My Ice Fishing Wish List

While there is still plenty of time before I’ll be able to catch fish through the ice this winter, Christmas is quickly approaching. I thought I would publish my ice fishing wish list here, so that any of my readers would have ample time to buy these things for me prior to the holidays. Ok, Ok.. I don’t expect any of you to buy me ice fishing gear for Christmas.

What I would like though, is for any ice fishermen (or women) that read this post to offer some advice on what to use, or not use while out on the ice.
I guess I should start by saying that I have a lot to learn, but I am not a complete beginner when it comes to ice fishing. I used to fish quite often with my father when I was younger, and even participated in a few ice fishing contests at the local winter carnival. I had a great time doing this, and I still really enjoy ice fishing today. When I fish with my father, he has all the equipment that I don’t have. This is where I run into a problem though, I can only go fishing when he goes fishing.

I would like to round out my collection of ice fishing gear so that I can go fishing whenever I want, with whoever I want. (I still look forward to fishing with you Dad, if you’re reading this). So let me start by telling you what I already have:

• 5 Tip-Ups – (five per person is the limit on most bodies of water in NYS)
• Jigging Rod
• Extra Hooks & Line
• Sounder & Homemade Line Markers (used to find and mark depth of water)
• 6″ Hand Auger

The tip-ups I have are pretty old (probably about as old as me) but they still work fine, and the reels are held underwater to prevent freezing, which is really all that matters.

I have an old jigging set-up, although I don’t have any tackle. I usually just pick a jig out of my fathers tackle box and go with that. I will probably be jigging for Yellow Perch, but last year I saw a guy jigging up lake trout on Lake George, and would to try that as well. Any suggestions on what I should be using for tackle?

I use the sounder to run as much line off the reel as it takes before the thing reaches the bottom of the lake. Then I can set my bait a certain distance off the bottom. I have a handful of little black rubber rings (slices cut from a piece of black rubber hosing) that I loop through the line at the desired depth so I’ll know what portion of the line should be on the reel and what should be in the water. This way I can pull all of the line out of the water, bait my hook, and set the tip-up so the bait is swimming 10 or 12 feet off the bottom.

The hand auger that I have has a six inch radius, and is a pain to use if there is more than a foot of ice, which happens quite often around here, especially on smaller lakes. However, I can make this work when fishing without the assistance of my father’s Jiffy power auger (which also predates me). Maybe sharpening or replacing the blades on the bottom of the auger will help.

What I need, are the following:

A Bait Pail – These are pretty standard. I’ll need a plastic bait pail, with a little net inside for easily snagging the minnows. Can you keep two different types of bait in the same pail? My only experience with using different types of bait has come when I go fishing with several people, that all have separate bait pails. If I was going by myself and wanted to bring two kinds of bait, will I need two pails?

A Skimmer – This is used to clear the slush and ice out of the water after you cut the hole, before you set your tip-up. Again, my father has one, I do not. I like these new ones that have a little chisel built into the end of it to break up the thin layer of ice that forms over the water when you haven’t touched your set-up for hours. I used to smash it with the back of my dad’s old skimmer, which has resulted in more than enough dents and kinks in that old thing.

A Gaff – I’ve never actually had to use one of these, but I hope that I do in the future! A gaff is a long hook attached to a handle, and is used for pulling huge fish up through the hole in the ice if it’s too difficult to do by hand. If you’re going to be catching big fish through a six inch hole in the ice, you’ll need a gaff. And that is precisely what I aim to do.

Funny story.. My father has a gaff, and while fishing with his buddies on Lake George one day, somebody dropped it through one of the holes in the ice. Obviously the thing sank straight to the bottom in probably 50-60 feet of water. Rather than just writing it off as a loss, they tied some large hardware onto one of the jigging rods and headed back to the hole that swallowed up the gaff. After 15-20 minutes of bouncing the jig off the bottom of the lake, they somehow managed to hook the gaff and pulled it back up through the ice. What luck!

The last thing that I really want for my collection of ice fishing gear is something to keep it all in. I’ll bring a toboggan with me when I go, so I can load everything in the sled and pull it out onto the ice in one trip. However, I need something to keep my tip-ups, jigging rod, gaff, skimmer and everything together in. I am thinking either a pack basket or one of those nifty padded top buckets that doubles as a seat once everything is set up. I’m not convinced that my tip-ups will fit inside a five-gallon bucket though, so maybe I could use one of those as my bait pail?

There are many combinations of gear people use, and countless different ways to get it from one place to another. Everybody likes their own personal set-up. What kind of gear do you like to use? Am I forgetting anything that will make my ice fishing days any easier? Or more fun?