There was a time when ice fishing was simply something to
do, something to help shorten up the winter.That was then
and this is now as things have definitely changed. Changes
like vastly improved gear and equipment have lead the way,
not to mention all of the information available to today’s
modern ice angler. What it all adds up to is increased opportunities
to help you be much more comfortable, make it easier to be
mobile, and ultimately help you catch more fish. Gone are
the days of freezing your extremities off, or ending up with
a sore back from spending too much time sitting on a bucket.
It can still happen but it doesn’t have to be that way,
especially when you look at what’s available to the
modern ice angler. For example; there has been a huge improvement
in portable fish houses which is an absolute must, that is
unless you’re willing to give up most of your mobility.
Today’s modern portables set up in seconds, offer plenty
of room, and are surprisingly comfortable. Eskimo has introduced
their new Profish shelters which have a thick padded bench
seat and back rest. The back rest folds forward in sections
and allows easy access to the back of the sled. The bench
seat is hinged and also lifts up in sections and makes it
an easy reach to get to the bottom of the sled. There’s
also an optional heavy duty hitch available that will allow
you to quickly hook up to a snowmobile or ATV which can create
the ultimate ice angling machine. With a setup like that you
can move in on a spot, drill a hole or two, flip the top of
the Eskimo over and you’re fishing. If things aren’t
going well you can simply flip it back over and be on your
way tothe next hotspot. What it all means is that you can
work a lot more spots in the course of a day, and increase
your odds of finding the mother load. It wasn’t that
long ago when most anglers were struggling with hand powered
augers to get a couple of holes drilled, and that was about
all they could do late in the season when the layers of ice
really piled up. That fact alone kept ice fisherman stuck
in one place hoping for the best, and severely limited their
range. Fortunately for us the introduction of gas powered
augers have all but eliminated the aforementioned limitation
and greatly expanded the reach of the well equipped ice angler.
Gas augers like the Eskimo Shark cut holes unbelievably fast
and can turn a specific area into Swiss cheese in a matter
of minutes.
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Besides the huge improvements in comfort, there has
also been advancements in electronics that haveproven
to be invaluable for finding and catching fish. Color
electronic depth finders, G.P.S. units, and underwater
cameras have all added to the fun. Multi-color depth
finders like the Marcum LX-5 and the new LX-2 show density
changes in color and are incredibly sensitive and allow
you to see fish and determine size, watch your baits,
and even see if you still have a minnow on your hook.
G.P.S. units are real handy and have come down in price,
to the point that anybody can afford one
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They have also become much easier to use and are respectably
accurate. My sled actually has a Humminbird Matrix mounted
on the dash which is a permanently mounted GPS with a nice
big screen that can display highly detailed electronic charts
like those available from Navionics. The big dash mount unit
is much easier to see while running and lets me keep my hands
on the bars where they belong. An angler can use a G.P.S.
to easily find a prior hot spot, locate a honey hole that
someone else keyed you in on, or safely get you back off the
ice if you stay too long or the weather takes a turn for the
worse. The safety factor becomes extremely important when
fishing big waters or where dangerous ice exists as it is
much to easy to get goofed up when visibility is limited.
Underwater cameras have proven to be fun, and educational.
Instead of guessing about what’s really down there now
you can take a look for yourself, which can better help you
to understand what your depth finder is showing you. Marcum’s
VS560 has a camera that rotates 360 degrees in a housing which
makes setting it up for depth and direction a snap. It also
will give you a depth and temperature reading at the camera.
There’s even been big improvements in fishing rods that
have been designed specifically for today’s ice angler.
The old ice fishing sticks with a small amount of line stored
on a couple of short dowels and a sharp tip for stabbing it
in the ice have been replaced by high tech graphite and fiberglass
rods that are a pleasure to use, and there is a style and
model to accommodate just about any situation and any species.
Although graphite is considered to be the latest and greatest
material for a high tech rod blanks, fiberglass still has
it’s place. Where fiberglass excels is when a light
bite indicator is needed, like when you’re chasing panfish
such as crappies and bluegills. Fiberglass tips can be made
incredibly slender and retain enough strength to resist breakage,
and is where graphite really comes up short. The skinny wispy
glass tips can reveal the tiniest of bites and give you a
chance to set the hook before the bait is rejected. Spring
bobbers are a good option if you’re stuck on graphite
and can make a real difference. There are more lures available
now in more shapes and sizes than ever before that are designed
specifically for attracting and catching just about every
species of fish that happens to swim beneath a sheet of ice.
Northland Tackle for example has added more sizes and colors
including plenty of Super-Glo, which can help to attract fish
in dark or stained water and especially after dark. They’ve
also include red Wounded Bait Hooks, and if you haven’t
tried red you probably should. The thing is if you don’t
get with it and get on the ice this season you really are
going to miss out. There are so many great opportunities to
be had like chasing walleyes on Lake of the Woods or Erie,
bluegills on Lake Okoboji in northern Iowa, or maybe lake
trout in Canada. With all those fish and so little time you
better get moving if you’re going to get your share.
Ron Anlauf
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