HERE'S SOME GOOD LINKS
http://hickorytech.net/~jbusby/iceangler.html
http://www.icefishingworld.com/
http://hickorytech.net/~jbusby/iceangler.html
http://www.icefishingworld.com/
1 - 9 of 9 Posts
Ice Fishing = Good Times! :yes:
Ice fishing really took the "edge" off the long winter wait to fish again. This winter was the first year I had ever ice fished - interestingly, it started on New Years Day. I didn't even notice that it was the coldest winter in a quarter-century in Western New York! I really didn't!
How fun it was to stare down the hole and see the action of the fish fighting down there (watching is easy when you are in the dark environs of a warm ice shelter). You can watch your ice jig and bait jiggle with the action you impart on it, tempting the strikes of fish.
Thanks to Noel's investment in a "Clam 2000" shelter, we fished almost every weekend, on Conesus Lake, Honeoye Lake, Silver Lake, Wilson Harbor & Lake Alice. We caught a LOT of good fish. One day, Noel and I probably caught 300 mixed sunnies out of Conesus Lake! We joked at how it was just like summer......fishing every weekend in the dead of winter now!
For panfish, without a doubt, use a shorter, say 24" rod (that's 24" from the tip of the rod to the tip of the butt-end) with the thinnest tip you can find, or use a "spring bobber" on the end of the rod. Such rods look too "whimpy" to fish with, but believe me, they are much better because the strikes of the panfish in frigid water are, at times, undetectable except for a microscopically slight quiver of the rod tip (yet, at other times, they strike ferrociously).
1 to 4 pound test is usually associated with ice fishing, but I say that 4 pound is probably pushing the limit! Seriously! It's just too "thick" in cold weather, and gets springy. It also just feels too heavy. Hard to believe, but true. 2 to 3 pound test is about right, on the smallest spinning reels you can find. Do not fill the spool completely. ¾ full is probably more than enough. It keeps the line from springing off, and many times, you will be fishing in less than 10 feet of water with a rod & reel.
We found that, with all the live bait choices available (mousies, spikes, mealworms, waxworms), plain old waxworms were the best - and often the least expensive.
I have only used tipups a couple times. Great for larger quarry such as pike, pickerel, walleye or trout. I'll let someone else explain the virtues of tipup fishing because I have had practically no experience with them.
NYBass.com had an "Ice Fishing Get-Together" last February. We had a BLAST on both Honeoye and Conesus Lakes, and caught a lot of fish! I put pictures and a synopsis of our two days on the ice on my site, and you can see it by clicking the link below.
NYBass.com Ice Fishing Get-Together, 2-1,2-2003
It goes without saying - SAFETY FIRST out there. Have a great time if you go ice fishing. It's so fun!
Tight Lines...
Ice fishing really took the "edge" off the long winter wait to fish again. This winter was the first year I had ever ice fished - interestingly, it started on New Years Day. I didn't even notice that it was the coldest winter in a quarter-century in Western New York! I really didn't!
How fun it was to stare down the hole and see the action of the fish fighting down there (watching is easy when you are in the dark environs of a warm ice shelter). You can watch your ice jig and bait jiggle with the action you impart on it, tempting the strikes of fish.
Thanks to Noel's investment in a "Clam 2000" shelter, we fished almost every weekend, on Conesus Lake, Honeoye Lake, Silver Lake, Wilson Harbor & Lake Alice. We caught a LOT of good fish. One day, Noel and I probably caught 300 mixed sunnies out of Conesus Lake! We joked at how it was just like summer......fishing every weekend in the dead of winter now!
For panfish, without a doubt, use a shorter, say 24" rod (that's 24" from the tip of the rod to the tip of the butt-end) with the thinnest tip you can find, or use a "spring bobber" on the end of the rod. Such rods look too "whimpy" to fish with, but believe me, they are much better because the strikes of the panfish in frigid water are, at times, undetectable except for a microscopically slight quiver of the rod tip (yet, at other times, they strike ferrociously).
1 to 4 pound test is usually associated with ice fishing, but I say that 4 pound is probably pushing the limit! Seriously! It's just too "thick" in cold weather, and gets springy. It also just feels too heavy. Hard to believe, but true. 2 to 3 pound test is about right, on the smallest spinning reels you can find. Do not fill the spool completely. ¾ full is probably more than enough. It keeps the line from springing off, and many times, you will be fishing in less than 10 feet of water with a rod & reel.
We found that, with all the live bait choices available (mousies, spikes, mealworms, waxworms), plain old waxworms were the best - and often the least expensive.
I have only used tipups a couple times. Great for larger quarry such as pike, pickerel, walleye or trout. I'll let someone else explain the virtues of tipup fishing because I have had practically no experience with them.
NYBass.com had an "Ice Fishing Get-Together" last February. We had a BLAST on both Honeoye and Conesus Lakes, and caught a lot of fish! I put pictures and a synopsis of our two days on the ice on my site, and you can see it by clicking the link below.
NYBass.com Ice Fishing Get-Together, 2-1,2-2003
It goes without saying - SAFETY FIRST out there. Have a great time if you go ice fishing. It's so fun!
Tight Lines...
1 - 9 of 9 Posts
