5 replies to this topic

[SKfish]

So recently I came into possession of a 28" med-heavy casting ice rod. Being that I live in Ontario, Canada I have been looking to get into ice fishing for a while and this was all I needed to get the ball rolling. I purchased a 8 inch manual auger and am stoked to do some ice fishing, I just have a couple questions. Should I put my normal baitcaster, spooled with 30lb braid and a fluoro leader on the ice rod? I've been told to purchase a couple tip-ups as well, what line should I spool them up with? any specific lures that will work for the Walleye, Pike and Pumpkinseed that are in the lake my cottage is on? There are bass as well but they will be out of season. Any other tips/tricks/extra information a beginner ice fisherman should know? Thanks in advance!

[N8orDie]

For walleye I usually jig a rattling lipless crankbait aggressively in one hole to get their attention and then deadstick a minnow on a jig in a second hole so the fish can choose when they come in to see what's up.

 

I don't ice fish for pike much (only once with my buddy who loves it) but a quick strike rig with a huge dead minnow (we actually used dead suckers my friend caught earlier and froze...make sure this is okay in the regs) under a tip-up is what we used...off bottom so the fish see it when they look up. It worked but I don't like doing this because it's HELLA BORING. 

[bassfinder]

You could pair a baitcasting reel with your rod but it looks weird. Just go with spinning reel.  

For walleye, you may need jigging spoon, lindy darter, and rapala jigging minnow. These lures may not catch fish every time but can call fish into the place. When you see the signal of fish, you can put the live bait down to the level right above the fish. Do nothing, they will bite. 

For panfish, it is quite simple. tiny jighead tipped with larvae or small minnow will do the trick. 

You need a fishfinder regardless it is a flasher or lcd type. 

Good luck！

[MuskieBait]

Nothing weird about a baitcaster on an ice rod...especially if the ice rod is designed for a baitcaster with trigger grip. It's actually fairly common for anglers targeting large fish to use baitcaster.

I would just caution you. Make sure the grease and oil in your baitcaster performs well under cold temperature, especially if you plan to fish outside of a heated hut. I've had grease froze in the reel leading to reel failure. Stupid me tried to get things moving when the gears were frozen and I put so much force into the reel that anti-reverse dog snapped off the plastic reel housing. If your reel has carbon drag, they could also be lubricated with some kind of drag grease that may freeze in cold weather. You may get a reel with zero drag and zero ability to turn when gears are frozen. Happened to me before...but on a spinning reel. Baitcaster is not immune to it.

On the same line, don't leave your reel on the ice. It will cool down rapidly and freeze without the proper grease. If you can avoid using metal body reels, that's best. Plastic and graphite body are heat insulator...protect the reel from the cold a bit. Metal are heat conductor...and heat will be lost from the reel to freeze much faster. Speaking from experience again, I love metal body reels due to its rigidity for saltwater fishing. However, I mistakenly took a metal body reel on the ice once...and that reel froze very quickly and was not usable for the rest of the trip.

[Shawarma]

Braid in cold weather does not work well if you aren't in a heated hut. 

 

I bought some cold weather mono and fluro line last season and it worked quite well. 

 

As for fishing for pike: tip ups and minnows will work quite well for you. I don't run tip ups because i don't want to pay for them lol. I just use my regular ice rods and put them on a rod holder. Often times i'll have one on a rod holder and another i'll jig myself to both move and stay warm and to offset some of the sitting and waiting periods. I'll also go from minnows to lures just to change some things up. 

[Legend Boats]

Tip ups are a great way to start with ice fishing. Most of Ontario will allow 2 rods so a tip up and a rod in hand will keep you entertained. The most important thing about ice fishing is moving around. Moving around will allow you to cover a ton of water and different depths. You can get started in fishing relatively easy, Heck you can even use a 2 piece rod and tape your reel to the upper part of your rod to get started. Live bait will be your best friend to local fish, then you can start with artificial baits to fine tune your skills. 

 

Hope this helps 

 

Henry - Legend Boats