Good, Bad, and Ugly day at Willard

[TubeDude]

Way to go, glad it worked out for you. That Wonderbread pattern looks different than the ones I've received from TD, did you make that one yourself? 

 
Yes, I make my own. My fligs look different because I prefer straight eye worm hooks over jig hooks, mainly because I bought a thousand of them for 15 bucks, I love bargain bins!
These are my favorite, most productive patterns from my first year of going fliggin nuts. They racked up some impressive numbers and variety; perch, cats, wiper, rainbows, cutthroat, and one burbot.


Pat, I'll make some traffic light patterns in the next batch. The water temp in your second photo shows 37 degrees, how many cats do you catch in water that cold? B.T.W. the first fish I caught while ice fishing was a cat.
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Contrary to a popular misconception, channel cats remain active and feed all year...even under the ice.  Lots of Willard kitties hit the ice along with all the other usual suspects.  And during the cold weeks just prior to iceup...when we are targeting the perch...an average day will also produce at least one and often more cats.  They don't fight hard in the cold water but they pull good...and they are prime eatin'.

Your straight shank models look good.  I also make some fligs with a straight eye design.  And I add wire and blades to a few for additional bling and vibration.  No end to the possibilities once you get the stuff to make them and have a feel for it.  I even make several different kinds of floating crawler harness rigs.
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