Tony Boshold with a nice Bull Gill caught using his favorite combo Tungsten and Plastics
If you haven’t heard, one of the hottest things on the ice are tungsten jigs. These jigs were made popular thanks to ice fishing tournaments across the ice belt over the last 11 plus years. If you were to survey the top teams on the circuits, you’ll find that they all have a few things in common. They all have learned the secret that these catch more and bigger fish, faster.
For years there were only very small companies that imported these jigs. One of the early pioneers to bring these jigs over was Jamie Olson from Your Bobbers Down. Tungsten or Wolfram jigs are made in only a handful of places overseas. What makes these jigs so great is that tungsten weighs close to twice as much as lead. That means ice anglers can fish a smaller jig for a stealthier presentation without giving up the sink rate and feel of larger lead jigs.
John checking out the fisherman around him while sitting on the Sonic Ice Hopper
But recently more and more companies were getting on board on the tungsten train. Including a company from Michigan, Sportsmen’s Direct. John Bacarella the owner of Sportsmen’s Direct is a seasoned tournament fishermen, he has fished toe to toe with the nations top ice anglers, he knows the advantage of these jigs. But he saw a chance to make, in his eyes, an even higher quality jig. “The increased mass of the tungsten also means that you will be able to penetrate slush and weeds much more easily. And that means you can get into those fishy places where lead can’t go. For the tight-liner, it means better feel.” John’s jigs have quickly become known as maybe the best quality tungsten jigs on the market.
Fast forward again to this up coming ice season and anglers are going to have many options to choose from. With companies like Northland, Custom Jigs n Spins, JR’s tackle, K & E and a few others are getting in on the game.
Besides the weight of these jigs the shape and the way they sit in the water is also leading to the success of this jig. The style known as a “Fiska” which refers to an actual region of Norway, and Fiske means “fish” in Scandinavian. It sits in the water at about a 45 degree angle, giving the bait a realistic look that matches many favorite winter morsels of fish such as zooplankton, aquatic insects and small crustaceans called scuds or freshwater shrimp as they are known out west in the ice belt. With a little practice and using the proper knot you can copy their movements to a T!
Some Heavy Metal Jigs from SDI
When you’re fishing these jigs you want to fish them on a small loop knot called a surgeon loop. Doing this will give the jig a rocking-swimming type action that can be imparted with the most subtle movement of your rod tip. Another bonus of this knot for you guys that use spinning reels for ice fishing it will help reduce the amount of jig spin. Jig spin is maybe the biggest enemy of an ice fishermen that chases large Gills and Sunfish.
These jigs come in a cornucopia of colors and sizes. The paint jobs fall in two basic classifications: painted and epoxied. Both styles of paint is offered in glows, UV’s and standard color choices. The sizing for most jigs that follow the “Fiska” styling are generally measured in millimeters (width of the jig) but some companies are using the hook sizes to denote the size of the jig instead.
There is only one draw back to using tungsten jigs and that is the cost. Due to the properties of tungsten they are difficult to make and paint. John had this to say about that,”The only down-side to tungsten is the cost. Unfortunately for us fishermen, tungsten is very expensive to mine and is a real pain to work with. You can get some lead alloys to melt around 250 degrees vs tungsten which doesn’t melt until over 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit. That means that your hook would melt long before the tungsten melted. Tungsten is also very hard and brittle, so it can’t be formed either. When you paint them, even more challenges come up. Suffice it to say, tungsten is a pain to work with and that means a higher price for us fishermen. But in many fishing conditions, tungsten jigs are definitely worth it”.
Tony showing off a nice Crappie that fell victum to his deadly jigging skills.
Just like other ice jigs you need to put something on the business end, the hook. These jigs work great with live baits such as spikes, mousies and waxworms. But they also fish the newest invocation to the ice belt , ice plastics very well. These action packed micro plastics like the J&S Ice Mite and Little AtomNuggies are changing the way anglers are fishing. Tony Boshold who is one half of the 2005 NAIFC Championship team and member of the 2010 Team USA Gold Medal ice fishing team credits the combo of plastics and tungsten to much of his success over the years in tournaments. “The combination of tungsten and plastics has totally revolutionized the ice fishing world. It has accounted for more championship and 1st places in the past 10 years then any other type of ice fishing lure. The dominance of tungsten is only going to grow as more and more companies jump on board. The potential for what tungsten could become and the future of it is just now being realized here in north American”
So if you haven’t tried these jigs yet you gotta pick some up today!
