wow, what a great video. I have a couple of questions please. What size of hook for the dropshot. What do you use to tip the Spoon. What type of underwater camera did you use, very impressive
+canatek I use a #6 red hook. I don't tip the spoon with anything just the bead that comes on the spoon. The camera is a GoPro 4 with a special underwater trippod
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He John, great demo. Got a question: We got very murky water here, perch cannot see further than some 10cm. Would you still let thr bait sit or would you change the technique? ATB Ralf
Sage video. I also think people jig too aggressively. Do the perch always hit that spoon so aggressively? The reason I ask is because I, too, use a dropper but I put the smaller item on the bottom, in my case, a 3/32 oz. jig head/ice fly. Much like the results I see here, ninety percent of my catch happens on the bottom rig. My top rig is the spoon, Swedish Pimple, but its action is greatly impeded by the dropper so I catch few fish on it. (It's also a bit above the strike zone, to be fair.) I have so much success with my rigging that I'd hate to switch, simply to test which works better on the bottom. However, I like the slab grabber's one hook (vs. the Pimple's treble) and the fact that you are using it baitless, which is always preferable. So I have to ask, "Are these results typical?"
I have the same problem using treble hooks. Too hard to get out in the cold. I bend most of my barbs down so I can just shake them off. Notice a lot of the fish actually just try to hit the bead on the hook.
That one of the only ways i ice fish. U should be able to keep the dropshot on the ground and just bounce the line. I never try to move the shot bc it can scare off the fish. Good video.
How in the world did you detect some of those bites.....were you syncing the hookset with your underwater camera ? Any advice is appreciated...awesome video
Also buckshot rattle spoon with hook removed about 18in up with small jig n waxie under works good rattle to call um in bait for them to grab caught lots of jumbos that way
Hello from Spain, Beautiful video. When fishing, do you see any difference between using a normal mono leader and a fluorocarbon leader? Thank you very much, and good fishing.
Great video John! Quick question, is that just a standard drop shot setup with a palomar knot? Or a different type a knot that allows u to tie a hook on ur tag end. Thx.
Great video! really helped me learn how to properly use the spoon to catch good size perch on Lake St. Clair. just curious, how has that fenwick aetos held up? is it still your go to rod? I ask because I was looking at purchasing that same model rod you described at Cabelas
+Tom Pucovsky . If you're really serious about your lure fishing the very best rods all come from Japan. They might not be cheap but they use the very best carbons and components but the design of the blanks are light years ahead of what's availabe in the USA and Europe. Take a look at some of the "Major craft" predator rods that are currently selling well in higher end UK lure fishing specialist shops. The Tenryu rods also have a reputation in Europe as outstanding rods, again average price is around $500 - $600 but the balance and information that's transmitted from the tip down through the blank is like nothing experienced before. A previous doubter from the writing staff of Sea Angler magazine said it's crazy money to spend on a spinning rod. After a day out with a fellow angling journalist who had bought one, he ended up ordering one himself and wrote an article on how he was wrong and these Japanese rods are like nothing he'd ever fished with before.
Hey John, awesome video. I'm just wondering what size and style of Slab Grabber you're using in the video. Is it 1 1/4, 1 1/2 or 2 inch? Also, have you tried the Drain Pipe or do you stick with the traditional?
are these yellow perch or something like that? they dont really look like the european perch with the typical red fins and no spots between the stripes.
I was thinking that myself, it's been a long time since the continents were joined and the gene pools connected I suppose - they've started to diverge a bit!
Our perch (Yellow Perch) only get to about 1/3rd the size of the european perch. Largest recorded in the province is 39.4cm at 1.1kg or for our freedom unit users 15.5" and 2.45lbs. Where as the British record for european perch is 60cm in length and 2.8kg in weight.
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Hey, John, I love this video. I've been searching the web for the slab grabbers but there seems to be a ton of them. When I searched "#6 red hook" like you suggested below, nothing came up but red hooks, literally, and "Things to do in Red Hook, NY." LOL. I have used many knockoffs that don't perform like the originals and have no outdoor store within two hours drive to get a feel for the correct size so could you please be more specific about the slab grabber and maybe provide a link? Thanks.
Sorry for the delay. I wasn't getting any notifications. The Slabgrabbers are made by Mcgathy. Here is there web site www.mcgathyshooks.com/jigging.html The #6 red hook is a Gamagatsu available almost everywhere. Now I am using a Chartreuse Berkley Fusion hook size #6. They seem to like that color as well.
#6 is the bead size or hook size? I don't see any of these those key words, "Gamagatsu," "Berkeley," nor "Fusion." Plus, I really like the ones you have in the video; they have a prominent "J" shape. I noticed that the fish wait for the spinning spoon to point the bead at them and then they pounce on the bead. The J-shape ensures they get mostly hook and the spoon does not get in the way!
Hi Daniel, I have found that if you use your hand as the top hook nears the ice instead of reeling it all the way you will loose less fish. If you have a good one on, I would suggest using your hand at the end. Cheers.
