DECEMBER 2016 • NEBRASKAland 25
perfect day to learn, as nearly every one of us worked
to catch fi sh while one of us didn't seem like she was
working at all.
GAME CHANGER
Since I was a kid, I have learned to watch the hands
of other anglers if they are catching fi sh. Are they
reeling fast or slow? Are they twitching with their
wrists or with their entire arms? But I had yet to apply
this common practice to ice fi shing until this particular
day.
While all of us were periodically catching fi sh at best,
Jenny was into fi sh repeatedly – hand-sized bluegill
after bluegill, able to take home her limit of 15 in less
than an hour and continuing to catch and release fi sh
long after that. What was she doing with her hands?
Absolutely nothing. She would lower her purple Lindy
Slick jig, tipped with a waxworm, down to the bottom
of the lake, where her line would go slack, and reel up
about a foot and simply wait. No bobbing, no jigging.
The more fi sh she caught, the more interest she drew
from the rest of us. We cut holes within feet of her and
had some success, but not matching success. So then
we looked at her lure next. She was using a
1
⁄16 ounce jig.
"How much did it cost?" Kevin asked.
"On clearance at $1.88," Jenny replied.
Everyone went back to the tackleboxes, trying to
fi nd the closest thing that matched Jenny's jig. We
continued to catch bluegill until my rod bent double,
but the pull on the other end was not a bluegill. All of
EQUIPMENT
The colder it gets, the more I must be sure
my feet stay warm. I do this by wearing
Wood n' Stream's Cold Weather series, a
comfortable hunting boot that allows me to
fi sh all winter long. Plus, they are waterproof.
To stay upright, Kevin and I wear Hillsound
Freesteps6 and YakTrax XTR crampons, taking
no chances of slipping in slush ice with each
model's aggressive spikes. At the least, ice
cleats should be standard equipment to
prevent falls.
A number of bluegill
and channel catfi sh were
caught last season by
copying Jenny Nguyen's
stationary "jigging"
technique, including one
productive day on a lake
near Yutan.
PHOTO
BY
JENNY
NGUYEN
