JIGGING STRATEGIES
When fishing, perhaps the most effective tactic is creating a circuit of productive holes. When the fish are not moving much, the action will slow down after you catch a few fish. That's the time to move on to another hole. If you have cut three or four good holes, you can expect fish to trickle back under the first one by the time you have gone through the routine at those other holes.

On many lakes, other ice-fishermen will take over the good holes if you leave them -- which is politically correct behavior while panfishing. This when having a few tip-ups on hand is a good idea. Before leaving a good hole, rig a tip-up to "claim" the hole. It's not necessary to bait the tip-up or to set the hook in the fish- catching zone.

This may seem to a bit on the sneaky side, but it's hardly inappropriate after you have gone to the effort of finding the spots and cutting some productive holes.

Aside from small minnows, the things that panfish eat do not move about in the water in long spurts. Vary your jigging action in tiny increments. Duplicating the movements of common panfish forage is best done by trying to hold the jigging rod perfectly still. The small, uncontrolled movements you make should be enough to attract hungry fish.

Every minute, or so, jig the rod tip a few inches just to garner more attention. But do not jig rigorously or constantly. This might make it too hard for a panfish to catch your jig, or may be too aggressive for a panfish that's not in a predatory mood.

TACKLE TIPS
Terminal tackle for panfish is small and relatively inexpensive, so there is no reason not to carry a good selection of baits and jigs in a variety of sizes, shapes and colors.

Of course, we all hope to catch slab-sized panfish, but this doesn't always happen. Switching from minnows to maggots might create a catch of modest-sized panfish when nothing was biting.

Spend some time checking out a well-stocked tackle shop. Do all of those tiny panfish jigs look pretty much alike? At first glance, they probably do. Here again, shrink your perception. A difference in shape that you cannot see without a magnifying glass might change the action enough to get you into fish. A difference in length of 1/16 inch may be enough to match a preferred food. A difference in weight of 1/64 ounce might affect the drop rate after you lift the jig.

Colors can be a confusing issue. Certain colors tend to be most popular at a given lake. But, are these really the most effective colors, or do they catch fish simply because most ice-fishermen use these colors?

If it's a matter if matching the colors of a panfish's natural food, consider some shade of brown. Black is another good imitation of natural colors.

The most important color factor might be visibility. Sunlight, ice thickness, snow on the ice, water clarity, depth and various combinations of these elements will affect which color is most visible.

The bottom line is that panfishermen should carry a good selection of colors. Among these should be lime green, orange, red, chartreuse, yellow, silver, gold and black. Some fluorescent colors should be included. Also stock some jigs that give off a very slight glow in the dark.