I would like to learn how to ice fish. How do I start?

[DDSBYDAY]

    This thread is a starting place for all of you that have often wondered what ice fishing would be like.  For some people winter is a long period of wasted time. A time where the days are short and the cold is miserable.  To others it is a time where the cold is secondary to the fun and anticipation of a good day on the ice.  I was fortunate to have a father that taught me how to fish through the ice.  I realize that not everone is as lucky.  If I see an interest by hits on this forum I will walk you through the very basics of ice fishing.  You by following this thread will be able to go out and at least have a chance to catch a fish through the ice.  When fishing,there is no promise of success.  What we want is to put the odds slightly in our favor.  That is what this thread is for.  This will be as simple and basic as possible.  I will walk you through the very basic items you will need.  Anyone can do this.  You will shortly find out that winter goes by to fast.  I look forward to having you along.  Lesson one starts Monday.

[Go Big Red!]

Looking forward to reading it!

And the season is getting closer!!!!

[DDSBYDAY]

    I have received some questions about this so I want to clear up a few things.  This will be an online tutorial.  We are going to start assuming there has been no previous experience ice fishing.  It is an attempt to get others involved that have wanted to ice fish and don't know where to start.  I will be assuming everyone is broke so only the bare necessities will be needed.   If we get enough interest we could do a demo on the ice where any member  with a fishing lic. could come out and try their hand at ice fishing.(if you have not signed up as a member of MNO please do so you can ask questions).  It will be a while for that because I only saw a skim of ice on a shallow pond today.

      Let me get this out of the way because everyone needs to know Ice is never 100 % safe.  If you choose to like I do, to walk, drive, on the ice you must be careful.

      Monday we will talk about the items you will need to bring with you on your first trip to the lake.    For now use the lake finder link at the top of this forum and do a little research on the lake you are planning on fishing.   When you choose the lake you can see a structure map and what type of fish and general sizes  that are available to catch.

[DDSBYDAY]

   Lets get started.    How can I ice fish without spending a bunch of money?

            First lets think about the things we need to have a chance to catch fish through the ice.   A. Fishing license if over 16 years of age.  Kids you are good to go.

             1.  You need to dress for the weather.  If you have proper boots and warm clothes you can easily fish outside comfortably.  You do not need a shelter to have a fun day on the lake.
             2.  You do need a way to haul your gear out on the lake.  There are expensive sleds specifically for this but we are going to use a plastic kids tub sled.  I used these for years and you can easily get your stuff on the lake.  You want one about 5 ft long with about 3-4 inch sides on it so your stuff doesn't slip off.
             3.  You need  a way to make a hole.   There are  a couple of ways to do this.  The first 2 ways work just fine and they are relatively cheep.  You have the ice chisel and the hand auger.  If you get a chisel be sure it has a wrist rope attached.  Place it over your wrist and spin it a couple of times so that it is tight.  There is not to many feelings worse than breaking through the ice and having your ice chisel go to the bottom of the lake like a spear.  The hand auger can be purchased new for about 35$ at fleet farm.  They cut nice and with sharp blades are fairly effortless if the ice is less than 8 inches thick.  Once the ice gets thicker than that you start to get a workout.  Remember ice fishing is the only time in Minnesota where you get to use two lines.  So you will be wanting to drill 2 holes per person.
          The third way to drill the hole is the gas auger.  Very quick and easy.  You would be looking at over 200$ for a used one so hold off on this until you decide whether ice fishing is for you.
           4.  You will need an ice rod.  You can ice fish without a rod it is called handlining.  You can also get ice rods without reels that you bring the line up hand over hand.  My favorite ice stick for panfish is one of these.  I will go into this in more detail later.  Most stores have ice rod and reel set ups.  These are nice and you can get a decent one for probably 30-35 bucks.  If you have summer fishing reels you can use electricians tape to tape the reel onto a plain ice stick.  I still do this all the time.  For right now lets target panfish.  Sunfish, crappie, and perch.
           5.  Fishing line.  Go light.  For pannies stick to approx. 2lb. test.  Flourocarbon is expensive but it is almost invisible under water.  Don't assume you need to spend huge $ on fishing line.  You also don't need a lot.  For panfish 50ft of line should be more than enough.
           6. You need a depthfinder.  Not a electronic one but a lead one with a clip on it.  You attach it to your line above the hook and drop it to the bottom.  You will want to make a note of this exact depth.  I will go into more detail about each of these steps later.  I just want to get you started.
           7.Ice scoop- one of the most common forgotten items when you go out.  You have to be able to clean ice chunks out of the hole and keep the hole open if it is really cold.  Never take this item out of your sled.  You need it.
           8.  Bait and terminal tackle  (hooks, sinkers)and something to help indicate a bite.--Bobber, slip bobber or a spring bobber.  Again Each of these will be covered in more detail.
           9.  Towel and a couple of plastic bags.
           10. A 5 gallon bucket.  You can put your stuff in it and when you get on the ice you will use it as a chair or seat.
          11.  Etiquette(sp?) This is the most important one of all.  You will be suprised how nice ice fishermen are and how they are willing to help out if you follow some simple rules. When you are fishing there is no reason to anger others around you.  Many seasoned ice fishermen lack this and can ruin a day on the ice for many people.  One very simple rule is pick up your trash.  Leave the ice like you found it.  The plastic bags are for any trash you have.  We will talk about this in detail.

     This ends lesson #1 for begining ice fishing.  Lesson 2 will be Wed eve.  Please feel free to ask any questions you may have before that time.  I would like you to sign up here and post your questions here just because others may have the same ones.

            As we get into more detail pics will be added of the different items needed.

[Go Big Red!]

Great stuff DD!!!!  I wish I would have had this list years ago when I started.   

[fishguy21]

Very nice post! I like the way you made it very basic to start w/o a lot of cost. Start basic and add more later when you know what you are doing.

[lhprop1]

  Lets get started.    How can I ice fish without spending a bunch of money?

                     2.  You do need a way to haul your gear out on the lake.  There are expensive sleds specifically for this but we are going to use a plastic kids tub sled.  I used these for years and you can easily get your stuff on the lake.  You want one about 5 ft long with about 3-4 inch sides on it so your stuff doesn't slip off.

If you're looking for the bare essentials, you can get by without a sled.  In my younger, poorer days, I used to have a hand auger, a backpack and two 5 gallon buckets.  You can put your bait in one bucket, your rods in the other, and then put one bucket on each end of the auger.  With the buckets attached to the ends of the auger, simply put it across your shoulders and carry it as a yoke.  

It's cheaper, requires you to carry less gear, is surprisingly light and easy to carry, and you don't have a sled that will get weighted down in heavy snow.

[DDSBYDAY]

       Thats a great tip.  I think those 5 gallon buckets are one of the must haves.

              Everyone new to ice fishing needs to go to the ice fishing safety thread posted by corny13.  Watch the video.  This stuff does happen.  I personally always wear my floatation belt on the ice and have my ice picks around my neck.  Ice picks can easily be made and could save your life in an emergency.  That being said keep the tips coming.  The temp is dropping so we need to get through the fundamentals before there is fishable ice.  Tomorrow we start breaking down into detail some of the things discussed in lesson one.

[DDSBYDAY]

                                  Session 2

   Fishing License-   If you bought one sometime in 2010 it is good until Feb 28 of 2011.
                            If you did not buy one and are 16 years old or older you will need to.  Even if you buy it now it expires Feb.  28th of 2011.
                            Any place that sells fishing licenses will have free DNR Regulation booklets.  Get one and read it.  Many lakes have special regs and not knowing you are breaking the law will not get you out of a ticket.

       Do not fish without the lic. on your person.  The lic.fees are important in maintaining our fishery as do your tickets for violating laws.  Don't risk it.

   Clothing-  Boots-  Cold feet will be a good way to ruin your day on the ice.  You want to be sure the inside or liners on your boots are dry before you go out.  I personally like boots with liners so I can pull them and dry them after a day on the ice.  Even if its cold your feet will sweat and if the liners are damp your feet will get cold fast.  One tip--  You probably have seen those disposable hand warmers.   I get mine at Fleet farm by the case.  If the feet get cold I will drop one in the toe of each boot and I can't explain the warm fuzzy feeling you get when the heat starts warming your toes up.

   Hat -  You have to have one if you want to be comfortable.  You will loose a large amount of body heat though your head if you don't have a lid on it.  I got a coonskin trappers hat from Wildlifeminnesota last year.  I wish I would have gotten one sooner.  I would suggest something that has ear flaps on it.  Wind on the ice can chill you down pretty fast. 

   Jacket- I would suggest layers- I like a hooded sweat shirt on the bottom.  You would be suprised how many times if it is sunny with no wind you will be overdressed.  Peel layers off as needed.  For an outer shell you want high collars to help keep the wind off your neck.  Waterproof shells are also important. 

   Pants  You will spend a lot of your time on your knees.  That is why you will see most of the high tech ice armour suits have reinforced knees.  Often you will be kneeling in water so if you are going out with jeans or cloth snow pants you can bring a kneeling pad out with you. Just a piece of foam rubber is all you need. It will keep you out of the water and help so you don't have bruises on your knees the next day.
   
   Gloves- I like mittens.  They are easier to pull of and again you can throw a diposable hand warmer in each one to keep your hands warm.  They are clumsier than gloves but I prefer to fish outside when I can and if it's cold out Mittens can't be beat.           One tip===  Never and I mean never take and try to wipe the ice off you auger blades with your bare hand or even gloves.  Those blades will cut through layered leather like it was butter. (I won't tell you how I know this.    )     Imagine what it can do to skin.  If you can't get the protective cover on the auger because of ice build up leave it off.  Bring it inside and let it melt when you get home.  Much easier than having your fingers reattached.    One of our guys that goes by the name GENERAL has a string that connects his mittens together.  He runs the string up one sleeve and out the other.  When I was a kid we called them dummy mittens

      I think we close this lesson out here.  There is still no ice on the small pond by my office so we still have a little time.  I will be going into detail on ice drilling, and rod selection next Monday.  I need  to take some pics because from here on in we will be talking about what to do when we actually are on the ice.  If you haven't seen the ice safety vid on the other thread please check it out.  We will be posting other safety tips there.  This thread will be learning to ice fish.    Please feel free to ask questions anytime.  Here or at my personal email.  You have to be a member of the site to post questions on the forum.  Don't run out and buy anything yet.  I have some things you will need to watch out for.  We will get to some of them next week.

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[pickelfarmer]

Now this is some good info here. All except the Coon Skin?? Kind of wondering how that one comes into play???  Thanks for putting up this basic one on one "How To" DDSBYDAY..

[MTCOMMER]

Now this is some good info here. All except the Coon Skin?? Kind of wondering how that one comes into play???  Thanks for putting up this basic one on one "How To" DDSBYDAY..

I fellow MNO member, Wildlifeminnesota, makes different things from Fur - hats, Muk-luks, etc. and has a store in Perham where he sells them.  Last year he made a pair of Muk-Luks for Babe Winkleman (he was giving them to his wife) and DDSBYDAY was lucky enough to get a hat last year during an MNO Ice Fishing get together on Minnewaska -- Thats the story in a nutshell.     The hats are very warm! 
WildlifeMN hasnt been around for a while - hopefully he pokes his head back in for Ice Fishing.

[DDSBYDAY]

      That's a great question about the basics.  It pretty much is the same is do I need a shelter?  No.  Do I need a gas auger?  No.  Do I need a vex or a marcum?  No.  Do I need a coonskin?  No.    If Santa should bring  me one--- --dog gone these are awesome!!

[DDSBYDAY]

                              Lesson # 3

         Well we have our warm clothes and 4 inches of ice on the Lake.  We have reviewed the ice safety thread and are ready to hit the ice.  (We haven't selected a rod yet but that comes Wed).   We load our gear in our sled or 5 gallon buckets and start walking out.  How do we know if we truely have 4 inches of ice?

       Ice chisel- a very heavy spear like metal object with a sharp end.  (Do not forget the rope tied on the end or handle).    See pic 1.  There are 2 ice chisels.  One on each side of the hand auger.

     The ice chisel is great for early ice and opening holes that have frozen over.   You can easily punch a hole with these with early ice.  I primarily use it as a depth checker when I am going out for the first time.   Every ten yards or 10 steps depending on ice thickness you drive it into the ice hard.  If water comes up you back up slowly and get the heck off the ice. 

      If you get out to where you want to go and the ice seems plenty thick you start banging away.  Start with a bigger hole than you want.  As you chisel the hole will get smaller at the bottom.  Be sure to have that wrist rope or strap tight.  If not it will pull your glove off and head to the bottom or the lake.

      Hand auger-  If the blade are sharp ice up to about 8 inches is really not a problem even for an old guy such as myself.  Much easier than using the chisel.  However you can not use it to check the thickness of the ice as quickly.  If the blades are dull forget it.  The blades on these can be taken off and resharpened.  If you are handy you may be able to do it yourself. 

     Summary       Ice chisel vs. Hand auger

    Chisel           1.   Great for checking ice thickness when you go out for the first time.
                        2.   Punches a hole in 4 inches of ice relativley easily.
                        3.   Great for re opening  holes that have frozen over.
                        4.   Easy to loose through the hole if no wrist tie used.
                        5.   Easy to forget on the ice.  Put it in the sled when you are done with it.

    Hand auger
           
                         1.  Great for cutting holes in ice up to 8 inches.
                         2.   Less effort than a chisel.
                         3.   If you are young and in good shape you can cut holes as deep as needed.
                         4.   All you would need if not checking for thin ice on the way out.
                         5.   Not good for re opening holes.

              If I had to chose one I would hands down go with the hand auger.  This tutorial is based on starting out with as little expense as possible.  On Wednesday we will be putting our lines in the water.  We will be talking about rods, bait, tackle, and fishing rods.  In the mean time check out the ice rod challenge question.  It will be in another post in a few minutes.  The answer will be provided Wed.  There is a very specific answer and if someone answers it right they will win a prize.  You have to be a member of this site to post the answer so feel free to sign up.

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[DDSBYDAY]

                                   Lesson 4

    We have successfully got to where we want to go.  We did our research and made it to the spot we picked out from the depth map.  We punched a hole now what.

     
        1.  We need to know how deep the water is.  We are fishing blind.  Nothing wrong with that it is just a little harder.  It can be done. It can be done successfully.

        2.  We have our rod all set to go.  It is much easier to tie the plain hook or small jig on in the comfort of your home. 

        3. The next step is very important.  The depth finder is clipped on the line just above the hook and lowered down.  (if you clip it on to the hook it will be gone).  Once the depth finder is on the bottom we are in business.

        4.  Depending on the species we are going after we have to have an idea about the depth and location we are shooting for.  Perch and sunfish can usually be found around the last of the weed growth with early ice.   The crappies have moved out to the deeper basins and will be suspended.  (homework needs to be done here)

        5.  Let's assume we got lucky.  Our depth is roughly what we were were  shooting for.  If we reel up our line 6 inches from the bottom and don't get a bite we just go up another 6 inches.  We work the water column from the bottom to the top.

        6.  I am trying to keep this simple so I will end this lesson here.  Be sure to check out the ice rod question.  It might save you some frustration and money.   

        7.  When you purchase the depth finder make sure it has a good clip on it.  You want the teeth to close tight.  If you are going to get one, get one that works.  They only cost about a dollar but pick one up and look how the teeth close.  If you see light between the teeth you just wasted your dollar unless you tweek it yourself.  Remember, we are on a strick budget here.

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[DDSBYDAY]

                                     Lesson 5


          Time to start fishing.

      What to use for terminal tackle and bait?   (we are looking for panfish)

       1.  Plain hook (tiny) and a small spit shot sinker about 12 inches above the hook
             What is a tiny hook?-- size #10 or #12.  Some of my ice blades  go down to size 23.
       2.  Ice lure  (blade,ant or small jig)  Try to stick to 1/32oz. or less to start out with.
       3.  Ice lure and a small split shot sinker.
                Why the weight?
              We are fishing outside with no shelter so we will be fighting a couple of elements. 
                  A.  Wind.  Because of our light line and jig the wind can be a problem getting out lure down the hole.  We need enough weight so that we can drop out lure down and it will sink to the depth we want it easily.
                  B.  Hole freezing back up.   Ice will be constantly forming in our hole.  When it is really cold keeping the hole open is a challenge.  We need our lure to weigh enough that we can drop it on the skim ice and it will still sink.

      Bait
        1.  Wax worms (fly larva)
            -very effective for panfish.  They come packed in sawdust and are white.  Tip: if you put the container in your pocket it will open.  If you leave a pack in your glove box you will have a bunch of dead flies in the pack in the spring.
           -You can thread them on your hook or dangle them.  You can squish them once on your hook for added scent.
           -very easy to fish with and very effective.
       2.  Crappie minnows.  (little fatheads) 
           -They are called Crappie minnows for a reason-Crappies will eat waxies but if they are my target fish I will have both with me.
       3.  Eurolarva (colored maggots)
           -fancy name for colored maggots  (they feed them dye)
           -very effective but need to be dangled from the hook.
           -they have 2 dots on their head(I hope it's the head )  hook it there.  Between the 2 dots. 

             We are almost ready to fish.  Wed we hit the topic of strike indicators.  (Bobbers or Floats).  This is where I see the most common mistakes.  Youtube has many ice fishing videos.  Put in keyword such as  ice fishing, panfish, sunfish.  You can watch vids on how finiky the panfish get in the winter.  With a little luck and some good Ice I hope to post a couple here.

              I have not had any questions yet.  If you have any just send me an email.  (Sarmst1997@aol.com).  If you would be interested in coming out with a group of us for your first time let me know.  We have talked about putting it together but need to know if there is any interest.     Until Wed.  Pray for 

DISCLAIMER;  You can catch fish through the ice without live bait.  This is a beginners forum and I personally think live bait will give you your best chance at success.  We are going to save our $s for now.

         

[kcarder]

The thing about the maggots or Eurolarve was funny

-they have 2 dots on their head(I hope it's the head whistling)  hook it there.  Between the 2 dots. 

That is funny because it is actually not their head.  It is their back side.  But what is funny about that is that is they breathe from that end.  I suppose if you ate what maggots eat you would wanna breathe out of your back side as well.

[DuaneW]

Am I missing something I don"t get any more lessons

[DDSBYDAY]

Am I missing something I don"t get any more lessons

     Thank you for your interest.  I started to think I was wasting my time.  Class starts up again tomorrow.        

[DDSBYDAY]

  We are back in session.  I was going to talk about strike indicators but I am going to talk about terminal tackle.  One thing you need to be able to do is tie your line to your hook.  You can not just tie an overhand knot with fishing line.  It will not hold.  There is a great thread in the freshwater forum about fishing knots.                                                                                                                                                                   http://www.animatedknots.com/indexfishing.php?LogoImage=LogoGrog.jpg   
                                                                     
 Practice at home using yarn, dental floss, or any string you can find.  It does no good to go through all the effort only to finally catch a fish and lose it because your knot was no good. 

         Question of the week.  How do I know if a fish broke my line or the knot came undone?

   My vision isn't what it used to be.  Every once in a while I will not be sure if I threaded the last loop on my knot.  After learning the hard way if I have any doubt about the knot I cut it off and tie again. 

      Our quest was to fish panfish.  We are using 2 lb. test line and are fishing outside.   Today we are after sunfish.  We have located an area close or in a weed bed.  Weeds die off in the winter so if we can find some green weeds we could find some sunnies and perch.  What should we use?  I find fish are more active under early and late ice.  We are past the early ice stage so I am going to go small.  Little ice blades,  or ants  tipped with our waxworms or maggots.  Start about 6 inches off the bottom.  Keep it jiggling.  Put a couple of waxies on there and squish the last one.  We want gunk falling off our hook as we jiggle it.  I will again refer you to ice fishing video on youtube. These fish need to be enticed to take an easy meal.  They are lethargic.  The water is cold and they are feeding on microscopic organisms.  Thats why I like my jig small. 

      To be ready for next week- google slip bobber rig.  This is a must have technique if you will be using a reel on your ice rod.  It consists of a sliding string knot, a bead and a bobber with a hollow tube.  It allows you to reel up your fish all the way to your rod tip.  If you don't have a sliding bobber  your reel is pretty much useless .

                  Homework

   Learn to tie a proper Fishing knot
   Research slip bobber rig
   Ask any questions you may have up to this point.
   Take a chance at answering the question of the week.
If you are a new member with ten posts enter the new member lure give away drawing.

[DDSBYDAY]

    Todays topic is bobbers or floats.  I don't use them much during the winter.  If you are going to use a reel ice fishing you will need to use a slip bobber.  That is a rig involving a knot or string set at the depth you are fishing at.  A bead that will stop your float from rising above your set depth. A float that will easily slide down to your hook but can not go above your knot.  When you catch a fish the knot winds up on the spool of your reel while the bobber and bead slide down to your hook allowing you to reel the fish all the way up.  The biggest mistake I see beginning ice fishermen make is using too big of a bobber.  In the old days you did not set the hook until the fish pulled your over sized  float under the ice.  Not only were the bobbers too big the skim ice that forms around the bobber in minutes fishing outside when it is cold offered enough resistance for the fish to drop the lure immediately on the first tug.

     If you are going to use a bobber with a reel it should be weighted with spit shot so that is barely stays above the water.  When your hole is freezing over foam floats are nice because you can give them a squeeze to break the ice off of them.   You will have to have a slip bobber if you want to reel the fish up. 

     Or go with a spring bobber.  This is my preferred method for panfish fishing outside.  I shot a video with clip on recorder last Sat.  I posted it on youtube.  Please excuse the photography.  I clipped this little camera on my collar and had know idea what I was capturing until after.  The time stamp in the lower right corner is wrong.  I did not know how to set it.  This was fishing with a jiggle stick(hand over hand primitive fishing) on a metro lake.  If the posting of the vid works pay attention to the action of the spring bobber.  Please feel free to ask any questions here or by pm.  If you are not a member just sign up.  We would be happy for you to join us.




     

[Go Big Red!]

Am I missing something I don"t get any more lessons

     Thank you for your interest.  I started to think I was wasting my time.  Class starts up again tomorrow.        

A waste of time?  I 'm calling    on that one.  I think they're great to read up on.  Even a seasoned ice fisherman can use a refresher.  Keep it up!!!!!!   

[DDSBYDAY]

     We are having a get together Sat.Feb 5th at Clearwater lake in Annandale.  If you would like to attend just sign up.  We can get you started.  If you can't make it but would like to go to a place closer to Mpls. sign up.  The best way to learn is to be there.  I assure you will be welcomed.  I can't be missed.  I will have the coonskin hat on.  The only reason we need you to sign up is that we plan on making sure you get  a grilled on the ice hot meal.  Hope to see you there.   Sign up on the MNO 2011 get together thread.   

[mahmoodmahi]

You should make this an article and put in the archives, that way those who may be looking for information can find it years later. Good job, this is a lot more informative and useful and than anything on begginer ice fishing I have ever seen

[DDSBYDAY]

   Thanks for the feedback.  I did not realize how hard it was to explain this.  It is so much easier to show than explain.  If anyone is following this thread and would like to know more please sign up and send me an personal message.  If you could get to the get together you will learn more in an hour than all the books you could read.  Please join us if you can.  If you can't make it because of the location sign up and we still have time to put one closer to the cities together.   My email is sarmst1997@aol.com     When you are ready contact me and we will get you catching fish  through the ice.

[DDSBYDAY]

      Time for a little secret if you want to learn to ice fish.  Somewhere around the middle of March the sun is high in the sky and the temp stays at or above freezing at night .   You can ice fish without drilling a single hole.  As soon as the night time temps stay above freezing the holes drilled by others no longer freeze over.   The ice will start to darken.  As the ice shrinks from shore the panfish will start to move into the shallows.  You need your lic. but you don't need an auger.  You must be careful when you go out because a simple leaf will pick up enough heat from the sun to weaken the ice.  The nice thing about late ice is you really don't have to fish in water over 5ft.  Find a shallow bay.  The best time for learning to ice fish will be here in a couple of weeks.  Sunfish will be on fire.  As always you have to be careful when you are on ice because it is never 100% safe.  Stay tuned because we are going from a neutral bite to a hot bite.