Of the five tungsten ice jigs VMC®’s unveiling this summer, one especially has ICE FORCE® pro James Holst wishing for winter — the Tungsten Fly Jig.
“Bluegills are just going to go gaga for this thing,” says Holst, intrepid host of “In Depth Outdoors” on the Fox Sports North channel. “VMC’s taken the intricacies of hackle, fur and hair and paired them with an ultra-compact tungsten jighead. There’s nothing else like it on the ice.”
When the snow finally flies, Holst’s ice-fishing arsenal will also include VMC’s new Tungsten Chandelier Jig, Tungsten Nymph Jig and Tungsten Wax Tail Jig. Capitalizing on the size-to-weight advantage of tungsten, each drops fast to keep a hot-bite on fire.
“Because tungsten sinks much faster than lead, even a tiny tungsten jig will get back down to biting fish noticeably quicker than the standard lead-head jig,” Holst says. “There’s always one guy in the group that can’t get his bait back to the bottom in time when the bite is fast and furious. You don’t want to be that guy.”
Intelligent hook design ensures lookers become biters. VMC’s exclusive Power Gap hooks feature a wider round gap than other micro-jigs of equal weight, greatly increasing hook-up percentages. “The hooks on most other Tungsten jigs are really, really small and practically impossible to rig plastics on them, or the type of live bait the fish want,” Holst says.
Tungsten Fly Jig
A perfect imitator of natural flies and aquatic insects, the Tungsten Fly Jig delivers big results with a small profile.
“We’ve had it in the water already,” Holst says. “You can put down six, seven, eight baits and compare the fish’s reactions. They’ll often ignore a lot of the run-of-the mill baits, but they see that Tungsten Fly and they just go bat crazy. We’ve seen a very, very strong response to it.”
A 90-degree hook eye ensures optimal horizontal position of the jig, allowing ice anglers to convert more hits into solid hooksets and lose fewer fish at the hole.
Tungsten Fly Jigs come in three sizes, 1/64th, 1/32nd and 1/16th ounces. They’re available in six color patterns: Glow, Glow Chartreuse, Glow Pink, Metallic Rainbow, Metallic Silver, and Metallic Gold. The Glow colors provide up to 15 minutes of continuous charge.
Tungsten Chandelier Jig
The Tungsten Chandelier Jig’s inversed conical head delivers superior sonar returns, making it easier for ice anglers to target their desired depth. Add your favorite Trigger X plastic or live-bait to the sticky-sharp VMC treble hook and hold on.
Tungsten Chandelier Jigs come in three sizes, 1/16th, 1/8th and 3/16th of an ounce. They’re available in eight colors: Glow, Green Orange Glow, Orange Chartreuse Glow, Pink Chartreuse Glow, Glow Chartreuse, Glow Red, Crappie Minnow and Mayfly. The Glow colors provide up to 15 minutes of continuous charge.
Tungsten Nymph Jig
Pre-rigged with a Trigger X Nymph soft bait (also sold separately) a Tungsten Nymph Jig resembles the small aquatic insects that fish feed on year-round.
“The Nymph works really well as a primary panfish presentation and also as a finesse walleye offering,” says ICE FORCE pro Joel Nelson, a regular on-camera contributor on “In-Depth Outdoors.”
Tungsten Nymph Jigs come in two sizes, 1/32nd and 1/16th of an ounce. They’re available in eight colors: Glow, Green Orange Glow, Orange Chartreuse Glow, Pink Chartreuse Glow, Glow Chartreuse, Glow Red, Crappie Minnow and Mayfly. The Glow colors provide up to 15 minutes of continuous charge.
Tungsten Wax Tail Jig
Pre-rigged with Trigger X Wax Tail soft baits (also sold separately), Tungsten Wax Tail Jigs are a deadly combination for weedline-hugging bluegill and open-basin crappie.
Holst recommends slowly twitching a Tungsten Wax Tail Jig in place when fish are in a finicky mood. “The subtle action will turn lookers into biters,” he says.
Tungsten Wax Tail Jigs come in two sizes, 1/32nd and 1/16th of an ounce. They’re available in eight colors: Glow, Green Orange Glow, Orange Chartreuse Glow, Pink Chartreuse Glow, Glow Chartreuse, Glow Red, Crappie Minnow and Mayfly. The Glow colors provide up to 15 minutes of continuous charge.
Nelson’s go-to crappie combo is a Glow Red 1/32 oz. Wax Tail Jig rigged with a Bloodred Wax Tail soft bait. “I can consistently catch big crappies with this combination,” he says. “In fact, it often outperforms a variety of live-bait offerings.”
