Three Jigging Techniques For Ice Fishing: Quick Lifts, Shaking, and Dead-Sticking

When anglers hit the ice during the winter months, the strategies for fishing panfish and other species are pretty limited. You’re either going to be jigging, setting up a bobber rig, or setting a line of tip-ups. While that sounds simple, there are intricacies for all of these methods. This is especially true when it comes to jigging on the ice, as there are three main methods to consider using.

One of the most effective ways to catch any species through this ice is by jigging. When it comes to jigging, most anglers are either going to be doing quick lifts, shaking, or dead-sticking.

Quick lifts are defined by fast, upward movement on the rod to bring your jig or spoon up through the water column. This is typically followed by a slow, controlled drop back down to where you started, allowing the fish to strike on the descent.

This strategy is designed to mimic fleeing or startled baitfish under the ice, which can be perfect when fish are feeling especially aggressive and ready to feed.

When doing quick lifts, you’ll likely want to go with a spoon that has good, tight action on the lift and slow fluttering on the descent. Jigs with bait can also be highly effective with this method.

You don’t need to go too crazy with your lifts either. Raise the presentation up about a foot, wait a couple of seconds, then let it slowly drop back down to where you started.

Shaking is a little bit different than quick lifts. Instead of lifting the presentation high off the bottom and letting it sink, you’re instead going to just twitch your rod repeatedly in the same general spot. This motion closely mimics smaller prey like insects and small minnows.

This method works best when the fish are in between aggressive and lethargic. They may be more curious than anything, and shaking can help them commit to striking your lure.

This method works best with smaller jigs, plastics, and even some smaller spoon options.

For this method, you’ll want to get your presentation to the desired depth and begin rapidly twitching the lure in whichever way is most comfortable for you. You’ll want to position your presentation a little bit above where you think the fish are so that they come up and inspect your lure. You can even mix in some pauses with this method to try to trigger strikes.

Dead-sticking is the most different option on this list. Instead of adding big lifts and descents or rapid movement, you want to basically do nothing with this one. It works really well when the fish are very lethargic and not wanting to chase around their next meal. If you’re finding fish in cold water, this might be the method that works best.

Most anglers will dead-stick with a jig and some bait like minnows, leeches, or soft plastics.

Simply drop your presentation at the bottom and wait for the fish to swim by and inspect it. You’ll want to pay close attention to your rod tip when dead-sticking, as you’re often going to get very subtle bites.

Dead-sticking can be especially effective in areas where you can fish with two rods. In addition to your dead-stick setup, you can do some active jigging with your other hand to bring fish into the area. If they aren’t feeling like biting something that moves around as fast as quick lifts or shaking, they may swim over to your dead stick and strike.