Once inside our shanty, I wasted little time modifying a Sabiki rig. I cut the Sabiki rig in half. Tied the swivel to my main line via improved clinch knot. And then tied a double surgeons loop knot on the other end to hold a 1/4 oz Dipsey sinker. A Sabiki rig with three or four hooks will catch smelt without the risk of self hookings during fish wrangling.
I dressed the Sabiki hooks with tiny chunks of sea worm and sent my sinker 4 feet down to the river bottom. While “dead sticking”, I saw smelt swim by and past my baits. Were they inflicted with lock jaw? Not sure. But, I was not going to wait for an answer. I switched to vertical jigging.
As the tide flooded, I was rewarded with more water to jig through. When the water column reached 6 feet in height, I hooked my first fish 1 foot below the surface.
For the rest of the tide, the fish moved trough the water column. My modified Sabiki rig with tiny chunks of sea worms seduced the smelt into striking. I hooked fish at low and mid-column.
Fishing patterns are cyclical. When on the ice, if one technique is not producing, switch techniques until you find a pattern that produces. Keeping a fishing journal will help to identify fishy patterns. 😉
