Soft water has disappeared across the northernmost climes of the Upper Midwest. Within weeks, maybe days, legions of outfitted ice anglers will start trekking onto the new, clear ice to enjoy early season winter ice fishing.
You can be relatively young and vividly recall the “old days” of ice fishing before Dave Genz ushered in a hard water revolution. Not long ago, jiggle sticks, five-gallon pails, and snowmobile suits dominated the scene at ice fishing contests. You’ll still see people decked out in such a manner, but growing numbers of ice anglers employ the combination of modern clothing, tackle, and electronics that have brought this sport into the 21st Century.
We’ve got a whole winter to talk tactics, so for this first ice fishing feature of 2008-09, let’s examine the gear I consider mandatory for an enjoyable and productive hard water season.
The Dave Genz way ultimately revolves around one concept:_mobility. Genz wanted to adapt open water techniques to ice fishing, and that started with having the ability to change locations quickly.
Moving frequently requires the right clothing. Moisture against your skin in freezing temperatures will at best make you miserable, so start with some polypropylene or other “moisture management” synthetic fiber-based underwear.
Then work your way out with multiple layers of clothing. Avoid cotton, which absorbs moisture and stick with fleece or wool. Both wick moisture away from your body and retain their insulating qualities when wet.
Then spend the money for an insulated, waterproof breathable shell. There are many brands on the market that will cut the wind, yet won’t hold moisture in when you’re working up a sled-hauling sweat.
Up top, I wear a baseball-style cap in tandem with a glorified neck gaiter called a Hot Noggin. It allows me to keep cold wind off my neck, and I can regulate it higher over my face or head, depending on conditions.
Boots really have come a long way in the past 20 years. When I was a kid, I struggled with cold feet when hunting or ice fishing. Now, thanks to 3M’s Thinsulate, there’s no excuse not to own an affordable pair of ultra-cold weather boots. I have a pair with 1,400 grams of Thinsulate, and -_combined with a pocket warmer that I throw in the toe – my feet almost get too hot.
That’s a good problem on a 10-below day. Some folks don’t need 1,200 to 1,400 grams of Thinsulate, but if you get cold toes like me, don’t ice fish without them. When you’re feet are cold, your whole body feels cold.
For the actual catching, we now have open water-style spinning combos that make fighting a fish much easier. The old jiggle sticks with two dowel prongs made setting depth and hauling in fish almost comical. (As a 4-year-old, I caught my first pike through the ice with a jiggle stick. My dad spent the next 30 minutes untangling me and the fish from all the line.)
For $50 you can buy a fine graphite rod and reel combo with incredible sensitivity, lightweight guides, a multi-ball-bearing reel, and the same ability to control line as your open water equipment.
Since there’s less room for error in tough winter conditions, beware the low quality gear. Our biggest key is a nice, smooth drag, and in the cold, we’re dealing with a relatively brittle, short line. When bigger fish surge, a smooth drag helps out.
Spool that reel with some limber cold weather line. I like its higher visibility against a background of ice and snow. Fireline’s Crystal is great for ice fishing – in my experience both the open water and hard water versions perform well in winter.
For panfishing, stick with 1- or 2-pound test with 4-pound acceptable in heavier cover or when using larger baits like jigging spoons. For walleye fishing, I use 8-pound-test when jigging and 6-pound for my dead stick. When pike fishing, use a heavier action spinning combo or a baitcaster-style reel, which just like the open water versions have stouter drags and handle heavier line. You simply click when you hit the right depth and they’re great for fighting larger fish.
And I always keep a couple old school-style tip-ups handy, so I’ll usually throw out one when I’m jigging. The Beaver Dam tip-ups are great because if they freeze in, I can kick them out, and they stay in good shape.
I_still keep a chisel to help check ice thickness for safety purposes, but when it comes to holes, buy yourself a drill. Early in the season, when the ice is thin, chisels aren’t too bad, but try chiseling 20 holes in January through 15 or 16 inches of ice. It’s physically tiring, and I think all that pounding with a chisel spooks fish more than quickly slicing and shaving with a drill.
In my younger days, I insisted on a big 10-inch hole, but now I rarely cut a hole bigger than 8 inches, and if I’m strictly panfishing, I drill a 6-inch hole. Smaller-diameter holes reduce your cutting time and the noise required to make them. When in doubt, stick with stealth.
Using my GPS and map chip, I locate an area before heading onto a body of water, then zigzag drill a dozen to 20 holes over a contour like weeds or a breakline before dropping a lure.
I consider that GPS my most important piece of electronics for efficient ice fishing. After drilling, I use my flasher-style sonar to check holes for fish activity. Ice sonars are now available with screens, but I still prefer my round, flasher-style unit.
Beyond monitoring depth and the presence of fish, I can use my flasher to watch my bait and even see -_based on the colors – how they react to the action I’m imparting! With a little practice you can learn which jigging action discourages or activates bites from fish.
In tandem with a GPS, a sonar-equipped ice angler has a huge advantage over anglers from even 10 years ago. Plus, both pieces of equipment really have dropped in price.
I load an underwater camera on my ATV, and whereas I once considered them a fun accessory, I now find myself using one more and more to monitor my lure, to identify species of fish, or discern why a nearby fish isn’t biting. And I’ve never seen a kid get cold while watching fish with an underwater camera!
With my snowmobiles, portable fish house, and heater, I can travel to almost any hard water and fish any time of day, all day. That may sound like a daunting amount of investment, but when you consider what you spend on open water fishing, it’s downright affordable.
For a few thousand dollar investment in the gear I’ve described, you can access the same water as from a boat and with open water tackle – and for a fraction of the cost. And if you want to sample ice fishing first, you can do that, too, and just get into it a little bit at a time.
Take advantage of the technological advancements that have made this decade the good old days of ice fishing! Enjoy the hard water of ice season 2008-09.By: Adam Johnson
