It might be ok for Allen Iverson to skip practice…….seriously did Dumars not see this coming before he pulled the trigger on the trade?
Ok, back on topic. Practice is something all anglers should do when it comes to ice fishing. Practice what you ask, jigging I say! In the world of ice fishing there are more styles and types of jigs and spoons available to the anglers than any other type of open water fishing I can think of. Then you have livebait vs plastics, and each type will perform differently than the other, as well as differently on different jigs.
So if you have some spare time on your hands, and seriously want to improve your catch rates through the ice, then consider spending some time practicing. You don’t even need ice to accomplish this goal. Except for swimbaits like Jigging Raps, Airplanes, Nils Master Jiggers or Northland’s new Puppet Minnow, a bucket full of water will be perfect for your needs. For the swimmers a tub is much better if you have one, and I don’t mean the kind the lady of the house uses. A storage tub is excellent for this, it has high sides and fairly deep. Also those old galvinized keg tubs work well, although its a little shallow.
Tie your jig, spoons or swimmer with the same type of line that you will be using. You can either jig by hand with a short length or if you have your rods rigged already with your winter reels, use those. Just make sure you have a clear view of the bucket or tub. If you sit on a chair, bucket or in a shack….then sit there while practicing. Make it as realistic as possible.
Once you see how the bait reacts while using different jigging methods, you will have a better understanding of how the jig behaves under the ice. Then you can change up your patters with confidence to match the behavoir of the fish you are seeking; aggressive, neutral and even just a tad on the shy side.