Posts Tagged ‘ice fishing’
A First Timer’s Guide To Purchasing Ice Fishing Supplies
Ice fishing is a sport that can be enjoyed by everyone in the family. The cost is minimal to get fixed up and with just a little bit of knowledge, a Greenhorn can have an excellent chance at success their first trip on the lake.
But what’s required to begin ice fishing? One has many options in fishing reels on the market now, a Greenhorn could easily shuck out 100’s of their hard earned money on ice fishing gear and not have the basic gear to get out on the ice.
Knowing this, I sit down and made this list of the basic ice fishing equipment that a Newbie will need to get out on the ice. What’s even better is that for about a $100, you ought to be able to purchase all the fishing equipment that a Greenhorn will need to get started fishing on the hard water.
For starters, you will want to find an auger meant for ice fishing to make holes in the ice. For Beginners, I’d want a five or six inch auger meant for ice fishing for panfish like Perch, Bluegill and Crappie. If you want to go after bigger fish like Bass, Pike and Walleye, then I’d get a 8, possibly even a 10 inch ice auger. You have two choices, power augers or the manual augers. It’s no secret that the manual augers are cheaper to puchase but need more work to drill a hole. You will also need a scoop to scoop the ice chips out of your hole.
Next on the list are tip ups and ice rods. Many ice fishermen bore a lot of holes over rock piles, weed beds and other types of bottom structure and use numerous tip-ups to increase their chances of catching enough fish for a fish fry. Also, most fishermen prefer to ice fish with a reel and ice rod. If it was me,I’d get a few tip ups along with a good rod so you can see which technique you prefer.
Line for ice fishing should be designed for cold water that is associated with ice fishing. The near freezing water can make fishing line brittle. That is why you’ll want to be sure and get fishing line specifically designed for ice fishing. Cortland makes a product called Ice Line that is great. The line you buy for ice fishing is the most important part of your ice fishing gear.
Any good sporting goods store will advise you to get some jigs and lures for your tackle box. Small jigs are excellent for panfish. Also tear drop jigs and tiny spoons will come in handy when the panfish get finicky. As for bait, panfish love mealworms and spikes while larger fish such as Walleye prefer Worms or baitfish like smelt. Talk to the people at your local bait store to see what’s hot in your area.
Make certain to get something to sit on. A lot of seasoned ice fishermen make use of an ordinary five gallon bucket. Some will bring along lawn chairs out on the ice, but a five gallon bucket will also help you haul your gear to and from the ice.
This is all you need to to start ice fishing. Don’t forget about buying a fishing license and read up on the regulations for the area you plan on fishing. Being ticketed for breaking a law can ruin any trip. Now get out there and bring home some tasty fish. Don’t forget the most important fishing tip, be safe and follow all the safety rules for fishing on the ice.
Ice Fishing
Ice fishing is carried out on a frozen body of water. The fishermen may use either fishing lines or spears and they have to make a hole in the body of ice in order to gain access to the unfrozen water underneath the ice. They may sit on a stool in the open air on the ice near the opening through which they get their fish. Some fishermen have made this activity even more pleasurable as they have built cabins of wood around the opening which are heated and equipped with bunk beds so that they could also take a bit of rest.
Ice fishing is considered a popular and even necessary activity in the cold areas on our globe. Some countries where it has become a hobby during free time are the European Northern ones like Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Norway, Russia and even Germany. The Northern states and regions of the American continent where ice fishing still flourishes are Canada, Alaska, Colorado, Michigan and so on.
Getting into more details about the fishing equipment used, we may realize that it is pretty different from other types of fishing in that it has become rather specialized. A fishing line or a spear could turn out worthless for such kind of activity in the absence of a chisel or an ice saw to start things with. Remember that the ice break through is the one to come first. But despite the hole the freezing process is unstoppable, therefore most fishermen also carry a skimmer to remove that newly formed layer of ice. Most people also rely on a heater not only for their sakes but also for keeping the area around the hole warm enough to avoid letting more ice be formed. That is why wooden huts or cabins that capture the heat indoors are held in high esteem by ice fishing fans.
Ice fishing is based on three different methods, each with its specifically designed tools. The first one relies on the use of small fishing rods that are not heavy but have lures or baits that are small again and very colorful. Secondly, you can tip-ups that are a great means of catching fish in large quantities within a certain period of time. And finally, let’s mention spear ice fishing that depends on large hole making and fish decoys.
Whichever the choice from the three methods, we can compare nowadays success of these fishermen’s activity with that of long ago ice fishing. It seems that today, sonars make fish detection piece of cake. Presently fishermen will make about 100 holes per day if they wished to catch large amounts of fish, very much unlike our ancestors who had to wait by the hole for the fish to come to them.
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