The first contact is vital. Tommy Skarlis and Chip Leer of On Ice Tour term it, The Initial Offering . After all, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. The Initial Offering begins by rapidly dropping your lure to the halfway point between the surface and a glob of unsuspecting panfish, while of course watching the action on a portable flasher. From the midway point, slowly lower the bait toward them while maintaining a taunt line.
Aggressors are the first to go, and frequently, they re positioned on top of the school.
It s quite possible that none of the panfish you re camped over demonstrate immediate interest. The basic lift and fall, lift and fall, lift and fall, and pause regimen fails to motivate our finned friends. Prepare to improvise. Err to the side of subtle over energetic in jigging sequences aimed at crappies and sunfish. Ice anglers oftentimes leap into exaggerated jigging motions in hopes of provoking a response.