Ice Fishing BS Thread

I went to a new location this weekend and tried out my power boxes. The fish were not biting, but the solitude was awesome. More ice on the way for next weekend!
Out on Howard Eaton Reservoir:

 

The 24v Strikemaster has been great!

 

Might go out tomorrow but -58 W/C kinda makes me say Nope.

 

ok, monday is my day! I have not had a good chance to go out at all this year, but monday my kids have school, wife is at work, and for some reason we have presidents day off at my job...

So, Im going to swing by the bait store and grab some minnows, put the tip up out and get ready for pike and rainbow trout!

 

Im 5 months early here, but Im already thinking of ice fishing. I went through all my ice stuff and made sure its all organized and ready to throw in the truck.

I am lacking in the electronics side though. I have a fish finder in my kayak, im thinking of just pulling that out and using it this winter along with getting a aqua-vu camera.

So on my list to buy before the hard water starts -

Aqua-vu camera
minnow cooler (can also be used in the summer)
new sled, my old one is a dump wagon with skis on it and it sucked using last year
drill adapter for my auger... drilling 24 inches of ice by hand was a lesson for me... pick your spot well because you are not moving once you drill that hole
I missed out on the clearance bibs and jackets this year, so I will be using my winter coveralls again and not missing out in the spring for them


What I do have already -
2 tip ups
3 ice rods (light, medium and heavy)
tons of baits
bucket with seat
bag for ice gear
fishing gloves
facemask/hat
heated gloves
propane heater
propane ----- this was such a hard thing to find last year, I have 4 can right now, but im going to stock up with about 20 more in the fall
ice shelter
hand auger
chisel
recovery picks

 

So time is closing in! There has only been 2 days in the 30s but I already have my sled packed and ready to go.

I got a new sled, got my drill adapter for the auger... then found out my drill is a 3/8th and needs to be a 1/2, so I got a new drill too. I went with a hart brand hammer drill since I already have batteries for it. Its got the handle to keep it from snapping my wrist off. I also got my minnow cooler over the summer and used it a few time already.


All I have left is to get a underwater camera and im going to get the garman striker plus 4 ice bundle. I use a striker 4 on my kayak, but the plus has mapping ability and they both use the same wiring, so in the summer I can map lakes with the kayak then fish them in the winter.

 

Ok, im ready. Ice sonar showed up today, and I got a few more quick strike rigs for my tip ups. All the ones I had were pretty small, so I grabbed a pair of big ones for some nice giant baits.

Hurry up ice!!

 

Beauty of a day this past weekend in Canadaland.

 

Haven’t been out yet, maybe on the next stretch of days off. If that comes thru.

 

I'm hoping to head out to Chalet this weekend. Maybe the mouth. Still figuring out spots since I'm used to walking on with a sled haha.

 

I need this rod in my life...

 

Finally finished my tip up holder for my flip over. Holds 1 tip up (MN only allows 2 lines). Made from aluminum and a single rivet. Just need to bolt it to the tub.

 

After months of them sitting in my cart I finally got some real bibs and jacket! Went to scheels ice fest today, drove over an hour to get there to be second in line. I got a free bucket that got 10% anything in the bucket(first 50 people got a bucket), also got 2 free hats and a free sweatshirt. The jacket and bibs were 25%, plus I stuffed them into the bucket for a extra 10% off! Ended up saving $200 on them.

 

Great find & great deal. Right on time for the season too. Yeah, without the right duds you’re too busy playin’ with Cold instead of fish.

 

My old gear was some 20 year old all weather coveralls I got from fleet farm. This suit is way better, plus this one floats, my old coveralls did not, infact I bet they sank.

 

Still sporting my old oilpatch Halliburton ones. Could get new ones but just too cheap.

 

I've got striker ice Bibbs too; they did well their first season. Only complaint is that they don't fit well around my baffin boots.

 

Im picking up some Korker polar vortex boots soon, so hoping the bibs fit over them. I did get XL on the bibs and jacket, im a in-between size between L and XL, so XL was my choice for comfort.

 

Setup a dry run for my hub and my diesel heater... .holy crap this thing is powerful, I dont think I would ever be able to put it in my single person flipover. Even on low its hot in this shack and its twice the size of my flip over and doesnt have insulated walls like the flip over does.

 

I got the ultimate in catch more fishermen than fish product.... Fake weeds, 4 feet long, put a sinker on 1 end and tie a rope to the other end. Sink em around your location and wait for the fish to roll into the new weed bed. Came in a pack of 5. Im going to setup 4 as stand alone, and then 1 is going to be wrapped around my camera.