How To Choose Your First Ice Fishing Gear

Ice fishing is an Outdoor activity that the whole family can enjoy. Unlike other Winter sports, it's inexpensive to get outfitted and with some easy to follow tips from experienced ice fishermen, a first-timer can have a good chance at success their first trip onto the ice.

But what does a beginner need to start ice fishing? One has a lot of choices when choosing fishing supplies in the stores, the Fisherman could easily shuck out 100's of their hard earned money on ice fishing equipment and never get what they really need.

To begin with, you will need to buy an auger meant for ice fishing to cut holes in the ice. I recommend a five or six inch auger for panfish like Perch, Bluegill and Crappie. If you want to go after bigger fish like Bass, Pike and Walleye, then I recommend a 8 or 10 inch auger. When it comes to augers, you have two choices, power augers or the manual augers. Not surprisingly, the manual augers are not as expensive as the power augers but require more effort to use. You will also need a scoop to keep the ice chips from the hole in the ice.

Your second purchase needs to be tip ups or an ice rod. A lot of fishermen drill numerous holes over rock piles, weed beds and other types of bottom structure and use numerous tip-ups to increase their chances of catching their limit of fish. Other fishermen prefer to ice fish with a ice rod rather than tip ups. I recommend a few tip ups along with a good rod so you can see which technique you prefer.

Care should be given when choosing fishing line for ice fishing. Regular fishing line will become brittle and break due to the cold weather or it will easily be cut by the edges of the ice. Special line designed strictly for ice fishing should be used. Nearly any retailer who carries ice fishing equipment will also carry ice fishing line.

Beginners will want to get some jigs and lures for your tackle box. Miniture jigs are great for Perch, Crappie and Bluegill. 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 preferred on the waters you'll be fishing.

Be sure to get something to sit on. A majority of seasoned ice fishermen use an ordinary 5 gallon bucket. Some will even bring lawn chairs out on the ice, but a 5 gallon bucket will also help you haul your gear to and from your fishing hole.

And this is all you need to get started. Don't forget about buying a fishing license and read up on the regulations for the area you plan on fishing.

Make sure you get a list of safety rules for fishing on the ice. Every year, fishermen become stranded on the ice or fall through due to ignoring these rules. Little else can ruin a trip faster than falling through the ice. It's wise to follow along and fish in the same area as other ice fishermen until you get to know your body of water.