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Jan
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Dec
Here is some tips on Ice Fishing Etiquette which will help improve the Ice Fishing Experience..
1: Pick up your trash - Simple one, but we all hate to see a load of left fishing line and cans of beer left behind. Leaving your crap shows a lack of respect for the environment and disregard for other ice fisherman etc.
2: Parking up next to another fisherman - Now this rule depends on a few factors. If your the sort of person that likes to take the time to greet other guys fishing and ask if there catching and what’s working, Cool. Then there is no harm in asking politely if you can park up near to them. The wrong way is to say nothing and just start fishing right next to someone without any regard for the other guy who might want some solitude. Either way don’t go any nearer than 40 feet, that really is close enough, leave the guy room enough to take a wizz!!.
3. Noise - Again this is down to considering other guys fishing, having fun is fine but to much noise is annoying to anyone else nearby.
4. Drill your own holes - Before you take an existing augured hole just have a look round to make sure a guy isn’t drilling for a preferred depth, then going back to his favourite hole. He doesn’t want to find you fishing in a hole he wants to then use after drilling it.
Thu
29
Nov
Our Outdoors: ‘Twas the night before first ice
By Nick Simonson
‘Twas the night before first ice, and all through the lake,
Not a fish had been stirring, not even a splake.
The buckets were filled with my rods and my tackle,
In hopes that the perch would like jigs trimmed with hackle.
The tip-ups were strung with nylon and leaders,
To deal with the teeth of big predator feeders.
The minnows were purchased and set on the steps,
The Vexilar charged to read various depths.
When out under the ice there arose such a clatter,
I sprang into my coveralls to assess the matter.
In the dark to the pickup I flew like a flash,
And drove to the station to fill the auger with gas.
The full moon on the breast of the new-frozen water,
Meant the ice-season action could not get much hotter.
Alone toward the lake I started to steer,
Soon the roar of the auger was all I could hear.
Setting tip-ups and jigging on the ice all around,
Searching for fish like a veteran bloodhound.
More rapid than lightning to my baits they came,
I hooted and hollered and called them by name.
Now, NORTHERN, now WALLEYE, now BLUEGILL and CRAPPIE!
Come, RAINBOW and YELLOW PERCH and you don’t have to stop-pie!
To the treble of tip-up, to the jig or the spoon!
Now bite good and hard and I’ll be here past noon!
The excitement, the passion, the fins and the tails,
Impossible to measure with rulers and scales.
The colors of fishes of varying size,
The wonder of nature that lit up my eyes.
And then, in an instant, I set the hook hard,
I looked down and saw her - she must measure a yard!
In gold and silver and tipped with white,
She promised to battle me into the night.
Rolling and twisting with her strength she did brag,
As from my reel she pulled on the drag.
I cranked and it squealed as her head neared the hole,
Grabbing her quickly, I achieved my goal.
Her eyes - twinkling silver, her gills how they flared,
Sharp curved white teeth, her pointy mouth bared.
I unhooked the spoon with a twist of my plier,
And gazed at a walleye anyone would admire.
Better suited she was for story than plate,
Watching her swim away, I had to feel great.
To let free such a whopper to catch one day again,
Is a thing that is done by the greatest sportsmen.
In the picture I took she was preserved for all,
And the photo was enough for me to hang on the wall.
The sun was then setting, and the day felt complete,
To the truck I went packing with snow at my feet.
Though cold all around and night beginning to fall,
I was warmed with a memory that could top them all.
As I drove away, the lake leaving my sight,
I thought long and hard of that day and that night.
And the next time I’m bothered with everyday chores,
I’ll just remember this time, spent in…our outdoors.
Thu
29
Nov
Blonde Ice Fishing
A blonde wanted to go ice fishing, so after getting all of the right tools, she headed toward the nearest frozen lake. After getting comfy on her stool she started to cut a circular hole in the ice. Then from the heavens a voice boomed, ”THERE ARE NO FISH UNDER THE ICE.” Startled, the blonde moved further down the ice, poured a thermos of hot chocolate and started to cut yet another hole in the ice. The voice boomed, ”THERE ARE NO FISH UNDER THE ICE.” This time quite scared, the blonde moved to the far end of the ice. Then she started another hole and once again the voice said, ”THERE ARE NO FISH UNDER THE ICE.” The very scared blonde raised her head and said, ”Is that you, Lord?” The voice answered, ”NO. IT IS THE MANAGER OF THE ICE RINK.”
Ice fishing Boy
It was a cold winter day. An old man walked out onto a frozen lake, cut a hole in the ice, dropped in his fishing line, and waited patiently for a bite. He was there for almost an hour, without even a nibble, when a young boy walked out onto the ice, cut a hole in the ice next to him. The young boy dropped his fishing line and minutes later he hooked a Largemouth Bass. The old man couldn’t believe his eyes but chalked it up to plain luck. But, shortly thereafter, the young boy pulled in another large catch. The young boy kept catching fish after fish. Finally, the old man couldn’t take it any longer. “Son, I’ve been here for over an hour without even a nibble. You’ve been here only a few minutes and have caught a half dozen fish! How do you do it?” The boy responded, “Roo raf roo reep ra rums rrarm.” “What was that?” the old man asked. Again the boy responded, “Roo raf roo reep ra rums rarrm.” “Look,” said the old man, “I can’t understand a word you’re saying.” The boy spit the bait into his hand and said… “You have to keep the worms warm!” (DOH!)
Minus 30 degrees
In January 1994, at the Lake Como Fish and Game Club near Syracuse, N.Y., Brian Carr beat out three dozen competitors in the annual ice-fishing derby, with 155 catches. The temperature that day was minus 30, and the prize money for the top three anglers was $8, $6.50, and $5.
Trolling
Two morons were ice fishing and not having much luck. Pretty soon a guy went by on a snow mobile and he had a whole bucket of fish on the back. One moron says to the other one “That’s why were not catching anything ,we’re not trolling!”
Love V Fishing
Why fishing is better than making love:
* When you go fishing and you catch something, that’s good.
If you’re making love and you catch something, that’s bad.
* Fish don’t compare you to other fishermen neither.
And don’t want to know how many other fish you caught.
* In fishing you lie about the one that got away.
In loving you lie about the one you caught.
* You can catch and release a fish, you don’t have to lie, and promise to
still be friends after you let it go.
* You don’t necessarily have to change your line to keep catching fish.
* You can catch a fish on a 20-cent frozen squid.
If you want to catch a woman you’re talking dinner and a movie minimum.
* Fish don’t mind if you fall asleep in the middle of fishing.
Thu
29
Nov
Catching Perch with the right gear can be a pleasure. Nothing like a days ice fishing when everything comes easy and the fish almost hook themselves. But alas not all days are like this and when times become more difficult here are a few tips to catch this exciting fish.
Make the fish take an impulsive snap at your bait.
So you know where the Perch are, you have a hole in the ice and now you have to attract and hook them but they are being stubborn. When the perch are in this mood you have to think “Mr perch if you don’t want to feed then I want to piss you off”.
What does this mean, well basically you have to use your lure as an agitant. Perch really like things that move so you really have to work those lures in many different ways to make the fish want to sink their teeth into it. A lure needs to be erratic in its movement so a Perch takes that impulsive snap. Worry less about making you lure look like a small fish but instead do really moves to really get a fishes attention and even annoy them.
Don’t stay stactic
Sometimes Ice fishing for perch comes in runs where you take a few fish for a while then things go quite. What do you do? Do you stay in your current position hoping for things to pick up or do you move. If you decide to move well how far or where to.
Well this technique works for me when fishing becomes slow. I either move to a completely new area or I just leave the fishing for an hour and go and have a coffee in my tent tehn come back later. I think drilling more holes in the same area again and again is often a waste of time and effort so I go for the easy route. Keep it simple!!!!
It all about vision
Kamikaze perch will sometimes rise 15 feet to hit a descending lure. Perch can see a long way, especially in the clear water of winter. Use this to your advantage the next time they get stubborn. Reel your lure up to the hole, and on a slack line, drop it back down again. Let it fall all the way to the bottom. This will usually get their attention – causing them to swim from great distances to see what’s up. Take the lure away from them again, back to the surface, and repeat the process.
Pay close attention to your flasher or underwater camera. If you notice a fish that is rising to meet the lure, hit the brakes about a foot above it, and start slowly pumping and swimming the lure upward. The aggressor will usually follow and strike. If you see the reverse happening — a fish following the lure down after the lure passes it on the drop, let it sit on the bottom until the fish gets there. You’ll be amazed how many will slurp it off the bottom. Now look who the sucker is!
Stimulating the instinct
Regardless of which tactics you choose, most perch fishing situations require one additional motion mixed in. Actually, it’s no motion! From aggressively jigging a spoon to the subtle strokes you use to swim an ice fly, an opportunity for consumption must be offered. “Napping” (pausing) the lure provides that opportunity by stimulating the predator instincts of perch, and it will usually entice them to gobble up the offering. The key is to vary the length of the pause until you determine the most effective time frame. Usually, this will correlate with the aggressiveness of the perch. Pause lengths may vary from 2 or 3 seconds to a minute depending on the mood of the fish. The more sluggish they are, the longer the pause. When it comes to perch, sometimes the right move for success is no move at all.
Not only are these effective techniques that will put more perch on the ice, they also have a tendency to put a smile on the face of both the youth and the adults in your angling party. Kids can simply be themselves and be successful perch anglers. For the adults it’s an easy rule of thumb to remember: Stop acting your age and start kidding around
Mon
23
Jul
What is Ice fishing?
The basics of Ice fishing is finding an iced up body of water that contains fish. If the ice is thick enough to support you and your tackles weight then just drill a decent size hole and drop a hook and line with a bait or maybe a lure and your Ice fishing.
Of course you might of guessed like everything in life, if you want to become good add it, experience and knowledge make a big difference.
So lets get the very basic questions answered of whats required to get started.
Tackle
This website contains other sections about tackle with alot more details but first things first, you need some basic fishing tackle. Again if your new to Ice fishing you don’t need to spend a fortune and some good basic kit.
An ice fishing rod and reel does not need to be long, about 2 ft is a standard size. A basic rod and reel costs just a few dollars.
Ice fishing line is manufactured and designed especially for extreme conditions like Ice fishing and is probably a good idea to get this type of monofilament.
Bait
Most ice fisherman either use bait on hooks or jigs and lures.
The picture to the left shows a typical jig, which is designed to be reeled in and move in the water to imitate a fish in distress etc..
Making a Hole
To get access to the fish a whole must be made to drop your line into.
To drill a hole through ice most anglers need to use a tool called an auger which makes your hole in the ice.
The auger is best desribed as a giast screw with a blade that pentetrates the ice after rotating a number of times.