Ice Fishing Must-Haves

[brian6715]

Hey guys,
This site has helped me so much. But the way I figure it, we can all help each other with ice fishing by sharing our "must have" pieces of equipment. I am talking about things that have made ice fishing way easier. I can think of a few myself:

1) Some sort of depth finder. I use a Clearwater classic myself, but I am thinking about upgrading to an Fl-18.

2) Ice buster bobbers. These babies are unreal!! I won't use anything else (and i am not trying to promote a product here, these are just sweet)

3) Ice Cleats. These are great for early ice that has no snow on it. I use the kind that are rubber and slip over your boot.

That's all I can think of fer now. What about you guys?

[cluelessfisherman]

Ok, I don't have much experience ice fishing, but heres what I've been told:

1) very warm clothes

2)Angel Eyes

3)Vexilar - or some sort of locator

Clueless - -

[Surface Tension]

I started ice fishing long before portables, graphs and Mr Heaters.
You dressed for cold weather and you sat on a chair(plastic buckets wernt invented yet) with your butt to the wind and honkered down and fish. Jiggelsticks were state of the art and if you taped a open face reel to it you were The Man. All you needed was sell confidence that where you were and what you were doing was going to pay off with fish on the ice. There were old timers next to you using catgut for line and you thought they were old fashined. Spoon augers were the only good why to bore through 3 ft of ice. Times have changed.

[Surface Tension]

Oh ya, And i was one of those kids that walked 2 miles to school.
HEHEH

[Scenic]

Up hill both ways and thru knee deep snow too? lol

Just kidding.
Jeff

[Guest]

First things first, dress for the environment you intend to fish.

Polertech fleece under and GoreTex outer.

Good boots, good wool socks, Thinsulate lines fleece hat, and cleats.

Thinsulate and GoreTex Glomit style mitts.

A Croxton Pond gear tote.

Electronics of your choice, Vexilar is my preference.

Build your ice gear from there to fit you angling preferences in the region you fish.

Once your suited up properly for the cold all the rest get much easier and fishing becomes far more productive.

Oh ya, Hot Coffee. Alcohol just lowers you body temp and is a poor choice for longevity on the ice.

------------------
Backwater Eddy..><sUMo>

Backwater Guiding
"Ed on the RED"
(701)-281-2300
[email protected]
http://ed-carlson.fishingbuddy.com

[kwkfsh]

Polypropelene, Polar fleece and Goretex, if you are'nt comfortable you are'nt fishin, your just taken up space. Seriously tho good poly and fleece with a good shell layer can make all the difference in the world as far as comfort goes. Lose the cotton clothing, just a short walk bundled up will get you sweating and it goes into the cotton and it stays wet and sucks the heat out of your body. Theres a saying among knowledgeable outdoorsmen. "COTTON KILLS"

[IceNutt]

We had to walk those two miles because Dad said it was too cold to take the horse out of the barn!

------------------
IceNut

[Jig stick]

Icenutt,thats two miles up hill both ways bare footed! in the snow with no coat!LMAO

[upnorth]

I used to ice fish when there were no portables. You went out and used an ice spud to punch a hole in the ice, sat on a bucket and froze you butt off in the dang wind(it is always blowing on the ice), and hopefully found some fish. That is why I gave it up for a while.

Just got back into ice fishing last year. In my book the portable comes 1st, then the ice rods, then the heater, then the gas auger, then the vexilar. Comfort = enjoyment, and you are able to spend more hours per trip.

Just got the vex this year, caught fish last year without one, hope to do better with one.

Just my 2 cents.
Scott

[fishbreath]

Were you and your dad in the same grade?

[Kidd]

Don't forget a Lantern, or some other light source.

[waterwolff]

Some form of portable with its own sled, a vex or some type flasher, a gps ,a lantern for light and heat, and I hate to walk I get enough of that at work so a 4 wheeler is a must when ice conditions are suitable

[icemaster]

as far as i'm concerned, you need to have some kind of ice cleats(for bare ice with no snow), warm clothes, a full bait bucket, and the most important thing...FUN.

[rascalP]

1--portable

2--vex

3--power auger- a must after first ice

4--skip all the above, and go with someone who has everything

[Guest]

Some would never out onto the ice without their version of a fish finder...A dozen shacks already in place.

[Guest]

howez about the disposable hand warmers???

[Steve Foss]

Disposables are OK. They generally only last about 4 hours, and many is the time I used them and couldn't keep my hands warm enough (tip-up flags flying so fast I couldn't get back to the Trap II in between).

Two types get really warm. One is the lighter fluid kind, made of metal and with a wick and a perforated cap. They get too hot for me, and I burn my hands on them.

The kind I prefer, and have settled on, are the red felt-covered kind a little larger (but flatter) than a deck of cards. They hold lit charcoal sticks. They are very inexpensive, under $5 apiece. It takes a bit of fooling around to get them lit well enough (follo the directions and do it out of the wind and it'll be second nature in no time), but they also last four hours, get good and hot but no too hot to touch, and are big enough so I can put my hand around one in each side pocket and get warm in a few seconds. Also, since I keep one in each side pocket of my coat, they warm the torso better than the disposables do.

Also, I've heard some guys use the disposable shake-em-up handwarmers in the flip-up compartment in their Frabill 10-inch round insulated tip-ups, which they say keep the hole from freezing over even better than just the tip-up itself. Gotta try that one!

------------------
"I've driven farther before to catch fewer fish . . ."
Steve Foss
[email protected]

[This message has been edited by stfcatfish (edited 01-28-2003).]

[Iceseeker]

Vex, portable, heater. Now for a question, what kind of and where can you get a good pair of mittens for ice fishing? All i can locate are the older chopper type whick I really like but the liners that you know get are'nt worth hoot and thus it makes for a poor glove. I am not totally set on the chopper although I like them. I am just looking for something that will actually keep my hands warm for an extended period of time.

[Hookmaster]

For good mittens, go to a military surplus store or Sportsman's Guide and buy a pair of the mittens used in the military. If you like the "chopper" style, first buy a thick pair of wool or synthetic mittens and take them to a leather shop and have them make make the outside part. This way you get a superior liner but the toughness of leather.
The mittens I have been using for the past 12-15 years are a GoreTex/Thinsulate pair from Cabelas.

[This message has been edited by Hookmaster (edited 01-29-2003).]

[Finlander]

Here is the list that I e-mailed to my buddies who are going to Mille Lacs this weekend with me. Just a normal amount of gear we bring for fishing the POND!

Required Equipment: Beer, Fishing poles, Beer, Minnow Buckets, Beer,
Minnows which include Fatheads and Shinners!, Beer,
Beer, A$$wipe, Beer, Asprin, Beer, Assorted drugs I mean
Medications,Beer, Spring Water, Beer, Cook Stove, Beer, Frying Pan,
Beer, Food, Liquid Refreshments?, Beer, Cooking Utincils, Beer,
Paper Plates and Cups, Beer, Silverware Beer, Small Grill, Beer, Charcoal,
Beer, Charcoal Fluid, Beer, Paper Towels, Beer, Dish Soap, Beer,
Venison, Beer, Steaks, Beer, Bread, Beer, Seasonings, Beer, Camera, Beer,Film,
Beer, Wildlife Magazines, Beer, Cards, Beer, Sleeping Bags, Beer,
Pillow, Beer, Towles, Beer, Flashlights, Beer, Deep Cycle Battery, Beer,
Beer, Boom Box, Beer, CD's and Tapes, Beer, FL-8, Beer, FL-18,
Beer, Extra FL-8 Batteries, Beer, Rattle Reels, Beer, Ice Fishing Tackle Box,
Beer, Ice Scoops, Beer, Tip-Ups, Beer, Gaff, Beer, 1 lb. Propane Bottles, Beer, Ruler to Measure Fish, Beer, Lanterns, Beer, Heaters,
Beer, Plastic Bags, Beer, Garbage Bags, Beer, Portable Fish
House, Beer, Augers, Beer, Auger Gas, Beer, Chisel, Beer!

[Guest]

Iceseeker,

I found a pair of Snowboarding Gloves on sale a few years ago that I've used to death.

They have thick pile lining and a ridgid outer cover, plus long, closable gauntlets that go up almost to the elbow to keep out wind, etc. especially when on the sled or wheeler.

Snowboarders tend to drag their hands across the snow when making turns so these gloves are tough.

I have to finally replace them this year and haven't found anything at the outdoors stores that matches them. I paid about $20.00 for them on sale. You may want to look at the Ski shops for them.

I hope this helps.

As for Ice Fishing items you can't live without (after you've tried them)--A hand Held Polar Vision depth finder and a Hand-Held GPS!

------------------
Chells

[Bobb-o]

I have a pair of four-wheeling gloves that i got for regular price at Bob's Cycle Supply in st paul. they only cost me $10 and they are totally windproof, and they dry amazingly fast.

[Guest]

I'd say 3 horse gas auger, ice spoons, noodle rods, vexilar,potable shack with a stove pipe,minnows,illumination for shelter and a lantern outside the shack to draw up the fish.

------------------
Just say yes to icefishing:D

[Guest]

I use hand warmers that last 12 hours they work well in your pocket.

[This message has been edited by grinched (edited 01-31-2003).]

[This message has been edited by grinched (edited 01-31-2003).]