Ice Fishing

[Niteowl]

I'm relatively new to ice fishing (went once) because I generally dislike the cold and winter. But what are some of your favourite products to pack along with you when you go? I think I might give it more of an effort this year.

[Ata83]

Gotta enjoy it first,
Ive taken out alot of ppl that dont like the cold, but thats part of it, I thought enough single malt scotch would change their interest, but not really.

the best conversion I got, was a co worker, saying he enjoyed the day, cause if he did that at home [sit around and drink] he would be called lazy, but on the ice, he is fishing lol

[Species8472]

Regardless of the weather conditions you can make it as easy or hardcore as you want. To keep things easy you can use an outfitter with heated and equipped day or overnight huts with heated transport to and from the huts. Feeling a little bolder than head out self guided either on foot or by machine. On your own bring along some propane heat, a comfortable seat and a pop up or flip shelter and it is still quite comfy just more work. Want to get real adventurous than bring a good size pop up and camp on the ice for a few days with a second smaller shelter to run and gun with.

Go as far off the grid as you are comfortable with. I do carry a SPOTx for emergencies off grid but have never had to use it for that purpose - more have it so i can keep my wife from worrying by sending her the odd message.

Most people run some type of electronics to mark fish. I am a little old school and just rely on my gut - that and packing electronics and the necessary batteries just seems like a pain to me. Lots of people out fish me but on the average i usually hold my own. As for tackle there is lots of stuff on the market but again i just do what i been doing for almost 50 years. Jig head and a minnow and/or a 3/8 oz spoon tipped with a minnow or minnow head. If fishing lakers i typically add some white tube jigs into the mix.

I typically use a 28 to 36 inch medium light rod but sometimes use an ultra light. Reel wise a 500 series size spinning reel. Typically spool with 6 or 8 pound braid and tip with a 6 or 8 pound fluorocarbon leader.

For holes i use a Dewalt 999 cordless drill and 8 inch auger attached via a clam plate adapter. Battery wise i have two 9 amp-hour batteries and one 6 amp-hour batteries. Fully charged that gets me an 8 inch hole through almost 3000 inches of ice. Also have a 12 inch extension for the auger that typically is only required further north (say Lake Abitibi for example - ice one year in April was 38 inches).

[Sam Menard]

The keys to an enjoyable ice fishing trip: stay warm and dry, bring plenty of food and drinks, and have a distraction to occupy yourself if it’s a slow day.

[knownuthin]

My advice is try not to overload and bring absolutely everything. If you keep it simple and focus on staying warm everything else kind of works out. Also for tackle keep in mind that there are tons of ice related lures and gadgets out there but only some actually catch fish, while others only catch fishermen.

[Marker]

Drive to Florida, avoid the ice on the roads but not in your drink, go on a boat to fish off a ledge and fill a cooler with the fish you catch then drive home.