List of ice fishing gear!

[fishoff]

From what I read I will need lots of ice fishing gear when I move to Minnesota. Here is the list I have going:

Ice fishing hut

Ice auger

Ice fishing fishing poles

under water camera/fish finder

Arctic Armor suit

And probably much more. Any suggestions?

[RussC]

Bait bucket

Pail for your fish

It's not a necessity but a GPS would help

[Bothun]

Tackle, heater, if i was you i wouldn't buy a camera for starters. Buy yourself a vexilar or marcum first and get used to using that. They work on every lake where i camera will not.

[jholland]

Here's everything I bring on my trip out ice fishing. (Usually two people)

- Ice fishing house

- Two Chairs

- Propane Tank and Mr Heater

- Auger

- 6 Poles (Extras)

- All my tackle, jigs, weights, bobbers, springs bobbers, depth finder, bobber stoppers, hook removers, extra spool of line, etc.

- Ice scoop

- Bait bucket with minnows or bait puck with worms/maggots/euros

- Lantern

- Marcum Flasher

- Lowrance GPS/Sonar

- Food/Drinks

- Shovel

- Bucket for the fish

Probably forgetting something, but that's the portable setup.

[52#FLATHEAD]

Ice Fishing Checklist

LICENSE

BAIT

ICE HOUSE & SUPPORT RODS

VEXILAR & CHARGER

UNDERWATER CAMERA

CAMERA POD

EXTRA BATTERY

FISH BUCKET & LID

MINNOW BUCKET & NET

WATER DIPPER

HEATER & PROPANE & HOSE

HAND WARMERS

AUGER

SLUSH SCOOP

SNOW SHOVEL

TACKLE BOX

ROD BAG

TIP-UP BAG & LEADERS

ROD HOLDERS

HEADLIGHT & BATTERIES

FLASHLIGHT & CHARGER

LANTERN & PROPANE

ICE CLEATS

WATCH

THERMOS

TP

HAND TOWEL

DIGITAL CAMERA

BOOTS

COAT

BIBS

HAT

GLOVES x3

[northernsportman]

And don't forget the fillet knife for all those fish you'll be catching!

[fishoff]

Lots of stuff on those lists I never even heard of.

Thanks for all your input.

I am driving my wife nuts cause I am talking about Minnesota all day every day.

HOLY [PoorWordUsage]!! Just looked up those flasher's and they ain't cheap.

Looks like the initial start up cost of ice fishing may be

some serious cash. I guess we can make up for it by eating lots of fish.

[jigginjim]

It all depends on how much your willing to spend. KISS

Keep

It

Simple

Silly

-hand auger

-jig sticks,

-5 dollars in lures & hooks, bait as you go.

- a shelter if cold, use your imagination, A large box on skis can work

-a heater or hand warmers

we all started somewere, some spend hunders of dollars to begin, others less than $50

Spring is the best time to purchase ice lures for less money. several can be used in spring for shore fishing, some summer jigs will also work in the winter.

[Sandmannd]

I agree with Jigginjim, keep it simple to start and make sure you enjoy the sport before investing a ton of money. You can find a shelters, flasher's and such on the internet (this site's sales forums and craig's list) have helped me build up my supplies a lot cheaper than if I bought them new. Shelters make it nice to be out longer with a heater. The flasher, to me, is a must. A lot easier to see depth and see if there are fish. Then get a couple of ice rods and some jigs and you're good to go. You can always try to hook up with folks to see if you like it before investing as well. Where are you moving to? I'm always up for taking new folks out to see if they enjoy it.

[Northlander]

Do yourself a favor and get a flip over/sled type house from the start. Dont waste your money on a suitcase style house. The flip overs are so much nicer and way more portable.

All your gear can go inside it so you dont have to worry about making extra tubs or slide racks to pull it on.

No matter what flip over you get make sure you put on the hyfax runners. I highly recomend the Otter line of houses. Best tubs in the market and high quality. There are cheaper houses but you get what you pay for when it comes to ice houses.

[Sandmannd]

I agree with Northlander on the otter's and a flip over. Much nicer to put all your gear in and pull it out. Hyfax is awesome to have on it as well.

[blackdog1101]

I started ice fishing last year. My first season I had the very basics: hand auger, a couple rods, a lantern, bucket, and a plastic sled to pull it in. I already owned good cold weather gear. I caught fish, but was limited in my fishing once the ice got thicker.

This year during the holidays I bought a VX-1 Marcum, which has totally made the difference. Beyond the basics above, I suggest that a flasher should be the first "major" purchase. You can't catch fish if they're not there, and a flasher will help you get on the fish. Vexilar has a wonderful reputation as well, so you can't really make a bad choice.

Next I bought a used Jiffy auger from a friend on this board. I hurt my shoulder and making holes with the hand auger became painful. (Getting older isn't as great as they told us.) Making more holes helps you find more fish. The Jiffy is great, and from what I read here the Strikemaster is equally good. 2 good options there.

At this point I thought I was done spending money for the year on ice fishing aside from terminal tackle. But when someone offered a used Otter Den for sale for $100, I jumped on it. It's enabled me to fish in weather I would have otherwise stayed home. I bought a heater similar to a "Mr. Buddy" at one of the big box hardware stores for about half the price of a Mr. Buddy.

Next year I plan to buy a GPS with the lake mapping feature, and at that point I believe I will be as completely outfitted as I will require.

I hope this helps. Good luck!

[maros91]

I went out the other day and only needed an auger, pole, larvae, vexilar, and bucket. Just get the bare essentials to start and go from there.

[mr_jman]

When I started I had a small hand auger, about 4 dead stick poles, a few jigs, and some live bait when I'd go out. No house, No power auger, No flasher, No heater!

A very cheap beginning and I still caught fish. ONE OF THE BEST THINGS YOU CAN GET FOR FREE is lake maps off of the DNR HSOforum which are very valuable no matter how much gear you own.

However when I started getting into it more I bought my stuff in this order:

House, heater, vexilar, power auger, reel weeds, jigs, jigs, more jigs, etc.

I bought a suitcase style house because its the only one that fits in my car. I WOULD also agree with past posts that a flip over is much more convenient if you like to move at all. A heater should also be bought quickly as it makes fishing MUCH more enjoyable. The flasher is probably the most valuable piece of equipment you can buy. A power auger helps out when you want to cover some ground and not get tired.

Cost doesn't have to be expensive:

Ice house: $179 at Fleet & Farm (Shappelle 2000)

Heater: $40 at garage sale (Mr. Buddy)

Vexilar: $150 at pawn shop in St. Cloud (FL-8)

Power Auger $175 on hsolist (Mag 3)

Those are some of the major purchases I've made. I would buy a GPS next as it will save a lot of time on finding those hot spots and interesting areas! Like others said: Watch the listing here or on hsolist (many houses go for as low as $100 for a portable.) ALSO some people sell all there stuff together and you can get all the equipment you'd need for a really good price!

[Borch]

Plus no one said you had to buy new. Lots of icefishing gear available here in the FM classified section at a fraction of the cost of new. That'll help out with the budget for sure.

[rowdyf]

 Originally Posted By: fishoff

From what I read I will need lots of ice fishing gear when I move to Minnesota. Here is the list I have going:

Ice fishing hut

And up here we call 'em fish houses!

Like previously posted, keep an eye out for used augers or locators. Lots in the classifieds. A flip style house is best, IMO.

[Iambjm]

 Originally Posted By: fishoff

From what I read I will need lots of ice fishing gear when I move to Minnesota. Here is the list I have going:

Ice fishing hut

Ice auger

Ice fishing fishing poles

under water camera/fish finder

Arctic Armor suit

And probably much more. Any suggestions?

Skip the Artic Armor suit (cost around $300)and get a flasher first, next to a power auger most important piece of ice fishing gear. Get a couple of tipups which can be relatively cheap if you watch the sales. Another important tool is this forum. If you don't have a lot of gear I bet you could hook up with a lot of different people and tag along. With higher gas prices it helps to have a buddy to go with and share the cost of driving. My hubby used to go with one of our dear friends before he had all his gear, and he always shared the gas and bait. Now that our friend has passed he has many fond memories of just the 2 of them ice fishing.

Oops forgot to mention, I see there is a post on reconditioned units, another way to get your start up equipment.

Barb

[fishoff]

I was looking at the Otter 2 a three man fish house.

I already know I like fishing and I darn sure not going to sit home all winter. I am going to try and get the good stuff first go around so I don't have to rebuy. I am a buy it used type of dude for big purchases cause I ain't mister rich guy. I will be movong to the Virginia Area. My list is getting a lot bigger.

Are those fish houses easy to push? like into the canoe wilderness area just not from parking lot onto lake?

Is it possible to push them a mile or two in the snow?

 Originally Posted By: Northlander

Do yourself a favor and get a flip over/sled type house from the start. Dont waste your money on a suitcase style house. The flip overs are so much nicer and way more portable.

All your gear can go inside it so you dont have to worry about making extra tubs or slide racks to pull it on.

No matter what flip over you get make sure you put on the hyfax runners. I highly recomend the Otter line of houses. Best tubs in the market and high quality. There are cheaper houses but you get what you pay for when it comes to ice houses.

[fisherking01]

You can pull them rather than push them, depends upon how tough you are as to how far you wish to go. little snow goes for easy pulling if you have traction. The more gear the harder to pull... I've taken some half mile to one mile hikes with my fishtrap loaded down, I've also fished a lot closer to an access if it's tough going. The portables are great for trekking in to secluded spots, once you get outfitted, you'll soon learn your limits!!

[Iambjm]

 Originally Posted By: fishoff

I was looking at the Otter 2 a three man fish house.

I already know I like fishing and I darn sure not going to sit home all winter. I am going to try and get the good stuff first go around so I don't have to rebuy. I am a buy it used type of dude for big purchases cause I ain't mister rich guy. I will be movong to the Virginia Area. My list is getting a lot bigger.

Are those fish houses easy to push? like into the canoe wilderness area just not from parking lot onto lake?

Is it possible to push them a mile or two in the snow?

I have an OtterII two man and it is darn heavy around 80-100 pounds, add all your gear and you could be looking at pulling 120-160 pounds. If there is a small amount of snow it is doable, but anything over 6 inches and let me tell ya it is work. Before I got my 4 wheeler I was just pulling just a plain 5 foot long sled with my gear and there was at least 8" of snow on the ice and it was darn tough. Of course I am a 61 year old woman, but who wants to be exhausted before you even get to the lake.

[H two O]

May already know this, but a milk crate to carry propane tank in makes it much easier...also don't have to worry about it rolling around in back of truck or in the sled. JMO

[talltines]

Fishoff, if you ain't walked on ice like it sounds you ain't dude you might want to first look into a good set of cleats. It don't take much if ya ain't used to it to slip and bust up your tail bone good. All else is trivial if you ain't able to get out of bed!!****VEXILAR******

[zamboni]

Yeah, my first season, I bought a used Clam 5600 I found on the internet somewhere, a ton of tackle, tackle bag, and only 2 rods/reels. I accumulated a ton of stuff as the season went on, stuff I couldn't "live" without. We were using my dads auger, but at the end of the season I bought a 4 stroke $100 off. This year I sprung and got myself a MarCum, and I don't know how I fished before without one. Those who don't own one, DO NOT KNOCK IT, til you try it. I have since sold my 5600, and bought a Clam Fishtrap Scout, and when I need an actual house- we use my dads Mankato tent and awning. It is alot bigger than my 5600 anyway. But stuff a little at a time, before you know it, the next season will be here and you will be prepared. Oh yeah, I am up to 5 combos now, and am going to get a Thorne Bros this summer.

[Jim Almquist]

To start ice fishing for the first time or two you will want to keep it simply. Your list is pretty close but what I have found that works real well at keeping me warm when fishing outside is to put a single mantle Coleman lantern in a bucket and fish over it now you have a heat source to keep your hands and body warm. Buy a plastic sled that can carry your gear on the ice unless you have already decide on a pull-over type house. The gas auger and a depthfinder are very key if you want to become a good ice fisherman with and have some success. When you decide what fish you want to chase first ask here and we should be able to give you some good recommendations on the type of presentations that will work best and if you know what lake all the better.

[tisosy11]

Portable Fishing and extras...

Flip Over style ice house

Snow Shovel to bank house

4-wheeler to pull (w/ plow)

LED Lights for portable

Headlight for setting up/taking down

Speakers/Ipod for portable

Heater/Cooker for heating and cooking

Propoane

Ice Armor suit to explore lake

Good pair of boots

Ice Cleats

Ice Armor waterproof gloves

Couple Spare pair of gloves

Winter Hat

Showdown and Charger

Aqua View

Gas Auger to drill numerous holes

Bait and Bucket

Pail for Caught fish/cleanup

Scoop to clean out holes

Rod Locker

Numerous Combos (i bring 6)

Rod Holders/Mounts

Tipup Bag and Tip Ups (i bring 6)

A couple rattle reels

Digital Camera

Cell Phone

Towel/Napkins for Clean-up

Table/filet knife

Fire pit

food

refreshments

Football

I am sure there are other things but of course this isn't neccassary to ice fish.

Get through the ice and be warm and you are fishing...