Plastics

Going to try and build confidence with plastics this year. Any suggestions on what clam jigs work best with maki plastics? Also hints for color on cetain water clarities?

Good question! But I will admit, it's a tough one... mostly because it really depends on the depth, body of water, target species, water clarity, etc. Without turning into a sales pitch to have you buy everything, would you be able to narrow it down to the types of fishing you plan to do? Then I can hammer-away on a few ideas to maybe get you pointed in the right direction...

That being said though, I really like (from a versatility standpoint) the Drop Kick jig, mostly because of action. I also think it matches up well with a variety of plastics when looking for a horizontal option. Red glow is tough to beat...

I've had plenty of luck with the drop XL
Don't be afraid to tip a spoon with a mino head!

Since I mainly target Crappie and Bluegills my go to jig and plastic has been the glow red drop jig in size 12 paired with a Maki Jamei in chartreuse. Normally fishing in 10 to 25 feet of water with this set up. have had good luck with it here in central MN.

Last year, I paired the Drop Kick jig with the Jamei Maki plastic and it was what I used for probably 90% of the season. I caught crappie, bluegills, perch, rainbow trout, splake, and even a few lake drop on the larger size Drop Kick and Jamei XL size. This combo was the reason I only used meat on maybe a half dozen occasions all winter. I fished this combo in anywhere from 5' to 30' of water last season.

Pink and white always good for crappie and gills. I have hot bites with blue, black and red as well. Play with the colors and you might find new confidence. Lotsa times with an up bite color might not be as important as silhouette. Jameis looks like nymphs, Maki looks like a cricket or a gob of blood worms, wedgee, spikes etc look like a blood worm perhaps. Swordtail grubs like a minnow or perhaps a midge or mousee. I know fly tiers use a lot of tan, green and browns for nymphs, as well as black red and copper wire.

I usually fish with live bait, but use plastics when fish are really biting. I am wondering does anybody use scented plastics when fishing through the ice. I haven't really saw many products on the market using scents geared towards ice fishing that are scented compared to bass and walleye open water fishing.

I mostly use Fiska jigs with weggie plastics from plastic Joe in Racine Wisconsin. Change colors often. When I go out with several others we all use different colors. Once a color has been established as the one. we all switch up to that. When things start to slow down. The color changing starts all over. As the day progresses many changes can occur. Sometimes they want a smaller presentation.

Drop kicks have great action on plastics. Personal favorite plastics are the Jamei XL, Maki, Chigger fry, Bloodworm, and Mustache Worms. Chartreuse, red, pink, and white are all great colors to start with. Make a list of colors and cross out what doesnt work that day. Continuing to switch colors/plastics all day helps find what the fish want.