Storing live minnows between trips is much easier during winter than in summer. An aerator in the minnow bucket can keep minnows alive for a couple of weeks. Stretch that to a couple of months if you keep the minnows in a large ice chest.

Most grubs can be stored in a refrigerator all winter long. Carry maggots and larger grubs, minnows and some sort of dough-type commercial bait every time you ice-fish for panfish and you will be ready for most situations.

RODS & LINE FOR JIGGING
You should choose two pieces of ice-fishing gear with particular consideration: rods and line.

Panfish are often very light hitters. Select a sensitive rod that will indicate a nibble either by feel or by sight. A jigging rod made specifically for panfish may be ultra-light, even micro-light.

Setting a hook into the soft tissue of a panfish's mouth on a short, vertical line is not difficult. Most important is immediately detecting the slightest bite. Some anglers may be able to do this by feel. But if you're wearing gloves or if your fingers are cold, you won't feel the most delicate hits. Seeing the rod tip bend or twitch, or seeing a bobber wiggle, is often the only way to detect a tentative bite.

Bobbers are great under the proper circumstances -- notably while fishing in a heated ice shelter or outside on reasonably warm days. A spring bobber can even be added to a jigging rod that isn't limber enough to flex when a panfish bites lightly.

For all-around serious panfishing, nothing beats a sensitive micro-light jigging rod designed specifically for these paper-mouthed fish.

Preparing for the panfish that are most easily fooled is not serious ice-fishing. Some panfish are line-shy, others less so. Three-pound-test line in either a top-quality monofilament or fluorocarbon is a good choice.

Learn to shrink your perceptions in all aspects of angling under the ice and you will be well on your way to a great winter of panfishing.

Be safe and comfortable this winter: Catching fish is only the secondary goal. Your primary goal is to have a good time!