Ice Fishing is my favorite winter sport. It gets you out of the house when you have a bad case of cabin fever. It is a wonderful sport for the whole family and the fish that come out of such cold water are the best eating fish ever. Some people call it hard water fishing and the ice fisherman is a hard core fisher. You have to really love fishing to want to do it on the " hard water." Once you try it you may find that it's your favorite winter sport as well. What do you have to lose. Give it a try.
Things You Will Need
The most important thing you will need is the proper clothing. From really good boots to keep your feet warm to layered clothing to keep the wind and cold out. I also find putting rain gear over the rest of your clothing really helps keep out the wind. Next you will need an Ice Fishing Auger. This is the apparatus that drills the hole in the ice so you can get to the fish. There are 2 kinds of ice fishing augers, a power auger that has a lawn mower type engine on the top that when turned on drills a hole in the ice. The other type of auger is a hand auger where you hand crank the blades of the auger into the ice. Next you need an Ice Fishing Pole and there are 3 basic types of these. A small pole with a reel on it that you set the depth of the line and then tighten it down. There is a small wire at the tip that wiggles when you have a fish on and you pull the fish up using the line hand over hand. The next type of rod is a smaller version of the rod and reel you would use to warm water fish. Then there is a tip-up, which fits over the hole, you drop the line down how deep you want to fish and click the flag down in place. When you have a fish this flag goes up letting you know that you have a fish. This type of apparatus is great because you can see it a long way off when you are tending your other rods. A little bait and your all set to start fishing. There are many other pieces of equipment that you don't need but make your trip better, such as a fishing shelter to get out of the cold along with a heater. Also a small chair and a hot thermos of coffee go a long way to helping you stay warm on the ice.
Tips & Warnings
