Ice Fishing

Ice fishing has come a long way in the last ten to fifteen years. Gone are the days of the line tied to a willow with a straight hook and minnow. While in years past, anglers would put in their lines and sit back by the fire and wait to see what happens. The best way to improve your hard water fishing is to move. Yes you have to move outside to fish but that hasn't changed, I mean moving on the ice. If you are fishing in a boat and you aren't catching fish, the first thing you are going to do is move to another spot or troll to find fish. Well on ice that is the best thing you can do as well. With power augers, GPS units, portable fish finders and portable ice huts you cannot only move quickly but more often. Don't be intimidated. It's not complicated. Whether you walk use a snow machine or your truck it's not hard. Look for high percentage areas like shallow bays main lake points or sunken islands. If you don't get bit with in a short while move around on your spot looking for that one feature that is holding fish. If you don't find it move to the next good looking site and start over, yes you could be moving all day, but when you catch a few more fish each time. You would be surprised how soon it gets to be a habit, not to mention having to explain to all the other anglers how you keep catching so much more than them each and every time.

Yes there is a lot of equipment out there to decide from and buy. Don't think that you have to buy it all at once, and there is always Christmas and birthdays. Besides to fully equip yourself for hard water is still a lot cheaper than soft. Build your collection one piece at a time and in no time at all you will have everything that you need to be the best fisherman on the ice!

Contributed by Lewis Fisher