Ice fishing ???

[BrianID]

[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]The ice fishing season is getting close so I thought it wouldn’t hurt for us to share some of our ice fishing techniques. What are some of your favorite ice fishing jigs/baits?[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]If you have some other ice fishing tips that you have learned over the years feel free to share those as well.[/size][/font]
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[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Here’s a list of some of mine. I’ll include some other tips that I have learned latter.[/size][/font]
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[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Tube jigs – I probably catch more fish through the ice on tube jigs than anything else. I mostly use tubes that are 1 1/2” - 2” long. I normally insert 1/16 oz or 1/32 oz tube jig heads. The weight depends on how fast I want it to sink. I have found that the lighter colors are normally most effective. Some of my favorite colors are plain white, white/red, white/purple and combinations of those colors with clear tails. I have also found the jigs that glow or have glitter are as good if not better than the plain jigs.[/size][/font]
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[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Ice flies – Most of my ice flies are 3/4" to 1 1/2" long. Almost all of my ice flies include flashabou, crystal flash or something similar. Many of my ice flies also include marabou (mostly white and chartreuse) and/or rubber legs (thin).[/size][/font]
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[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Plain hooks or jig heads tipped with bait. I found a #12 red hook tied on the same line as a jig particularly effective this last winter.[/size][/font]
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[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Where it is legal I tip almost all of my jigs and lures with bait when ice fishing. I have found that some days putting a new piece of bait on every few minutes and/or putting different scent attractants on my jig can make a substantial difference in the number of bites I get. Last year I found the gulp baits to work as well if not better than the natural/live baits on a couple trips but most of the time the natural baits worked best for me. I will continue to test gulp and keep in my tackle box as a back up. The natural baits I use most are night crawlers, mealworms and wax worms. The bait that works best seems to depend on the day and place I’m fishing.[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]I bought 1000 meal worms online last year. I might have saved about $20 buying them online instead of local and I’m still trying to decide if buying them online is worth it.[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Below is a picture I took last year that includes some of the things I use while ice fishing.[/size][/font]
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[windriver]

I love ice fishing because it levels the playing field with those who have boats.

Tip#1: Use light line. The fish in the winter have a slower metabolism and there initial bite is much lighter than in the summer. If you use light line you will not only get more bites but you will also be able to see more bites. I use 4 lb, mono on most of my rods and I keep a couple with six lb in case there are a lot of big fish.

Tip#2: I use a large hole. I drill a ten inch hole because I am using light line. I can fight the big fish and get them through the hole. If I had a smaller hole the larger fish would break me off on the edge. The auger is heavy but I believe it is worth it.

Tip#3: Use wire strike indicators. I often see fish on my aqua-view that lift the jig from the bottom to the top. If you use a foam bobber or a regular red/white bobber you will not see the fish lift the jig. The piano wire strike indicators will not only go down with the weight of a fish, but they will also rise when fish come from the bottom.

Tip#4: Meal worms: It does depend on the day what the fish want, but most of the time I catch my fish with a meal worm. I buy them online from rainbow bait company. I buy them by the thousands and give them to my friends. If you fish a lot you will save lots of $ buying them online. I only buy the giants or the red giants. They keep well and last all winter if you take care of them. Drum roll please....the number one mistake most people make with meal worms is the assume the fish want the mealworm because fish just like the looks of mealworms. Your bites will increase tremendously if you will pull the heads off of your meal worms just before you put them in the water. The fish like sent of the oil that they put off. Watch the water as the jig goes down you will will see an "oil slick" come off of them. If you do not get a bite in 10 minutes change mealworms. If you buy them online you can afford to do that.


Tip #5: I like the same ice flies that BrianID mentions. I also like Swedish Pimples in white, silver with pink stripe, and silver with green stripe. My favorite plastics are paddle bugs in white, pink, and chartruse. They do not cost very much and they are very effective. You can twitch the tails very lightly or you can swim the bait with a jigging motion.


Tip #6: The shallower you fish the more quiet you need to be. I often fish lakes with steep drop offs. If you are in deep water. You can walk around etc..., but I have found that if the fish are in less than 8ft of water you need to sit still and let the water settle from the drilling. Then the fish will come back and bite as long as people are not walking around.

I hope everyone else is excited to go ice fishing. I would like to see more of you who are looking at the posts tell us how the fishing is going. The only way this board can be really fun is if we all learn something. The last couple of months I have just seen a lot of taking and not much giving. That is why I quit posting my fishing reports for a while. I will be excited to see some more ice fishing tips in the near future.

Good Luck
Windriver
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[fish1on]

Ice fishing experience:

MAINE:
Ice shacks, deep holes, shifting ice, night lights, and too many smelt in the bucket for an army to eat!


ALASKA:
snowmachines heading back out to check our burbout set lines, shacks with three heaters, -45 fishing for greyling, drilling holes with extensions on our auger bits... Can you say 8 feet of ice is shallow!!!!

UTAH:
Perch is the mission, jigging macks at Bear Lake, whole new world to me and just learning what a ice fly and swedish pimple is!

Keep up the replies, hope to learn a trick or two. I could use the lesson.

Nice post bye the way! Something I have wanted to ask for a while.
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[Fight4not]

I can't wait till the ice comes. I haven't been out fishing for about a month. I have about 5 huge holes in the waders which isn't very appealing to go out on the river and flip a fly when you are swimming in ice cold water. So I will definately be out on the ice again when it comes. I had my first experience with ice fishing last season. It was awesome. I loved it the action can be really fast and well worth fighting the cold. I went probably every week last year. I don't know much about ice fishing except for what windriver said. He's the one that taught me how and trust me, he knows what he is talking about. Follow those steps that he outlined and you will catch plenty of fish.

Fight4not
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[BrianID]

Here's a few other things I thought I would add.

#1 - After checking reviewing some of my ice fishing trips in my database I found that the bite often slows down last hour of daylight.

#2 - Spring bobbers are a very effective way of spotting light bites. I believe what I call spring bobbers are the same thing windriver is calling wire strick indicators. The slipe bobbers that you can fill half or 3/4 full of water are also very effective at spotting light bites but are more of a hassel to deal with than the spring bobbers.

#3 - Light line gives me a better feel of the smaller jigs and ice flies. I have 2lb line on a couple of poles and 4lb line on most of my other poles. I don't like using heavier line than 4lb unless the jigs I'm fishing with weigh at least 1/4 oz if not more. The only problem with the lighter lines is that I have to retie my line more often.

#4 - Unless the fishing is slow there is no reason to use all five poles that Idaho allows one to use while ice fishing. While ice fishing by my self I have often had two or more poles with bites at the same time. Last year I had 4 out of 5 poles get bites within a minute of each other. It is just too much work to run back and forth reeling in fish and trying to keep 5 lines in the water when the fish are bitting. [crazy] There is also a greater risk of having a fish pull a rod into the hole.

#5 - I don't own a power augar and ice fish with someone that has one less half of the time. Keeping the blades sharp on my augar allows me to spend more time fishing and less time drilling.
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[Bigcat]

1. A double rig with a paddle bug (or other decent size favorite) with a 12 inch dropper line and then a rat finkey (or other small ice fly) will give the fish two choices of different sizes and colors if you choose. I also usually tip the paddle bug with a mealy and the finkee with a wax worm to give the fish a well balanced diet! [] I have found that if the fish are agressively feeding they take the bigger presentation and if they are not actively feeding they will only take the smaller presentation.

2. When using a hand auger and the ice is deep... Use two people to drill the holes. Stand facing each other with the auger in the middle and each of you put a hand on both handles (you usually have to overlap hands or put one on top of the other). When one of you is pulling the other is pushing. It makes a HUGE difference! 3 feet of ice is a two minute task for one person with 2 rest breaks and a lot of huffing and puffing and getting sweaty than then freezing. With two people 3 feet of ice is 30 seconds without even working hard. Try this one and you will never solo drill deep holes again.

3. Keep your fishfinder screen warm by putting the back light on high.

4. Keep your fishfinder battery warm in a cooler and by using a disposible hand warmer pack. It will last longer. For good ways to rig up your ice fishing sonar check out this link [url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?post=181256;#181256"]http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?post=181256;#181256[/url]

5. Keep the blades sharp on the auger and check the screws for tightness often

6. Another good link for ice fishing checklist [url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?post=225178;search_string=ice%20fishing%20checklist;#225178"]http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?post=225178;search_string=ice%20fishing%20checklist;#225178[/url]

7. Good ice fishing safety videos are very interesting and could save your life [url "http://www.yukonman.com/cold_water.asp"]http://www.yukonman.com/cold_water.asp[/url]

I'll think of more later
I'll think of more later
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[Bigcat]

Guess I killed the thread with my last post. So I'll try again

8. Paint a ping pong ball black and put it in your ice hole (don't say that very fast or it could get you in trouble). If there is any sunlight it will absorb the light and heat and keep your hole from freezing. The wind also moves it around the hole and keeps it ice free.

9. Snow shoes work great to keep you on top of the crust layer when your friends are falling through into the sloppy slush layer underneath. However if you break through the crust and get the snowshoes wet and then walk in powdery snow they work like a lick-n-stick and all the snow sticks and feezes to them and they weight 20 pounds each in no time at all. Snow shoes can also distribute your weight better on thin ice if you are hung enough to try it.

10. Like windriver says: Always tear off the head of the meal worm, they are tastier that way![]

11. Always use scent when ice fishing. I like berkley trout scent.

Anyone else want to chime in?
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[windriver]

It is getting to be the time of year to purchase ice bait. I just tried to find my favorite mealworm dealer online and found that I could not get through on the advertised [url "http://www.Rainbowmealworms.com"]www.Rainbowmealworms.com[/url], but it works if you go to www. Rainbowmealworms.net, just thought that I would let you know in case anybody else was looking for a place to buy mealworms.

Windriver
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[BrianID]

Thanks for the tips bigcat. I'll have to try the ping pong ball trick.


I have a quick question for everyone.

What is better?
Tying the small ice fly above the heavier jig or below the heavier jig.

I like to tie the lighter ice fly above the heavier jig because I think it helps prevent my line from getting tangled.
I have heard that tying the ice fly so it is below the heavier jig will increase the number of bites. This would make sense because I think most fish that come and look at a bigger jig and then swim away will sit a little below the heavier jig. If the smaller ice fly was above the heavier then these fish would have to go farther to bite it than if it were below the larger jig.
I'll probably try some experimenting this winter but if any of you have an opinion I would like to hear it.
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[Bigcat]

On your previous recommendation I ordered some mealys and waxeys from rainbow and they arrived yesterday. I put an order together for my friends and we ordered 3000 mealys. We counted them to for kicks to see if there really was a full 1000 in each of three containers and they averaged about 1200 lively meal worms per thousand ordered and very few dead on top of the 1200. So I was very pleased with my order and I highly recommend them as a company. It sure is a lot cheeper then elsewhere and when you use a lot of mealys (from ripping their heads off and changing them often) it is the only way to go.
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[Bigcat]

Thanks for replying to my post. I thought I killed the thread with no more interest for 5 days! I was getting a complex. I guess the Idaho board just doesn't have the same traffic as Utah board does.

To answer you question I have always tied the smaller jig lower than the bigger one. I'm not sure why but it works well and rarely tangles up with itself. I definetely get more hits on the smaller bottom jig (maybe cause it is closer to the bottom where most the fish are cruising).... I have never tried the other way cause I've had good luck this way.

Also a plastic golf ball painted black works as well as a ping pong ball and are sometimes more readily available...
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[windriver]

Ordering my mealworms today. Went out to the Rexburg Nature Pond and it is frozen. A few more days and it will be safe. I put the smaller one on the bottom. I usually use a swedish pimple as a flasher on top.

Windriver
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[Fight4not]

Its good to hear that the little ponds are freezing up. I haven't been out there lately to check it out. I went to the website to buy some meal worms but I am not sure which ones to buy or what sizes. If you could let me know what you would recommend that would be great. Thanks

Fight4Not
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[BrianID]

The Idaho board only gets a little less traffic that the Utah board.[]

I picked up some ping pong balls earlier today. I was just going to use a sharpy marker to color them if anyone has any better ideas let me know.

Last year Devil Creek had about 4" of ice on December 4th. This year I'm guessing it will be a little sooner. I wouldn't be surprised if I.P. Reservoir has safe ice now. Maybe I'll have to make a trip up there next week. [cool]

After I have done some experimenting with the smaller jig on top vs. the smaller jig on bottom I'll post my results. If anyone else has an opinion about where to place the smaller jig vs the larger jig let me know.
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[windriver]

Fight4Not

I like the extra large for my small jigs[crazy] and the Giants for Paddle Bugs etc...Unless you are planning on fishing everyday I probably ordered enough to give you some for Christmas[cool] I will check the ice at Island Park next week. This Saturday I will be too busy in Provo at the BYU vs Utah game. Go Cougars!!!

Windriver
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[Everet14]

I cant wait to Ice fish this season, it will be a great year. This weekend will be a great time to fish seeing as all the cougar fans can finally watch a game against Utah that they might win. Go Utes always and forever!
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[Bigcat]

I ordered the giant meal worms. There are the perfect size once you rip their heads off! I got the brown ones, not the red ones. I have a strong aversion to red, especially this week. Go Cougs!
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[Bigcat]

I also used a black sharpy, worked great cause I didn't have any black spray paint....
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[Fight4not]

Windriver

Sounds like you had a good weekend. If you want someone to go with you to check out the ice at island park let me know. I'll have some free time this week due thanksgiving. I hope to be able to get some fishing done this week as well. My brother in law went back home and he left his waders which means I won't have to use my holy ones. [cool]
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[BrianID]

Windriver,

Or anyone else that has driven I-15 by Malad lately.
Did you notice if there was any ice on Devil Creek Res??

I heard that on Friday Chesterfield was partially covered with ice and that 24 mile was covered with ice.[]

Shouldn't be long before I'm drilling some holes.[cool]
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