Beginner’s Guide To Purchasing Ice Fishing Equipment
Ice fishing is a sport that can be enjoyed by anyone regardless of age. Unlike other Winter sports, it’s cheap to get and with knowledge of where to find a place to fish, a Greenhorn can be expected to have success their first trip onto the ice.
But what does a beginner need to start ice fishing? There are many options in fishing equipment on the market now, a Beginner can easily lay out 100′s of dollars on ice fishing gear and still wonder if they have all they need.
This is why I wrote this list of essential ice fishing gear that a person will need to start. What’s more is that for what it cost to fill a F-250 up with diesel, you could obtain all the fishing tackle that a Newbie will need to get started fishing on the hard water.
To begin with, you will need to purchase an auger to cut holes in the hard water. I’d get a five, possibly even a 6 inch auger for panfish like Perch, Bluegill and Crappie. If you want to go after bigger fish like Bass, Pike and Walleye, then I’d get a 8, possibly even a 10 inch auger meant for ice fishing. You can get the power augers or the manual augers. Not surprisingly, the manual augers are not as expensive as the power augers but need more effort to use. You’ll also need a scoop to get the ice chips out of the ice hole.
Your second purchase needs to be tip ups or an ice rod. Most ice fishermen bore a lot of holes over weed beds and other structure and use numerous tip-ups to increase their chances of catching enough fish for a fish fry. Other fishermen prefer to ice fish with a reel and ice rod. If it was me,I’d get a few tip ups along with a good rod so you can see which tactic you like for catching fish.
Fishing line should be designed for cold water that is associated with ice fishing. The near freezing water can make fishing line brittle. For this reason you’ll want to be certain and buy line made for fishing through the ice. Cortland makes a product called Ice Line that is great. The line you buy for ice fishing is the most important part of your ice fishing supplies.
Be sure to get some jigs and lures designed for ice fishing. Tiny jigs are a good choice for panfish like Perch, Bluegill and Crappie. Also tear drop jigs and tiny spoons will come in handy when the panfish get finicky. As for bait, panfish love mealworms and spikes while larger fish such as Walleye prefer Worms or baitfish like smelt. Be sure to talk to local fishermen to see what’s they recommend a Beginner use their first time out on the ice.
Don’t forget to bring along something to sit on. Most seasoned ice fishermen bring along an ordinary five gallon bucket. A select few will bring along lawn chairs out on the ice, but a bucket will also help you haul your gear to and from your fishing hole.
This is all you need to start ice fishing. Be sure to buy a fishing license and read up on the regulations for the area you plan on fishing. Being ticketed for breaking a law can ruin your fishing trip. Now go out and bring home some tasty fish. Don’t forget the most important fishing tip, be safe and follow all the safety rules for getting Outdoors in the Winter.