How to Turn Finicky Winter Fish Into Biters

Try these proven techniques to turn sniffers into biters this winter.

Fish sometimes get sluggish and are slow to bite in winter. Pay attention to their reaction and mix up your jigging to trigger fish to bite. | Joe Shead

Open-water fish are often aggressive. I mean, pitch a worm under a dock on a summer day and just try not to catch a bluegill. But come winter, sometimes fish slam on the brakes as they approach your offering, give it a sniff and simply turn away. It can be frustrating! But here's how to turn finicky fish into ice fishing biters.

Green weeds give off oxygen, which keeps fish active. As ice thickens, light penetration is reduced and weeds dies. This causes oxygen levels to drop and fish to become sluggish. | Joe Shead

Why are fish lethargic in winter?

Fish are cold-blooded. So naturally, in winter, their metabolism slows down. Some fish, like largemouth and smallmouth bass and muskies feed much less frequently in winter and often eat smaller meals. However, species such as northern pike remain quite aggressive in winter.

But it's not just temperature. Sagging oxygen levels play a big part in a fish's aggression. Early in the season when the ice is thin and mostly devoid of snow cover, light continues to penetrate underwater, which allows plants to photosynthesize. This process gives off oxygen, which keeps fish active. As ice thickens and snow deepens, reduced light penetration prevents plans from photosynthesizing. This means no more oxygen production. Even worse, the decaying process consumes oxygen and gives off carbon dioxide. Less oxygen in the system makes fish sluggish and less apt to bite.

Pay attention to how fish react to your jigging. Pull the lure away from them. If they are aggressive, they will probably chase it. If they're not, you may need to slow down your jigging cadence, downsize your lure or leave the lure completely motionless. | Joe Shead

How to trigger strikes from finicky fish

Part of successfully triggering strikes is knowing a fish's situation. In effect, does a fish have enough oxygen to be active, or will it naturally be sluggish? Jig to lure in fish. When a fish appears, continue jigging at the same cadence (after all, it attracted the fish in the first place). Watch its reaction. If it strikes but misses, keep doing what you're doing. If it pauses and eyes the bait, slowly raise the bait away from the fish, still maintaining your jigging cadence. If the fish moves upward with the bait, it is likely aggressive. It may see the "meal" getting away and chase it down. Keep raising your bait slowly and jigging until the fish strikes or won't follow anymore.

If a fish won't commit to your jigging, raise the lure just over its head and slow down your motion. Maybe even simply let the rod quiver in your hand. If that doesn't work, let the lure sit motionless. | Joe Shead

What to do when fish won’t commit

If the fish won't chase your lure upward, come back down to it (keeping your jig above the fish, because fish look upward). Slow down the jigging cadence. Sometimes simply letting the rod quiver in your hand is all the movement you need. If the fish still won't hit, try holding the lure completely motionless. It helps to set the rod in a holder or across a bucket to do this.

If a fish starts to leave, you have nothing to lose. Pound your lure on the bottom to incite a feeding frenzy. Fish are used to rooting around in the mud to find food, such as this crayfish piece that was in the perch's mouth. | Joe Shead

If fish start to leave, cause a scene

If the fish starts to leave, I pull out all the stops. I drop the lure to the bottom and wiggle it around, trying to stir up a mud or dirt cloud. Fish make these clouds as they root for aquatic insects on the bottom, so this can incite a fish to bite. I wiggle the lure on the bottom, then lift it up and jig it, giving the fish a chance to catch it. Sometimes a fish circles back, sometimes not.

Largemouth bass have big appetites in summer, but in winter, you often have to coax them with tiny panfish jigs tipped with insect larvae. Bass feed little and eat small meals when the water turns cold. | Joe Shead

Downsize for cold-water appetites

Fish do tend to get lethargic in winter. Even bass, which have large mouths, tend to prefer smaller meals once the lakes cap over. If a fish won't hit your lure, try a smaller jig or go from a spoon to a slow-falling jig.

Deadsticking, or keeping your rod completely motionless, will sometimes trigger strikes from finicky fish. | Joe Shead

When all else fails deadsticking can save the day

Sometimes fish want the bait completely motionless. This is where a 1-2 punch works well. I'll pop two holes next to each other (assuming multiple lines are legal). I jig a spoon with a minnow head to lure in fish, but have a live minnow sitting motionless on a plain hook weighted with just a split shot in the second hole. Often the active jigging lures in curious fish, but the dead-sticked minnow seals the deal when fish just aren't aggressive.

What anglers need to know to trigger winter bites

• If a fish is looking but not biting:
• raise the bait while jigging to test aggression
• slow down movement before downsizing baits
• dropping the jig to the bottom and stirring sediment can trigger instinct strikes
• deadsticking a minnow on a line next to your jig can seal the deal