Why You Should Try Fishing an Egg-Imitating Lure on the Ice Right Now
Considering the fact that nature’s food chain inspired Clam Pro Tackle designer John Crane to design the Caviar Drop jig, it must’ve been pretty cool to watch a bunch of us media dudes photographing Ice Team pro Matt Breuer with a spunky northern pike snared on this bait.
With a textured acrylic sphere covering a tungsten jig, the Caviar Drop mimics a glob of eggs—a favored treat for many of the panfish species we target through the ice. Dressing up this, or any egg-imitating lure with Eurolarvae or any such wiggly accent sweetens the deal; but as Crane points out, the basic ruse fits the dietary plans of many prized species.
“Egg baits like the Caviar Drop complete the circle of life,” he said. “Everything starts from an egg and it gets consumed at some point.
“What’s happening in the early spring — late ice — is we have shallow weeds and the several species are moving shallow to spawn in there. There are minnows eating on those eggs, there are yellow perch eating those eggs and then here comes the walleye and pike to feed on the the (smaller fish) that are eating those eggs.”
And if one of those predators decides he wants an omelet for breakfast, all the more fun.