Ice fishing is one of the most inexpensive sports people of all ages can enjoy. In its simplest form, one only needs a minimum amount of gear: 1 pole, it doesn’t even have to be a ice fishing rig. Some grubs, which can be found at local pet shop. A small jig or two, found at any bait and tackle shop. Some sort of way to get through the ice, a pick or hand or power auger. With this equipment in hand one can enjoy the fruits of ice fishing and the great outdoors. However, there is no limit to the amount of gear one can posses in order to maximize the whole ice fishing experience. From tip-ups, to jigging rods, heavy to ultra lights and everything in between. From snowmobiles, sleds, to four wheelers/quads, Shantee, ice houses, huts, buckets, seats, stoves, heaters, ice scoops, rod holders, rod savers, bags, power augers, ice cleats, spud bars, gaffs, safety equipment,ice chaps and more tackle than one box can hold. Yes, one can spend thousands of dollars on this coveted equipment to maximize the outdoor experience of walking and fishing on frozen water in the dead of winter. This doesn’t even begin to cover clothing and boots for the sport.

Here at Big Sky Outdoor Adventure, we do a majority of our ice fishing for Rainbow Trout and Kokanee Salmon with the occasional Walleye or Perch on Holter Lake. Although we fish a variety of lakes along the Rocky Mountain Front, Holter is our favorite for a few reasons. One nice thing about Holter Lake is there are so many different kinds of fish and one can have six lines in the water with up to two hooks on each rig. It is also close to home and easy access. When fishing Holter Lake we like to go somewhat modest to light, with a sled and a box of gear including: 4′ 8″ ultra light Ugly Sticks my 5′ Berkly Cherry Wood Graphite Ultralight, and a few ice jigging poles, also Berkly. These are used mainly for jigging with our main jigs “Jess’s Jigs” with skirts baited with grubs or wax worms. We also use a few polar tech tip-ups with night crawlers and marshmallows or spawn sacks set in deeper waters.

Some of the techniques we use mostly for trout is: Dead Sticking, Power Fishing, finesse Fishing, usually started off with Pounding the Bottom Fishing to stir up sediment and insects, mostly in mud or sand at around 12 feet. I also like to Airplane with a combination of different Weighted Rapala Jigs with a bit of grub on the treble hook. With this deadly combination and variety of techniques we usually catch more than our limit. Thus letting a majority of the spawning fish go as well as the younger ones.

This winter Big Sky Outdoor Adventures will Battle some of the bigger lakes here in Montana in search of Walleye and Norther Pike. We’ll save that for another day. From your friends here at Big Sky Outdoor Adventures, remember safety first, have fun and take a kid fishing.