Micro split shot can help your ice fishing
As I have pointed out in previous posts, there is a core minimum of things you need to ice fish and then there are a lot of other things are very good to have. You can go out on the ice with a hatchet and a fishing pole and possibly catch fish. But if you carry some other things with you, you will have a lot higher chance of success.
Split shot is of course a common type of sinker that is carried by a lot of people who fish. Micro split shot is a more specific variety of sinker. It is commonly carried by people who fly fish or chase trout and steelhead in open water. Some people who go ice fishing carry micro split shot too.
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When to use micro split shot
There are times when you want to get your jig to sink a little faster or want more wait on your line when ice fishing. But you’re often fishing with small jigs and lures and small lines fished with small ice fishing poles. In those cases even a small split shot can through everything off, but a micro split shot can be just what you need.
Micro split shot used to be a really specialist product that I had trouble finding outside of a few key areas. It is a lot more common nowadays. Plus the internet makes it possible to order almost any kind of micro split shot you want and have it sent directly to your house.
Micro split shot is basically just a scaled down version of split shot. It is not exactly as easy as that though. Micro split shot has to be well made because it is so small. If it’s not done well the micro split shot can either be too tough to pinch on to a line or so soft that they actually fall apart when you try to put them on your line.
Which micro split shot to use
There are different kinds of micro split shot on the market. There are cheap micro split shots and more expensive varieties. This is a case where price usually corresponds with quality but the cheaper varieties aren’t necessarily terrible.
The Eagle Claw Micro Split Shot Assortment comes with 368 dark colored micro split shot. They range from a size good to throw on your line above a tungsten jig in deep water to spectacularly tiny shot that might not have any real application at all. The plastic container is pretty good but it can twist in your pocket and when it does those small almost useless split shot are the first to fall out.
So while the Eagle Claw assortment in manageable there are better choices. A lot of them come seem to come from other places like Canada or Europe. That’s probably because centerpin fishing is more common there and requires the use of lots of various size split shot.
Dinsmore is probably the most well known maker of split shot for float fishing. Their split shot cost a lot more than products by companies like Eagle Claw but there’s a reason for it. While the Angler’s Accessories Micro Split Shots assortment isn’t cheap it is filled with very good split shot. They’re all of usable size and they pinch on your line and hold it but are easy enough to remove if you need to get rid of them.
Other assortments are also available. I’ve seen some really cheap sets that weren’t good looking at all but stuff like the Anglers Accessories Mini Split Shot Assortment is a good compromise when you want decent micro split shots but don’t want to give up an arm and a leg.
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