Winter fishermen almost always stop at the bait shop. Minnows, waxies, maggots, mousies, wigglers—whatever, as long as it’s alive and squirming. But what about soft plastics? Might we be guilty of not searching deep enough into the aisles at the bait shop?

Does it have to be alive to tempt fish? Well, it doesn’t hurt. The objective with plastics, obviously, is to make it fish better than the real thing by making it appear to be alive. Working plastics right is especially important in clear, shallow water.

“I’ve seen days when fish won’t hit a livebait, but you’ll catch ‘em on plastics,” says Pat Sabota, a talented panfisherman from Independence, Wisconsin. He’s talking about bluegills. Ditto for crappies. Like most of us, he’s not ready to give up livebait altogether. On the other hand, he says we’re missing out if we refuse to work with plastics.

Pat Smith, a seasoned ice angler and rod designer at Thorne Brothers (763/572-3782), says the same thing. “Plastics are at their best when fish are aggressive, especially on days when they’re committing suicide. Plastics outperform livebait because you get it back down the hole quicker. You don’t have to rebait as often, so you’re fishing more efficiently.”

Plastics have other advantages over livebait. Livebait, especially lively livebait, can have a mind of its own. With plastics, you have control over the action.

“On some days, for whatever reason, the fish might not be eating livebait,” Smith says. “With plastics, you can trigger an instinct bite, just by the way the bait falls. I rig plastics on a plain hook or on a hook with just a bit of lead wire wrapped on it. Some days, fish seem to shy away from a heavier jig. But float a plastic down there and make it look alive, and they open up for that.”

Dave Genz also sees the effectiveness of properly presented plastics. “They can be made to look alive,” he says. “Make it look like it’s swimming, like it’s trying to get away, and the fish will suck it in.”

“The days of realistic designs are here,” Smith observes. “As little as five or six years ago, most designs where just triangular tapers. That’s one good option. Now, though, we also have computer-generated molds that look real—freshwater shrimp, mayfly larvae, and baitfish.”

What Makes Good Plastic?

What makes a good ice fishing plastic? For one thing, according to Smith, it needs to be incredibly soft. “It’s not right if it’s not soft enough,” he says. “If the plastic’s too hard, you get bites and may not put a hook into the fish. That’s why a lot of guys get frustrated and go back to livebait.”

One trick is to put plastics in the microwave to break down the integrity. They fish better in cold water, but last only a day or two before getting too gummy to work with, according to Smith. But if they catch more fish?

Beyond that, shape and size are important. For panfish, something amazingly thin and flexible is hard to beat. “When you clean winter panfish,” Smith offers, “you always find little bitty leeches. That’s the right shape.”

Finesse Plastic from Custom Jigs & Spins (319/645-2247), the latest incarnation of the “Purple Herman” is one that’s easy to get. Also, float-fishing guru Mick Thill sells a variety of such tails in an array of colors on his website, www.mickthill.com. Or pinch off the legs of a tube jig and fish with that. Another good line of products is the Plankton Series from Innovative Sport Group (715/235-2233).

Sabota, like Smith, really likes the Ratso and Fatso from Custom Jigs & Spins. These are jigs that come with plastic bodies that can be replaced when they get too chewed up. Curlytails, in appropriate sizes, also are effective through the ice depending on what you’re after.

“You get good tail movement with them,” Smith says, “but no forward swimming motion. The tails spin, but they curl up the line as they drop and hang down below the hook when you jig up. Depending on when the fish takes it, your hook is in the wrong position some of the time.”