Think it was last week that I put up the picture of Barry Williams and his recently caught 2 lb, 4 oz crappie. Pretty sure that back last spring that I mentioned his lineup of flies and spiders for tackling spring bluegill and crappie. Recently I picked up some of his newest creation, beaded flies for ice fishing.
Whats makes these a tad bit different than the normal type of ice “fly” is that the Ice Man has incorporated something new to give it a whole different twist. Not by using the standard brass bead, but by using tungsten. A heavier weight by volume than the standard bead, this metal gives the fly a great rate of drop though the water column.
For most anglers thats all you have to say, give me a small jig that drops fast so I can get to fishing quicker. For those who study how fish react to lures, tungsten does more than that. The extra weight gives you greater control on how the flies moves though the water. What does that mean, well basically you can give this artificial bait the movement that most reflects something natural that the fish would find in their prey. Rather than just a slow rate of fall, you can make the fly actually dance enough to entice fish that normally wouldn’t bite under tough conditions.
Barry does this basically as a small scale operation, if you want to see more and learn how to order your own, just click on ( Ice Man ) and take a look at his website. Prices are right, shipping is more than fair, and the tickler is, they catch fish!