A Greenhorn’s Guide To Purchasing Ice Fishing Equipment

Ice fishing is Winter activity that can be done as a family. Unlike other Winter sports, it’s cheap to get fixed up and with knowledge of where to find a place to fish, a Greenhorn can have an excellent chance at success their first trip on the lake.

But what’s required to begin ice fishing? There are so many choices in fishing tackle in the stores, one could easily shuck out hundreds of dollars on ice fishing gear and not be sure they have what the need to get started.

It’s this reason alone that I created this collection of basic ice fishing supplies that a First Timer will need to get started. The real kicker is that for less money than it cost for a trip to the grocery store, you could purchase all the fishing supplies that a Greenhorn will need to start fishing.

For starters, you will want to find an ice auger to bore holes in the ice and snow. I recommend a five, possibly even a 6 inch auger meant for ice fishing for panfish. For bigger fish like Walleye, Pike or Channel Catfish, then For Beginners, I’d want a 8 or 10 inch auger meant for ice fishing. You have two choices, power augers or the manual augers. It’s no secret that the manual augers are cheaper to puchase but require more effort to drill a hole. You will also need a scoop to get the ice chips out of your hole.

Tip ups and rods. Most fishermen bore numerous holes over bottom structure and use tip ups to increase their chances of catching enough fish for a fish fry. Not surprsingly a lot of fishermen prefer to ice fish with a ice rod rather than tip ups. I recommend a few tip ups along with a good rod so you can see which tactic you like for catching fish.

The line you use for fishing should be designed for fishing through the ice. The frigid waters can make the line break easily. That’s why you’ll want to be sure and obtain fishing line made for ice fishing. Cortland makes a product called Ice Line that is great. The line is the most important part of your ice fishing equipment.

Be sure to get some jigs and lures to go along with your bait. Tiny jigs are a good choice for panfish. Also tear drop jigs and tiny spoons will come in handy when the panfish get finicky. As for bait, panfish love mealworms and spikes while larger fish such as Walleye prefer Worms or baitfish like smelt. Ask around at your local sporting goods store to see what’s preferred on the waters you’ll be fishing.

Don’t forget to bring along something to sit on. Many seasoned ice fishermen use an ordinary 5 gallon bucket. Few Beginners will even bring lawn chairs out on the ice, but a five gallon bucket will also help you haul your gear to and from your hot spot.

And this is all you need to get started. Be sure to buy a fishing license and read up on the regulations for your area. Running afoul of the law for breaking a law can put a damper on your ice fishing efforts. Now go out and start drilling holes in the lake. And most of all, be safe and follow all the safety rules for getting out on the ice.