There are many lures you can use when ice fishing. One that many ice fishing enthusiasts love is called a Swedish Pimple. This spoon lure is very attractive to aggressive fish that hunt deep underwater, so you can have a lot of success by using it. But how do you use it?
To use a Swedish Pimple for ice fishing, drop your fishing line with the Swedish Pimple attached into the hole in the ice, and lower the line slowly further into the water. Let it rest for a few seconds. Then, “jig” the line several times by making a snapping motion with your wrist. Wait a while. Repeat this process.
Now you might need a bit more explanation than that. You also might be wondering what’s so good about this lure and why it has such a strange name.
More Guidance on Using the Swedish Pimple
The Swedish Pimple is a lure. A lure is one of the best and most important tools a fisherman can use if he wants to be successful.
As you may have guessed, you will want to tie this lure to the end of your fishing line, since the lure is what fish will be chasing after. The Swedish Pimple has hooks attached to it, so you don’t need to tie any other hooks on.
You should probably put bait on those hooks so that the fish will have the incentive to bite. The shininess of the lure will draw them near, but that’s not much good if they don’t actually bite your hooks. So, use minnows, and the fish will try to gobble them up and end up trapped.
You will want to use a fishing rod with a Swedish Pimple instead of a tip-up. The reason is that Swedish Pimples are most effective when there’s movement. A tip-up will only suspend the line in place, so there’s not too much point in using it with a Swedish Pimple with one. The exception is if you have a windlass tip-up, which is specifically designed to jig lines by utilizing breezes. Otherwise, you should use a rod.
With the Swedish Pimple on your line and baited up, you are ready to catch some fish, assuming you’ve cut a hole in the ice. So, put your line in the water.
Lower the line slowly. There’s a simple reason for why you should do this instead of dropping the line straight down to the bottom as quickly as possible. You won’t spook any fish this way. What a waste it would be to scare away fish that might have otherwise bitten your line right away. That’s why lowering your line gradually will likely end up being more efficient than dropping it rapidly.
Once the line is at your desired depth, let it rest for a few seconds. This simply lets the line untwist, if needed. Additionally, it’s a way to check if any fish will bite immediately. If you’re in a good spot, sometimes fish will eagerly go for the bait they just saw drop into the water.
Assuming you haven’t felt any bites yet, it is now time to jig. Jigging is easier to do than it is to explain. The goal here is to just get the lure to move around in a jerky motion a bit. It’s not complicated.
Hopefully, you have a rod with a tip sensitive enough to allow for good jigging. In fact, if you are in need of a good rod, check out an article I wrote where I list some of the best ice fishing rods.
What you will do, at this point, is give the tip of your rod a few big snaps. Snap your wrists back to do this. These movements shouldn’t be done at rapid speed, of course; wait a second between each one.
The purpose of these movements is to get fish from across the water to take notice of your bait. The shiny object flailing around will surely catch any fish’s attention.
After you’ve jigged a bit, next you should wait for thirty seconds. This gives the fish time to approach your line.
If the fish aren’t biting, there could be a few possibilities as to why not. Maybe all that you need to do is move the bait away from them a bit as they approach.
Now, upon reading that, you might say that it’s a bit hard to know where the fish are when they’re far underwater, so how can you know if one is near your bait? Good question. One thing that makes it far easier is using electronic devices. If you have a fancy fish finder, you can get a really clear picture of where the fish are.
However, assuming you don’t have a fish finder, you can try just reeling up a bit occasionally, for a couple of minutes.
Alternatively, you might try very slight jigging motions. Again, this is where having a good rod really comes in handy. These motions should not be as big as what you did before. That might just scare the fish away. Before, you were making a call for attention, but now, you just want to assure the fish that this is real food.
There is the third option of doing nothing for a while. That could work too. Some fish are lazy, apparently.
Again, it’s hard to know what the fish want, unfortunately, but it is easier with technology. If you want to catch more fish, consider getting a fish finder.
Now, so far, we have done some attention-grabbing jigging, followed by a bit of waiting, and then we may have done some subtle movements to try to seal the deal. If we still haven’t caught anything, we simply repeat the process.
That’s how ice fishing is done with a Swedish Pimple. The technique is not difficult at all. The hard part is just knowing how much movement you should be giving the fish, which is really a difficult part of any jigging.
Benefits of Using This Lure
Why do fishermen the world over love the Swedish Pimple? It’s not a complicated answer: they love it because it attracts a lot of fish. So, how does it attract fish so well?
The Swedish Pimple is a spoon lure. This variety of lures is so named because they are shaped–you guessed it–like spoons.
Spoon lures attract fish by reflecting light and moving randomly. Not unlike humans, if a fish sees a shiny object, it is likely to pursue it or at least investigate. With light being reflected in so many directions due to the spinning of the lure, more fish get a chance to see it.
Swedish Pimples come in a wonderful variety of colors and patterns, so fishing fans can find the ones that strike their fancy. They should all attract fish about as well as each other, but I’d guess that some fishermen out there swear by a certain look.
Swedish Pimples can be used for many types of fishing. Summer or winter, freshwater or saltwater. So even if you buy them for ice fishing, feel free to make use of them all year!
Why the Swedish Pimple has That Name and Other History Details
You have likely wondered why Swedish Pimples are named Swedish Pimples. The answer is straightforward. “Swedish” because they are based on successful jigging lures in Sweden. And “pimple” because it’s a modification of the Swedish word “pimpla,” which means “to jig.”
Makes sense, right? Still, anything with the word “pimple” in it is bound to get your attention. Thinking about pimples is kind of gross, but luckily these lures have nothing to do with them.
The Swedish Pimple was created over fifty years ago. It was created by two brothers. They are not Swedish, but as I said, they did base their product off of Swedish lures. They started a company located in Michigan, which is a great place for fishing, both ice and otherwise because there are a lot of lakes there and it gets very cold in the winter.
The Swedish Pimple is a lure that has endured for quite a long time now, proving itself as a great product beloved by fishing fans.