Here's a technique for those super-soft-biting bluegills that I call tight-lining!
What it means is holding your rod in one hand and holding your line just beyond the rod tip with your thumb and forefinger of the other hand. By doing so, you will detect the most finicky of bites that not even a spring bobber sometimes will detect. Our sense of touch is more sensitive than any fishing equipment.
How do I even see it, you ask? Well, it's small, but you've got to watch it. A bright bobber stop, or a threaded one will be more high profile.
As for spring bobbers, I use them a lot for bluegills and sunfish. But if you're jigging, watch that spring bobber and see how much it's moving. It sometimes can impart more action on your bait than a rod tip, because of spring action. Here's how I dial it back. Hold the rod horizontal to your body, then take your opposing hand and tick the spring bobber with a finger. You just move it a little, tiny bit for some super-subtle action. It might not seem like much, but that lure is moving!
Finally, remember that a spring bobber will bend a bit when you set a hook, so always set the hook a little harder and firmer when using a spring bobber.
These are great tools, and by honing your technique with them, you'll catch even more March panfish
For a fine assortment of Ice Fishing gear, click here.
One of the most popular ice-angling seminar speakers in the country, Minnesota-based "Tackle" Terry Tuma was catching big fish through hard water before it was "cool." From border country walleyes to farm pond panfish, Tuma explains his ice formula for catching winter fish.