Jake Wallace shares his best ice fishing lures; three for panfish and three for walleyes.
6 Best Ice Fishing Lures: Walleyes and Panfish
Best Ice Fishing Lures: Walleyes
They are a ton of different lures you can use to catch walleyes throughout the ice fishing season. A few of them stand out from the rest.
Here are my top three ice fishing lures for walleyes this year.
Northland Buck Shot Coffin Spoon
With the internal brass rattle and Kicker-Tail fin the Northland Buck-Shot Coffin Spoon is of the best spoons available for ice anglers.
No matter where I am walleye fishing I almost always start with a 1/8-ounce Coffin Spoon in the UV Pink Tiger color.
The angled body and flat-sided profile produces an enticing tumbling action on the fall which calls in hungry walleyes from a distance.
This bait can be fish on any type of structure and depth.
Tip the Coffin Spoon with a minnow head and you’ve got one of the best ice fishing lures for walleyes.
VMC Rattling Roach Spoon
The VMC Rattling Roach Spoon was new to the ice fishing world this year and it made a big impact.
After using this spoon a few times it quickly became one of my best ice fishing lures this season.
The Rattling Roach Spoon has a dramatic fluttering action combined with a rattle chamber that makes a ton of noise grabbing the attention of any walleyes nearby.
It has a holographic eye and comes in a variety of colors including UV glow options.
The real secret to this spoon is the marabou teaser tail, which conceals a super sharp VMC treble hook.
The marabou feathers constantly flutter and undulates imitating small baitfish and invertebrates.
This spoon really shines when the walleyes are aggressive, or when fishing walleyes on mud flats.
Rapala Jigging Rap
A majority of ice anglers use some type of a spoon when targeting walleyes.
On heavily pressured bodies of water those fish are constantly seeing vertical spoon presentations. It often pays to stand out from the crowd and use something a little different.
That’s when you should make the switch to the Rapala Jigging Rap for a horizontal presentation.
A Rapala Jigging Rap size 5 in the perch color is hard to beat for heavily pressured walleyes.
The Jigging Rap features a balanced, weighted minnow profile. It produces the most bites when it is fished with a bouncing, teeter-totter action.
The key is to not over work the bait.
Best Ice Fishing Lures: Panfish
Crappies, bluegills and perch are sought after by most ice anglers. Similar to walleyes there are a ton of great presentations to catch panfish.
The following is my top three ice fishing lures for panfish this season.
Clam Jointed Pinhead Pro
The Jointed Pinhead Pro has been a staple for many ice anglers and it continues to produce big bluegills, crappies, and perch wherever it is fished.
This spoon is made of environmentally friendly Zinc Alloy that provides a unique flash, sound, and vibration in the water.
The joint in the middle of the spoon gives extra action and movement to attract in fish from all different types of habitat.
Available in serval sizes and a variety of great colors the Jointed Pinhead Pro Spoon is one of the best ice fishing lures for all types of panfish.
Clam Tikka Flash
New to the ice this year is the Clam Tikka Flash. This bait has been my best ice fishing lure when targeting big crappies.
The Tikka Flash is a mini crankbait style lure that is perfect for targeting the biggest panfish in the lake.
It’s a dense bait that can get down to depth fast.
It’s blade style tail gives off a ton of flash in the water and this bait excels without livebait.
Tungsten Mud Bug Jig
The Tungsten Mud Bug is a proven ice jig that really shines whenever panfish are feeding on invertebrates under the ice.
This is by far the best bait to use when big bluegills, crappies, or perch are in a negative, lethargic mood.
The Mud Bug’s compact profile punches through slush and gets into the strike zone quickly.
Tip the Tungsten Mud Bug with a couple of euro larvae or wax worms and you’ve got the best ice fishing lure for lethargic panfish on the market.
