Newbie

[jakemcarroll]

Alright, I have been ice fishing a few times a few times with buddies (I do a fair amount of fishing in the summer and just miss it too much in the cold months).

I really enjoy it and figure its time to start getting some of my own gear. I have a couple rods and some lures and all the cold weather clothes to keep me warm. but I'm looking for what you all would consider the bare essentials for a starting ice fisher. Not to mention I'm a college student so buying second hands things (like a hand auger and sharpening it myself or something) are definately things that would help. Also, I'll be home (in the NW metro) over winter break and would be interested in hitting a few lakes, so a tip on a lake or two to try would be greatly appreciated too. Thanks so much for all the help. This forum is awesome!

[bassNspear]

Welcome to Fishing Minnestoa!!

There is only a few things that you need to start out with. Getting a used house is very easy to find. you can find some on our for sale pages here at FM. You might want to get a heater for the cold days, Rods and bait, and your ready to go.

[Pleasant]

Well My Dad always said all you need is something to get a hole in the ice with, some line, a hook and some bait.

But you can pick up a little shelter very reasonable these days, a little flip pack shack is less than a $100 or with a little time a few 1 x 4s and a tarp you can make a shelter. I know my first shelter was a little 4 by 4, 5 foot high hut on a sled, worked just fine for a long time before I had kids that tagged along.

Electronics are nice but sometimes I would rather sight fish.

I am sure others will chime in with ideas.

Lynn J.

[ilovehardwater]

Welcome to FM Jake, The size of your vehicle is going to determine what you can bring out to the lake. If you have a car you might consider a smaller more compact portable like a Eskimo quick flip or a packshack. They are pretty cheap and can fit in pretty much all cars(unless you work in a circus). If you have a SUV or truck I would suggest getting a flip over style fish house, there is absolutely nothing wrong with purchasing used equipment either. Just be sure to do your research on the used products and make sure you are getting a deal. I would get a small heater like a Mr.heater cooker or the Buddy heater to put inside the portable. You can easily find the other little things that are helpful such as slush scoop,lantern,bucketts, at garage sales. And last but certianly not the least is what I concider the best tool in ice fishing, a flasher or sonar. You can get a brand new Marcum lx-1 for a little over 200 bucks or as I said before you can find some good deals on used equipment. I would splurge and buy a good sonar before I bought any other equipment...but thats just me..GL BT

[CJH]

For alot of years when I first started right after college my budget was tight, so my friend and I fished with a hand auger and two buckets. Then just adda pole, a few different pieces of tackle and some waxies. You can be pretty mobile that way, if you are in good enough shape to crank out holes with the hand auger!!

You don't need to spend alot of money to have fun! Over time you can add pieces. I have added a power auger, GPS , and this year a flipover house. I don't need any of these things, but I appreciate them more now.

Good Luck and have fun!

CJH

[eurolarva]

What fish are you targeting. Pan fish in the lindstrom area is good this time of year. A 6 inch mora auger and a scoop is all you need. I fished sunday and did not want to lug the heavy equipment. First hole I drilled with my hand auger I had my limit of decent sunfish in about an hour. First fish out was close to 3/4 lb. Me personally would go with Eurolarvae and a very small tear drop with a red spot on it. I spent 6 years on the ice without a shelter and usually brought home fish.

[Sandmannd]

Auger, bucket, rod and bait. You can add from there. I would start with a shelter and work your way up from there.

[DTro]

What ever you do, do not overlook warm clothes. I look at it two ways. You get some sort of shelter with heater, or some good warm clothes.

My bare minimum would be.

1. Auger....good luck without one

2. Rod/Reel

3. Ice Scoop

4. 5 Gallon Bucket

5. Flasher

6. Headlamp or flashlight

7. Sled to pull your gear

My vote goes to a flasher over a shelter, if the choice is forced. Just my opinion.

[Marmot]

Quote:

---

... my friend and I fished with a hand auger and two buckets. Then just adda pole, a few different pieces of tackle and some waxies. You can be pretty mobile that way, if you are in good enough shape to crank out holes with the hand auger!!

---

My dad, the neighbors, and I fished like this for many years. We will most likely fish with just buckets and a hand auger over Xmas too.

I have since upgraded my gear, but I still like going back to the basics when I am at my parent's for the holidays.

Also, I am surprised no one mentioned a case of beer. lol

[Powerstroke]

I agree with Dtro completely. If you've got warm clothes you won't need much of a shelter. Also, I find that I am spending more and more time outside the shelter hole-hopping to find the active fish. Not to mention, if you're using a hand auger it tends to warm you up pretty well.

[SP180]

I am a comfort kind of guy. I need shelter first and that can be fairly inexpensive if you buy used or 3 sheets of plywood and a tarp work well. A flasher is nice, but i have been ice fishing for years with out one and i survived. I finally bought one this year. the tackle and rod/reel combos are cheap.

[DinkADunk]

I have a shelter but I find that I only use it if I'm driving my truck on the ice and want a warm place to stay. Mine is fairly light but still it can be a pain in the chest to pull (especially if I have to pull it back up hill). I much prefer a toasty pair of Ice Kings and warm clothes and just pull a small sled with my gear in it. A little sunflower heater is nice too to warm the hands and heat up some coffee. Oh yeah, a hand auger is fine for early ice but when you have 6" of ice or more it's nice to have a powered auger, especially if you want to be mobil.

[Macattack]

I started ice fishing seriously a few years ago and am totally hooked now. I added a new piece of equipment each year. Last year a bought a pop up hunting blind for $70 at Menards. Its light (12 lbs) and fits in a car. It is also pretty sturdy, survived 20 mph winds on Red Lake last year and got a limit of slabs. A heater is $40 and makes life comfortable on the ice if you plan to be out there for more than a couple of hours. Make sure to remember a lighter or matches, made that mistake a few times. A 5 gallon plastic pail with lid and styrofoam bait bucket inside the pail works well. The lid is great for bumpy road so you don't end up with dead minnows in your trunk (been there). Light is also important and LED's are the ticket. They are small and last a long time on a couple of batteries. Get a headlamp it makes packing up in the dark much easier plus you can see where you are going when walking back to the car. Hate to say it but a powered auger is a must. Early in the year when the ice is thinner a hand auger is okay but later in the year when you have to drill through 18+" of ice you will be thankful that you have it. Last thing to get would be a sonar/flasher. Some unit can be used on both hard and soft water so do your research. Flahsers work great for the ice. Good luck and be safe, every year people get in trouble and it could have been avoided with little common sense.

[Surface Tension]

Some guys can afford starting out with the best.

I see a lot of students here and they can't afford the best.

Actually, they can't afford anything.

For those that are on a tight budget.

Get a used Mora hand auger. You'll be able to sharpen the blades yourself. Ask and I'll tell you how.

Dress like a Musk Ox and sit on a 5 gallon bucket with your back to the wind.

My first ice rod was a cut off broom stick with eye screws for guides and to wrap the line around. You can make two rods out of one broom stick. Later I found a reel and broken 2 piece fiberglass rod. I took a 12" piece of broom stick and drilled a hole in the end and shoved the rod in that hole. Then taped the reel to the broom stick.

Depth finder. You can get a alligator clamp with lead for about 50 cents.

An assortment of sinkers and hooks.

A couple Ice Buster bobbers.

A few Go Devil in 1/16th- 1/8th oz.

A few Ice Ants for gills.

plastic coffee can for minnows.

mini bogen to pull your stuff out on.

pack sack.

Coleman lantern.

Download DNR lake maps

You have everything you need to get out and fish.

If you like ice fishing and want to upgrade. This is a time a collage student has to make tough decisions.

Beer money verses Equipment. Will that tight budget be able to handle a fishing upgrade. Don't forget you still have to eat. That might mean a few more meals of Mac & Cheese or Ramon Noodles instead of Burger King.

Get a good rod & reel and tip-up.

Used flashers hold there value.

If you can get a used FL8 SLT for under $125 I'd buy it. Its far from the best but it will get the job done.

A step up but still not the latest nor greatest is a MarCum VX-1 and it won't break the bank.

A used portable. I prefer flipovers. You can't be picky though so the first good deal I found on any brand is what I'd go with. With that you'll need heat. Most 2 man flip overs will need something like a sunflower to put out enough heat.

Lucky for you, they're also the cheapest heater on the market. Got a gas grill? Might as well use the 20 lber attached to it.

It might have taken you a year or two or three to get to this point. If you've kept that Mora sharp it would've done well in making holes. Oh yes its work. Not only should a young buck be able to do 30 push ups, 30 pull ups as listed in The Presidential Physical Fitness guidelines. I believe that here in MN the ability to hand drill though a total of 120" of ice in less then 5 minutes should be added to those recommendations.

At age 30 you should have earned that badge of honor or the money which every comes first, to get a power auger.

One last hurdle, by then you might have married a financial officer that has other ideas.

Good Luck!

[Eric Wettschreck]

Fillets replacing Ramen noodles from time to time is a nice break from the norm.

Frank, as usual, hit the nail on the head. Use what you can, it doesn't have to be the latest and greatest, it just has to work.

[Chode2235]

I started ice fishing in college, and I can tell you what I found works the best. Plus use this season to figure out what you want/need. Save your money until the spring when it will all be on sale.

Another aspect of college fishing is storing all your gear. My approach kept everything packable in my tiny room and out of the way.

Sled- get a sled with a rope. The Jet Sled Jrs are really nice for ice fishing, and you can find one pretty cheap, but a sled is almost required.

5 gal bucket with lid. Use this as your seat and to store all of your stuff in it.

Ice scoop - Again very affordable and necessary.

Tackle - as much or as little as you want/can afford

Rods/Reels - You can get very good combos these days for a good price. I recommend that you get 2 rods. As you can use 2 lines on the ice you might as well. Works good for hole hopping too. I have one in the hole, and then drill an new hole and drop the other one in. I 'leapfrog' like this until I find fish. A good ML action will be a good set up for panfish and walleyes.

Auger - you can usually find a hand auger pretty reasonable. Or find one you can borrow. I had a mora for one year that I borrowed from a friend of the family. My first purchase was a lazer hand auger. It makes a world of difference. Keep an eye out too for partially frozen holes, and take advantage of them.

Minnow bucket - Optional and depends on how you fish. I would often buy a dozen minnows and freeze about 5-7 in plastic bags. You can tip your jigs with the minnow heads or whole dead minnows. Works better than nothing, saves you some space, and saves some $ and hassle.

Depth finder - Again this is optional as you start out, but is one of the things that you should prioritize buying if you get into the sport more. Also you don't need a flasher on a blue box to get going. I made a portable out of an old LCD and used that. It told the depth, and occasionally marked fish. depth is the most important part.

You will be amazed at what you can scrounge up, keep your eyes open, and find some friends who you can go with. That way you can share equipment and costs too.

But go slow, get enough to get out there and then figure out what you need. A buddy of mine is on the 5 year plan to outfit his ice fishing habits. I do recommend buying quality gear over cheap/disposable gear, but figure out what you need first, and there really is no need to break the bank when it comes to getting your ice fishing equipment.

I hope this helps.

[jakemcarroll]

Thank you everyone for your words of advice. I think my fiance's father has an auger I can borrow, and I already snagged a few lures on sale at gander the other day.

I was up at mille lacs today with a friend and his father, didn't get too much of a bite, but we ended up with a half dozen nice perch, and my buddy's dad even managed to catch a rock somehow?? ha ha, it was a good laugh, he thought it was a monster for a little bit. I had a blast and am really looking foward to continueing to make the most of my time home from school. thanks again for all the awesome tips!!