Some 20 years ago, international competitive ice fishing revealed tungsten jigs to North American anglers, when European teams would weigh in heavy bags of fish caught on the tiny, gold colored jigs.

What makes a good jig? Honestly, it’s not that complicated. The two main considerations are size and color. For size, I’ll use anything from a 1/8 ounce to micro jigs that are 1/64 or even 1/80 ounce.

A dozen Bait ‘N’ Go 24-hour machines have popped up around the Coast in the past three months and plenty more are planned, according to company founder, Sam Mouhajar. He says his business, based in ...