ICE FISHING BASICS

This time of year can be a difficult stretch for hunters and anglers in northern states. Huge game seasons are over, small game and waterfowl seasons are unwinding, and we’re months far from gobbling turkeys and open water fishing.

Spanning this stretch of the coldest, darkest months is ice fishing season.

It’s certainly an activity swarming with hyperbolic stereotypes of lazy drunkards staring at a hole in the ice.

Author and poet Jim Harrison famously described ice fishing as the “moronic sport.”

Harrison was a little a fly fishing snob, but I’ll admit there was a time when all I had to say about ice fishing was, compared to float fishing a river or wading a saltwater flat, it was tiring as hell.

Fast forward a number of years: I’ve learned to enjoy ice fishing. With just a little understanding and experience, it’s something anybody can have fun doing.

While ice fishing is very popular in the upper Midwest, a lot more folks could be warding off cabin fever while accumulating some fresh fish.

If you reside in the northern half of the nation, possibly you’re already extremely close to some great ice fishing.

Everything from little farm ponds to manufactured city reservoires to giant natural lakes offer ice fishing opportunities for all type of edible fish.

The most typical types targeted by ice anglers include sunfish, crappie, yellow perch, walleye, northern pike and trout.

In some locations, anglers can anticipate to capture less common types like whitefish, burbot and kokanee salmon.

Ice Fishing Safety

There’s no such thing as completely safe ice. Ice melts and cracks and has differing degrees of strength and stability.

When you see images of whole ice fishing “towns” with hundreds of shanties, raked roadways and picku’s driving around on the ice, it’s simple to forget that ice fishing includes some degree of risk, although the risk is pretty low if anglers use sound judgment.

Never ice fish over moving water. Clear, solid ice is always more powerful than white, flaky ice.

4 inches of clear ice is thought safe to stroll on and 6 inches of good ice will support an ATV or snowmobile.

If you have an interest in driving your truck on the tough water, there needs to be well over a foot of strong ice. Remember, snow is an insulator and the ice might be slushy or thin if it’s blanketed in snow.

Keep up to date with ice conditions reports from regional bait stores or the local fish and game office prior to heading out.

It’s not a bad idea to wear a life vest, and anglers ought to constantly bring ice safety spikes as a security preventative measure versus the ice breaking. Also, pack some extra warm clothing in case you get wet.

Ice Fishing Gear

The bright side is that you don’t require a lot of pricey, specialized equipment to go ice fishing.

If you’re an open water angler, you currently have a lot of the gear you’ll need and, if not, you can get outfitted very quickly.

Standard spinning reels work on ice fishing poles, which typically run 2 to 3 feet long.

A standard selection of bait hooks, lead weights, jig heads, soft-plastic jig bodies and metal spoons will cover most of your tackle needs.

Basic hand-line tip-ups with live bait are popular for big predators like northern pike and walleye. They send up a vibrantly colored flag when a fish bites.

Next, you’ll require a method to cut holes through the ice. Spud bars are long, heavy, iron bars with a sharp tip. They get the job done but utilizing them will burn some major calories.

Augers are a much better tool. Hand-operated augers work well for cutting holes in ice up to 10 or 12 inches deep, however if you’re going to be cutting a lot of holes through thicker ice, a gas-powered auger is a better option.

They’re not inexpensive, but they cut through thick ice in seconds.

Sturdy ice fishing sleds are perfect for carrying your fishing equipment throughout the ice. Lots of anglers will utilize a couple 5-gallon buckets to store rods and tackle.

Rod holders will keep your bait fishing rigs propped up over the hole and an ice scooper is a must for keeping those holes devoid of slush.

Some luxury items worth pulling in your sled include folding camp chairs, a thermos of hot coffee or cocoa, a gas heating unit and a portable grill for cooking up some wild caught fish on the ice.

Specific products particular to ice fishing will increase your chances of success. Shelters enable anglers to keep fishing even when it’s windy and cold.

They vary from lightweight pop-up tents to custom-made shanties dressed up with facilities like cooking stoves and heating systems.

Fish finders assist anglers to rapidly zero in on hotspots. Little, hand-held sonar units show water depths and mark fish.

Hi-tech flashers can indicate when a fish is after your bait. I just recently purchased an easy sonar unit and I’ve found that the confidence of knowing that there is fish listed below the hole deserves every penny.

Some hard-core ice fishermen even utilize undersea video cameras to provide a detailed take a look at what’s going on listed below the surface.

Ice Fishing Techniques

Just like fishing other times of the year, the best ice fishing often happens in the low light periods of early morning and late afternoon.

Good fishing with non-stop action may just last an hour or two prior to switching off completely. If the fish bite in a specific location is great but then shuts down, think about moving.

Fishing pressure can cause the fish in one spot to move or stop biting. If that occurs, attempt a various location but fish the same depth and kind of structure that produced fish earlier.

Basic baits like minnows, earthworms, meal worms, maggots and salmon eggs will capture a range of fish.

Jigs and fancy metal spoons in a series of sizes and colors will attract everything from hand-sized panfish to 30-pound lake trout.

The majority of ice anglers double their chances by jigging a lure with one rod while putting a baited setup in a close-by hole.

Success frequently originates from drilling a lot of holes over different depths. Ice anglers who move from hole to hole jigging as they go can rapidly discover the proper depth where the fish are holding.

When located, fish like bluegill or walleye can be captured one after another by fishing multiple rods in a small location.

In the winter season, most fish tend to be near the bottom around bulges, rock piles, weed beds or drop-offs.

Jig or place your baits near the bottom to begin. Sometimes, schools of fish will suspend above the bottom at random depths as they search for food.

Finding and capturing these fish requires an electronic fish finder. Without one, you’ll need to rely on experimentation and luck.

Give ice fishing a try. A fresh batch of perch for a fry up or smoked trout will convince you there’s more to it than just staring at a hole.

 

Sources: purefishing