Years of gear

[Eric Wettschreck]

I was chatting with some buddies the other day about our fishing adventures, and it got me taking a small trip down memory lane and asking myself a few questions.

Who out there remembers being dressed like a Musk Ox dressed in wool, working a good hour to chip a hole through 2 feet of ice with a spud bar, and fishing with line tied to a twig? I sure do. Who out there remembers having to wade waist deep into the lake with nothing but a cane pole and nightcrawlers in their pocket? I do.

This makes me think, over the years and all the gear, what ONE piece of gear has actually made you a better fisherman??? I'll start......

Ice fishing- Gas ice auger!!!! We all know quality ice fishing is all about mobility. As a younger lad I was happy to break through the ice with the spud bar so I could actually fish. This process stopped me from being anything close to mobile. With the trusty Strikemaster Mag 2000 I can drill a couple hundred holes if I want to, with little to no effort. This makes me mobile and therefore I have the opportunity to catch more fish. Granted, Arctic Armor keeps me warm, flashers help me find fish faster, my Otter Cabin keeps me out of the wind, my nice rods and reels help me feel the "Bump" and hook-em.....but without a hole in the ice what good is any of the other stuff????

Open water- Electric trolling motor. Almost for the same reason as an auger, having this trolling motor on my boat let's me keep moving if I want to, or stay put if I want to. Also, If I want to get up into somewhere quiet I can. No need to idle down the 70 Johnson (When it runs ) and try to coast in quietly. The electric trolling motor lets me get pretty much anywhere I want to go.

I'm interested to hear what one thing has helped you guys, and why??

[Iambjm]

Locater, locater, locater! And by next ice season a Vex or Marcum. This season I got a used Otter, only set it up 3 out the maybe 100 times I went out, had to get a new SM 2000 as our old MagIII bit the dust. Bought us a Polaris 500x2 so I could get out on the ice. Now I can hardly afford bait! I do have a Scout fish camera I bought 2 years ago with my Christmas bonus (so far pretty useless for me), and a Hummingbird Fishing Buddy lcd locater (also pretty useless other than for depth).

Barb

[rowdyf]

Ice fishing: a vexilar

Open water: a boat

[McGurk]

The one Item that makes me an ice fisherman: an auger.

The one Item that makes me a better ice fisherman: a flasher.

[polarsusd81]

This is a great post Eric.

For me, what has improved my fishing the most is like you, probably the gas auger. When I was a kid, which was a lot less time ago than it was for you, I had an 8" Mora hand auger. I could drill a hole, but with people in the family not knowing the importance of sharp blades, they would just toss it in the corner, and I couldn't afford new blades everytime I went out. When I could afford to get one I went and picked up a gas auger. It was a mistake at the store that really got me a great deal. The guy at the store assembled a Mag 2000 head with a Lazer Mag 8" drill. I got the auger at the Mag price minus an additional discount as it was close to the end of the season and I haven't looked back since.

Soon after that, I was over at Thorne Bros looking at some gear and a guy went in looking to upgrade to a new flasher. I asked what he was doing with the old one and he said he was just going to keep it so a buddy could use it. Knowing that he was looking to shell out some dough on a new one, I offered him 100 bucks for the FL8-SLT and he said sure. That was probably the best 100 bucks I have ever spent. Using a flasher has taught me how to be more successful on the water. I can tell how a fish is reacting to my bait just by watching what they are doing on the Vex. You can tell what kind of bottom content you are on, if there are weeds down there, and more importantly, if the fish are down below your hole. If they aren't there, fire up the auger and go til you find em.

Another thing that has taught me a lot is the underwater camera. I have an AquaVU MC2x that I got from the same shop as the auger, and got a deal on that too. I generally set it up with a tri-pod on the bottom, pointing up a bit. I can usually see the bottom along with about 4-6 feet up depending on camera location. It works great, especially when you camo the cable with the Camera Cable Structure from LaDredge. Using the camera is a good way to really hone your skills as an angler through the ice. You can see all the subtle movements a fish will make in reaction to what you are doing to your jig. I have watched many fish come in on the camera and bite a bait, without moving a bobber, a spring bobber, or even being able to feel it on the line, when you have light biters, a camera can teach you a thing or two.

I have a protable shack, and heaters, and nice rod and reel combos, and warm gear, and everything I need to have a great day, but it is the auger and vexilar combo that really helped make me a better angler. I can promise that the combo will move a novice into a better class of fisherman in no time if they pay attention to what they are doing.

By the way, doesn't PBR make you a better fisherman?

[Sandmannd]

I would go GPS with chip both in the boat and in the hand for ice. Everything else that was mentioned as well. It's nice to be able to find depths and mark your good spots.

[walleyeslammer]

For the ice I would have to say my gas auger makes it more enjoyable, but the LX5 helps me catch more fish. In open water I am pretty old school and pitch a lot of jigs from shore so I guess I would say, warm waders help me the most in open water

[Eric Wettschreck]

 Originally Posted By: polarsusd81

By the way, doesn't PBR make you a better fisherman?

And they say there's no such thing as a stupid question.

[NCLaker]

vex/flasher - Don't waste as much time on dead holes.

[blackdog1101]

 Originally Posted By: polarsusd81

By the way, doesn't PBR make you a better fisherman?

Not really, but it does make the girls prettier.

[blackdog1101]

I don't have much history of ice fishing to work with as I've only been ice fishing for two seasons. But IMO a flasher is the greatest improvement over the "old" basics.

In open water, for those who fly fish, the new flyfishing lines are so vastly superior to the lines I used 25 years ago that it's a night & day difference. The new lines float better, are slipperier so they cast further, and are easier to maintain. If anyone is considering trying fly fishing, you can buy a decent rod & reel outfit for under $100, and it will work fine for you. But don't skimp on the fly line. Yes, it will set you back $50 or so, but it will make your fishing a lot more pleasant.

[fishinJohn]

I'm fairly new to ice fishing so every piece of gear has been helpful. However, I think the slip bobber is doing for me the most in open water. Some year it will be a boat but right now I will be sooooo greatful for traveling light when the ice clears.

[harvey lee]

I remember getting the green box Lowrance and thinking we had died and gone to heaven.

For ice fishing, going to a rod and reel over the old stick with the point one would jab into the ice and hand over hand the fish in.

Too many other items to even mention or the list would be a mile long.

[slipperybob]

I used to think that people who fish were crazy!!! Here I am, going crazy along with them. LOL's

I remember using the pop can or bottle with fishing line wound around it.

[RussC]

For me, buying my truck would have to be it. Before, I would have to plan ahead and hope I could borrow my dad's truck or hope one of my buds could come up with one. Now I go whenever I want to, wherever I want to. Not only that, I don't have to worry about how I'm going to explain to my parents how the truck got that scratch or ding hahaha

[mr_jman]

I love reading this post.... Being young i don't have the years like some of you... but I still love to use my dead sticks with two pegs and some line more than my rod and reels combos!

Anyways...

The most important piece of gear to me is the Vexilar. For so long I thought it was like cheating and me and my buddy swore them off, but I wouldn't fish without it! - I would also agree with a gas auger as I just bought a gas one this year.

I only have a car and I think I've been stuck about 10+ times this season at or getting to boat launches and accesses. One spot that had a guard rail put a nice dent along the side, and tore a hub cap off. SO A 4x4 TRUCK is something I hope to get sooner than later!

Along with everything else... I would add THIS SITE to the list! I think everyone would agree that they have learned something new or gotten help with a question while using this site! It may not be gear but it certainly is a valuable tool when it comes to fishing!

For summer fishing I need/want a boat SO BADLY to get me out on the lake!

[Jim Almquist]

I can remember going to Mille Lacs as a kid and chopping holes and fishing with with black braided line with a 10 pound mono leader a size 2 gold hook which was wrapped around a 1x4 with Vs cut into the ends and the good ole red and white bobbers-"Never set the hook till it quits running". My dads chisel was made by a blacksmith in the town of Mayer and the same gentleman made my dads spear. Even though it was well made it was still time consuming and was not really a run and gun but more like sit and wait. Then my dad got a auger made with a airplane landing gear motor and some 30 foot jumper cables and now we could really pop some holes. Chopping holes may be a good way to keep warm but it is not the best for chasing walleyes but I don't ever remember getting skunked. Thank goodness for gas augers otherwise ice fishing would not have such a strong following that it has today. I don't even think twice about drilling 50-100 holes with my Nils just to find some panfish. My vote would be the gas auger !

[irishwalleye]

Like I tell every single person I drill a hole for because they are using a hand auger, if it wasnt for the power auger, I wouldnt own a single piece of ice fishing equiptment.

My wife and dad like to tease me that I am not really out there to fish, I just like playing with the auger. (which is only partly true, I guess)

[MNcanepole]

I guess pretty much every thing mentioned, but I think my big thing was warmer clothes and boots. We didn't have anything like they have now. All I remember ice fishing and deer hunting with my dad when I was real young was FREEZING my butt off. What a differance today and over the last 20 years or so.

[H two O]

Gas auger, flip shack, and of course flasher.

Oh yeah, and WINDPROOF/WATERPROOF gear....awesome!

[tunrevir]

Kind of funny, I was thinking that the gas auger by far. I was pretty lucky as we had the swedish spoon type hand auger as well as a spud when growing up but I also used a straight clawed hammer and a hatchet to chop holes and of course spent the hour and a half per hole chopping them out with the spud when the holes froze shut. I was fortunate, that my dad had been ice fishing for a long time before I came along. We had jiggle sticks with line winders and rod stands built into them! He even had an old pflueger reel with the black dacron line on a 3' steel rod. We'd hang that on the wall of the fish house and wait for the clicker to go off. Kinda like a rattle reel. So with all of that being said, my vote goes to the gas auger. My dad also owned one of the first lowrance green box units but to me all it did was make alot of noise and put funny redlines on the screen. Man times have changed. I have a print that I'll try to post on this thread that kind of sums this up and reminds me of when I started ice fishing.

Tunrevir~

[tunrevir]

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg279/tunrevir/Icephoto.jpg

Hope this worked.

Tunrevir~

[polarsusd81]

Hey tun...

Just add after your image location and you get this.

If you hit the quote button, it will show you how the code is written. Unfortunately I wont be able to look at the photo until I get home cause my work blocked photobucket. I can't wait to see it though after reading your description of the old days for you as a kid.

[Sandmannd]

It's a way cool picture.

[Iambjm]

What an adorable picture!!! Another walk down memory lane.....corduroy pants lined with flannel....those black overshoes with the buckles on them.....plaid flannel shirts.......slipper socks......jammies with the feets on them.......hot oatmeal or malto meal with ovaltine in the morning......being so bundle up if ya fell down it took a half an hour to get up............ah, those were the days

Barb