Ice Tackle For Ice Fishing
My first ice fishing rod was very basic. It was a piece of wood dowel with an ice pick in the end to jab in the ice and two pegs that came out of the side to wrap fishing line on. The line was just a braided line with a piece of monofilament line at the last two feet. When you had a bite, you simply pulled the line in hand over hand. Ice tackle today can still be that simple, but there is really some nice tackle out their.
The basic ice tackle you need to ice fish is an ice drill or chisel, an ice skimmer, a fishing pole as simple as described above and good ice. Let’s take a closer look at these basics.
The first piece of ice tackle you need is some sort of ice drill or chisel unless you think the fish are hitting on the surface! The most basic way to cut the ice is with a chisel. This may work well for opening holes in thinner ice, but an auger or drill is required for thicker ice. If you get a hand auger, keep your blades sharp and you will be able to drill holes with ease. One drawback of the hand auger is in thicker ice, you may be kneeling down on the ice and cranking. If you like to move around or fish a lot, invest in a power auger. There are several major players, Eskimo, Jiffy and Strikemaster just to mention a few. Most of these are gas augers but electric models are also available. Don’t skimp, this is the piece of ice tackle that must operate for you to fish.
Second piece of ice tackle on the list is the ice skimmer. The ice skimmer is a must for cleaning the slush out of the hole. This is such a basic piece of ice tackle, but if you don’t have it with, it can be almost impossible to fish.
The third piece of ice tackle is the rod and reel. As mentioned earlier, it can be as simple as a rod to hold the line and pull the fish in hand over hand. This actually works well, especially if you are fishing outside and the line is freezing up. As for rods and reels, you can buy all types of rods, some lighter than others depending on what you are fishing for. My brother who is an avid fisherman usually has four or five rods rigged with different lines and hook sizes. Most ice fishing is for pan fish so a light jigging rod with light line is most common, you will need to beef it up for walleye and other game fish.
Those are the basic ice tackle requirements. You will definitely want to consider some other items of ice tackle to make your ice fishing experience more fun and productive.
An ice shelter is a must piece of ice tackle in cold weather. With just a small heater, you can fish all day in comfort while keeping you equipment from freezing up. Many of these ice shelters are based on a sled design, allowing you to load all your gear in the sled and pull it behind you.
Another nice piece of ice tackle to have is a depth finder. Just like in summer fishing, a depth finder will help you fish more efficiently. Many of these units can read through the ice. A GPS is also a nice luxury item, once you find the spot, record the coordinates and hang on to it.
If you haven’t been ice fishing before, get yourself some of the basic ice tackle and give it a try. In many areas, you can rent an ice shelter all set up and ready to go with all the ice tackle you need, even pre heated with the holes drilled! With the right ice tackle, you will love ice fishing.
Jeffrey Richard
http://www.articlesbase.com/sports-and-fitness-articles/ice-tackle-for-ice-fishing-688437.html
What tips do you have for streamlining fishing tackle?
I like fishing but all my tackle always ends up in a mess. What are good ways to make my tackle easy and quick to access and carry around when i’m fishing.
Uhm do you have a decent tackle box, one big enough to fit your essential tackle? I have a smaller tackle box that I take out on trips with me and then I have a huge tackle box that I use to store everything else. You wont be going for all kinds of fish all in one outing, due to what is in season and what you feel like going. So why bring tackle you wont be using? I also have a separate box for my larger lures and plugs, for when I go surf fishing, since I know they will be used only in the surf at certain times of the year.
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Fishing all my life
is that even possible? when you get that figured out, let me know. when l go bass fishing f’rinstance, l carry at least a half dozen rods rigged differently and the tackle to rig them all differently including but not limited to three sizes of plastic worms in 30 colors for each. and all the hard baits of course. then a rod or two for cats in case they’re biting and definitely a couple light spinning rods for trout or panfish.
it’s a good thing l don’t stop at the beach on my way home…
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I like the smaller divided plastic trays, Plano makes good ones and that is what I have. The lid fits tight to the dividers so even when turned upside down or shaken everything stays separate and organized. They make soft cases to put these trays in or a back pack or bucket will work as well. If I turned my big tackle box upside down it would be a real mess but the trays keep things organized. I have one just for ice fishing since I don’t need plugs for that. You could have one for worms, one for plugs, one for spinners etc. hope that helps.
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Good luck!!! Its hard to keep organized when you are busy fishing!! The best thing I could figure out was to use plastic tray dividers, cheap, but they have allot of slots to put various lures in. You just have to remember when you change up a lure, throw it back in the right box. They also make spinnerbait boxes, swimbait boxes etc. Then I just throw all the boxes in a tackle bag, dont like the boxes, the bag looks like a backpack with allot of compartments.
Look at it this way, there is always later to organize…..now its time to fish!
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