Basic Gear and Tips You Need for a Fun Day of Ice Fishing

If you're the type of person that loves outdoor activities so much that you don't want to stay inside, even in winter, than you should look into ice fishing. Ice fishing is the only way to extend your fishing season beyond the time of year when the lakes freeze over. Fishermen all over Canada and the northern part of the Unites States only have to stop fishing for the few short weeks between the time when the first thin layers of ice develop on the surface of the water to when the ice layer is thick enough to support significant weight-loads. Once the ice is thick enough these devoted fishermen can drive their cars out to the middle of their favorite lake, drill a hole in the ice, and continue their favorite outdoor pastime. Winter fishing is not for people who are easily discouraged by cold temperatures, but it can be a fun activity for those who don't mind the cold, so if you think you can muster it, all you will need is a minimal amount of equipment to get started.

The most important pieces of equipment you will need before you start your hard water fishing expedition are an auger and ice skimmer. An auger is a very large drill for boring holes in the ice. You can buy a hand auger, which you have to turn manually, for ice that is only about a foot thick, but if you need to drill through more than three feet of solid ice, you are highly recommended to buy a power auger, which works automatically and can usually penetrate over forty inches of ice in under fifteen seconds. The ice skimmer looks a little like a small colander with a long handle. It is used to scoop out the ice and snow that collect in your ice hole as you drill.

Obviously, if you want to catch any fish when you go out on the ice, you are going to need an ice fishing rod. Most ice fishing rods are very lightweight, and they are usually less than thirty inches long. Presumably because they are smaller and require fewer materials to manufacture than their soft water counterparts, ice fishing rods are relatively cheap. Because cold water makes fish sluggish, many fish are slower and weaker during the ice fishing season, so hits are often light and difficult to feel. Your ice fishing rod should be very sensitive so that you can detect these small nibbles.

Most people prefer to stay out of the frigid winter winds when they go winter fishing, and in order to do this they bring an ice shelter, otherwise known as a shanty. Ice shelters are like large tents, except they have a rigid support structure so they can stand up to the strong winds that accumulate across wide expanses of ice. They come in various shapes and sizes, depending on the conditions they were designed for, but they all have an open bottom, so that their inhabitants can drill a hole and fish through it without exposing themselves to the freezing temperatures outside. It is because of the limited space inside of ice shanties that ice fishing rods are usually made so short.

Be sure to visit Martens True Value Superstore in Reedsburg for all your ice fishing gear. Our Sporting Goods department is stocked with everything you need for a successful fishing trip!

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