Ice Fishing: Landing Fish on a Jig Rod

Series Summary

Ice fishing can take place anywhere you have ice and fish in the same place. Well, a tray full of ice cubes and Stouffer's tuna casserole won't quite do the trick; the ice needs to be covering a body of water which is home to hearty fish who can live in very cold water and are accommodating enough to nibble on the bait of foolhardy humans wearing thermal suits or 12 layers of clothes. Apparently, ice fishing provides an ideal opportunity for introspection and contemplation in the Scandinavian countries and an opportunity to socialize and get drunk in the ice fishing lodges and resorts in North America, though the Finns and Norwegians have been known to mix vodka with their isolation. Ice fishing is a popular wintertime sport in Canada, Russia and the United States as well as in Scandinavia. Forest Lake, Minn. hosts one of the most popular ice fishing contests in the U.S. every February. In this free ice fishing video, an expert will discuss fishing strategies such as how to catch fish on a jig rod. And if that fish is not a keeper, our expert will demonstrate how to remove the hook and return the fish to the water. Viewers will also learn how to attract fish with various lures and jigging techniques.

Video Transcript

"Alright, here's an example of how to land a fish on a jig rod. I've got a fish on. Not too big. You can see a little bit of a bend in the rod. But the most important thing to do when you're landing a fish on a jig rod is, always maintain a straight line. You don't want any slack in the line because that's going to give that fish an opportunity to get off the hook. So in, so you always want that slack, you always want that line nice and straight. You want to keep your rod tip up a bit. Let the fish, if the fish wants to fight, this one's not, not fighting real well, but if the fish wants to fight and take out line like this, let it go. Let it take its line, let it tire himself out and be patient. Above all, you have to be patient. Now when you get that fish up towards the hole, what I like to do is just kneel down a little bit so I can help to guide it up if I need to. Even reach my hand down into the hole if I need to. And here we've got a nice little large mouth bass. Nothing big, but that's, but those basic points still hold true for any, any size fish. Be patient. Don't allow any slack in the line, and bring it up. When the fish wants to take line, let it take line and you'll land more fish."