Panfish Week: The Greatest Softbaits for Frozen-Water Panfish of All Time

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As a sort of an “In Case Of Emergency Break Glass” maneuver, just before ice formed each of the past 20 winters, the move has been to place a call to Vados Bait Express, purveyors of prime-grade livebait. Order a 1,000-pack of multicolored maggots, just in case. Keep ‘em nice and cozy inside a sawdust-equipped styro cooler, reaching for the meat section only if all else fails.

Only twice last winter did I find myself using the maggots. The other 99 percent of the time, as usual, I’m hole-hopping with a simple tungsten ballhead jig, typically an Akara disco ball or, in the toughest bites, a Fiskas N24 Balance jig (aka Gill Getter). For bluegills, the go-to softbait is usually something such as a J&S Plastics Ice Mite Jr. It catches crappies, too, of course. A slightly larger offering such as a B-Y Baits MudBug or a Berkley PowerBait Whipworm might jump off the menu when bigger bites are happening.

Given a wealth of micro softbaits these days, choosing the “right” bait is largely subjective, perhaps based more on confidence and what everyone in your circle of compadres ties on. And yet, from bait to bait and company to company, factors like softness (what manufacturers call durometer), quantity, and placement of primary and secondary appendages and overall size enter heavily into the equation.

I’ve been around long enough to recall some of the earlier days when high-level sticks like Phil Morse, Tony Boshold, and Mike McNett were winning “Trap Attack”-style tournaments and mowing down buckets of panfish with Little Atom Nuggies and Wedgees. These were two of the first and now-classic micro softbaits that carved out a template and a starting point for nearly all subsequent 1-inch-class baits to follow.

I know guys who still fish nothing but Nuggies and Wedgees and catch just as many bluegills, perch, and crappies as ever. The fine, wispy tails of these baits is key to their success—an almost tireless nervous quiver, seemingly activated by telekinesis alone; or at least the subtlest strum of the line or twitch of the rod tip. For a few seasons, friends and I often elevated the “nervous twitch” of our presentations by swigging big cups of coffee. The move is to induce jittery, involuntary hand-shaking actions. Put the rod in your hand, and despite your best effort to remain still, the jitters transmitted super-subtle, vibration-like pulses to the jighead and microbait’s tail.

What we perhaps didn’t understand initially was that the opposite of constant quivering often proved a better closing move. After years of watching panfish stare down and bite (or hesitate to bite) ice jigs on sonar or cameras, many anglers still neglect the pause, opting instead to tirelessly dance a jig, even while watching big sunfish wait to bite until the jig takes a break.

Nervous Twitch vs. Dead-Still

We’ve written about “dead-still” to trigger tough bites for quite a few seasons. A contrast to stationary shaking, or pounding as Dave Genz has always called it, the efficacy of dead-still remains the number-one reason in-line style reels such as the Eagle Claw Inline or 13 Fishing Black Betty have become a critical part of my ice equation. That is, to minimize jig spin and pull off a perfectly motionless presentation. Discerning panfish abhor and typically refuse to bite a lure that twists and spins on the pause.

Ice line selection is equally important in the dead-still equation. Slick, coil-free fluorocarbon coated ASSO New Micron 3 has been my favorite precision panfish line for years, if you can find it (try yourbobbersdown.com). Sufix Invisiline Ice, Seaguar ICEX, and P-Line Floroice, all offered in 2- and 3-pound test, have been good, fishable alternatives, each offering low memory, coil-free operation in cold weather. These lines all provide a bit of stretch, critical for light-line protection. Equally important is a line that rolls off the spool straight and coil-free, providing the most direct connection between rod tip and lure, for jig-stroke transmission and precision bite detection.

So, high-grade line is essential for doing dead-still, which is best executed for a 10- to 30-second count, following a period of stationary shaking. It’s like tapping a fish on the shoulder and then dangling the candy bar on a string. During some of the toughest big bluegill bites we’ve faced, when fish hover in suspended animation around stands of shallow cabbage (pondweed), dead-still nearly always comes up big. Sometimes, the only way to get pressured fish to eat has been to set the rod on the ice for a completely motionless presentation. Watch the line for anomalies and be quick to the trigger when anything flinches.

Softbait Shortcuts

Failing that, you’ll eventually encounter sluggish ‘gills that simply give the jighead little closed-mouth kisses. Or, they make a lackluster attempt to puff on the jig from a distance, clearly indicating apathy. Still, these fish can nearly always be caught. And often, it’s done by decreasing the size of your offering entirely. Or, by shortening the tail portion (beyond the hook) of the plastic down to less than half an inch, forcing fish to breathe the hook point into their mouth. It’s why I often thread a 3/4-inch J&S Ice Mite Jr. onto a #14 to #18 jighook, leaving just a quarter inch of plastic extending past the hook bend.

These short-bite scenarios are also the reason the Fiskas N24 Gill Getter is so invaluable, and yet oddly overlooked after all these years. Hooks at either end of the jighead force fish to “get the point,” as it were, even if ‘gills merely attempt to mouth the jighead.

As we’ve also discussed for years, a uni-snell knot or Marka knot positions the bait’s tail and jighook at a nearly horizontal posture, tail often dipping slightly downward. Use this knot with either a through-head design such as the Akara Disco Ball or a traditional 90-degree line-tie jig and you’ll never have to reposition the knot, except for retying a time or two per day. I’ve also noted that because the knot itself wraps around the hook-shank at the base of the head, rather than on the eyelet, you’ve got something of a built-in softbait keeper. And if you happen to be using something like a durable ElaZtech bait, you might even add a drop of Loctite Gel Control to the knot just before threading on the plastic, creating an almost permanent lure whose tail can last for hours or even all day.

Which brings up a another point about rigging microplastics: Too many anglers I see still “nip” hook their sofbaits, as if they were impaling a maggot. Problem with “once-through-the-head” hooking is that it guarantees you’ll need to reposition the bait after every bite, which equals cold fingers and wasted time. Meanwhile, threading the bait onto the jighook, just as you might do with a plastic worm or grub while casting, remains far more desirable and efficient.

In my view, most every exceptional microbait shares the same elements. A relatively thick, grub-like body—occasionally flattened to halt drop-speed—eases threading the bait onto a jig. An extended sliver-thin tail (flagella) wags the dog, animating, undulating, and quivering with minimal rod-tip intervention. Some baits like the Ice Mite sport a bulbous “ball-and-chain” tail, which dials up tail movement and keeps it wagging even with the slightest rod-tip movement. Adding complementary layers of animation to some baits, such as the MudBug or Maki Plastics Jamei, wispy-thin legs, antennae, pincers, cilia, and swimmerets dial up eye-candy and vibrancy.

In short, these secondary bait movements often tickle the visual and lateral-line senses and short-circuit the brains of otherwise sluggish panfish. Recall from Stephen Spotte’s required-reading, Bluegills: Biology and Behavior, that as a bluegill grows, it’s visual acuity becomes sharper—both in terms of detecting prey from a greater distance and discerning details up close. The bigger the bluegill, the more important visual cues and animation become in the decision to reject or eat a particular critter.

Little Wormies

The way I see it, you’ve got three categories of micro softbaits for panfish: wormies, mutants, and realists. Generalist worm-profile baits like the Ice Mite might be the best everyday option for consistently inducing bites anywhere in the Ice Belt. They’re easy to thread onto a small jighook and offer a subtle tail-kicking, undulating action. Note: aquatic worms, including chironomid larvae, represent the most common aquatic freshwater invertebrates in the world and panfish gorge on them. Let’s put a selection of these “all-time greatest ice softbaits” under the microscope.

The new standard in generalist bluegill baits, the 3/4-inch-long Ice Mite Jr. excels over other ball-tail designs because it’s exceedingly soft and active for tireless kicking action. It also features a thick torso for easy threading onto a jighook. This simple design rarely fails to induce bites, frequently out-fishing live maggots. The one drawback is its lack of durability. During aggressive bites, you may need to replace the bait after every bite, as small bluegills effortlessly peck the tails off.

Classic tapered-tail design has won countless hardwater tournaments. The Little Atom Wedgee is composed of a slightly heavier/harder plastic, yielding excellent durability. A drawback is the bait’s ultra-thin torso, which makes it tricky to thread straight onto a jighook. Tip: For working around vegetation, try Texpose-rigging the bait like a plastic worm.

A flattened, micro leech-like profile adds stability and a beautiful undulating action. Double-ball torso eases rigging on a jighead. On olfactory levels, Berkley’s PowerBait formula boosts scent and flavor, reportedly prompting fish to hold to it longer.

Small Michigan company Roadside Minnows sculpts an array of intriguing microbaits. The 1-inch Nano Fry resembles a baby tadpole, complete with accentuated eyes and a fine quiver tail. The bait’s super easy to rig and comes in some of the neatest semi-transparent colors you’ll find. Favorites include Flow Green, School Bus Yellow, and Tonic Glow. All sweet little zooplankton mimics. This is my new favorite “fatty” style generalist bait. It’s also popular among Michigan panfish specialists—some of the best in the biz.

Mutant Baits

Baits in this category are imitative of nothing specific but slightly resembling a variety of aquatic invertebrates. For my money, B-Y Baits MudBug remains the gold standard, although it’s always primarily reminded me of a damselfly nymph. Berkley’s Swordtail is another cool little mutant.

Slightly meatier than traditional ice microplastics, Z-Man’s 1.75-inch LarvaZ is a wicked undulating bait—one of the coolest big-bluegill shapes I’ve used in recent years. For crappies, I typically thread it onto a 1/20- or 1/30-ounce Z-Man Micro Finesse ShroomZ and fish it perfectly horizontal. Or thread it a bit farther onto a traditional ice jig for a slightly upturned tail section—imitative of various aquatic crustaceans. When stalking bluegills, consider snipping off the bait’s first head segment and google eyes for a slightly smaller profile.

Both a bug and a shrimp imitator, the two-legged Jamei adds a series of torso “feelers” for secondary action. Thread it straight onto a jighook or slightly curved, for a leg-up, kicking effect that looks awfully intriguing in the water.

Maybe the coolest micro ice softbait of all time, the MudBug and the larger Mega Mudbug feature a weight-forward head design that helps direct inertia toward the tail, which undulates and quivers freely. I’ve always believed in the power of secondary appendages/cilium/legs, which provide another layer of eye candy and attraction, making an even more convincing case that the thing is alive.

Realists: True-To-Life Bugs

This category encompasses attempts to imitate aquatic life. Maki Plastics founder Scott Brauer was perhaps the first to sketch, mold, and hatch truly realistic aquatic invertebrates from plastisol. Some of his best early designs are now out of production, including some of my all-time favorites, though I still fish the Bloodi, a superrealistic chironomid larva/bloodworm imitation, every winter.

For big basin crappies, I like to create a “Medusa head” offering, impaling three to six Bloodis onto a Fiskas Tungsten Devil (yourbobbersdown.com). The Devil sports a cylindrical or bullet-shaped tungsten weight surrounded by three free-swinging hooks, each with an attractor bead. When you jig the lure, each baited hook swings and flutters independently, creating a unique action. It’s a big-perch slayer. Basin ‘gills and crappies eat it, too. Pound bottom to create small tufts of “smoke” to attract fish.

Run by talented ice sticks John Garcia, Grant Weltzin, and Josh Bartz, P3 Plastics has produced some of my recent favorites, particularly in the realism department. Suggestive of a copepod and a key food item for perch and crappies in many waters, P3 Plastics Copee is driven by its pair of oversized antennae. Twin kicker legs and side paddles complement the illusion, while its antennae focus attention forward for inhale bites rather than tail nips. The Copee is a gem of an ice bait.

Everywhere I’ve encountered a lake or pond with a prolific scud population, the fish have been extra portly and impressive. Usually, it’s perch, bluegills, or brown trout, and they almost always hunt scuds in and around decaying vegetation. What I especially appreciate about the ScudBug, beyond its anatomical realism, is its segmented kicker tail. Thread the ScudBug onto a short-shank jighead, hook protruding through its back to keep the bait swimming upright. Each rapid rod pump produces a subtle tail-kick matching the real McCoy.

 In nature, scuds swim surprisingly fast through open water—slightly similar to a fleeing shrimp. I use short, quick rod-tip pops to propel the bait forward and imitate the live creature. Also check B-Y Baits’ lifelike Freshwater Shrimp for a killer microcrustacean mimic.

Bonus Bait

Before turning you loose, I want to drop one other microbait option, something that doesn’t fall neatly into any one category. As an alternative “tough bite” trick, consider using a waxworm/maggot-style bait, like a Berkley Gulp! Alive! Waxie or Akara Maggot,  as a singular enticement. Thread the entire bait onto a jighead, leaving just a hangnail-sized tail extending past the hook-bend. While the combo offers no apparent tail-kicking action of its own, inactive fish often inhale it.

During the toughest bites, grab your tin of Vados maggots, plucking out a single live morsel—hopefully still warm and wriggling. Create the illusion of a larger, continuous bite of food—like a string of bratwurst—impaling a single live larva on the aforementioned jig with the threaded artificial maggot. Yet another never-fail option for selective or highly pressured bluegills.

Here’s to epic hardwater seasons to us all—and hoping we never have to break the glass.

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In-Fisherman Field Editor Cory Schmidt is an outstanding multispecies angler and decades-long contributor to In-Fisherman publications, often writing from the forefront of emerging trends and tactical refinements in fishing presentations.

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