I know it’s early but I thought I’d throw this one out for info.
Is there a specific ice fishing glove that works better than others? I’ve looked at the Ice Armor ones for ~$30 but the fingers look bulky and thick. Are there any out there that are smaller through the fingers for more dexterity and are still good at keeping your hands warm? I’ve missed fish at the hole that went back in because I didn’t want my hands to freeze the rest of the day. I know neoprene is good but doesn’t keep my hands very warm.
I’ve missed fish at the hole that went back in because I didn’t want my hands to freeze the rest of the day.
Neal, you are a wise man. A couple years ago, I was walking out to my spot at Strawberry, first thing in the morning when I saw a group of three youngsters (probably early 20s) fishing. The wind was already blowing pretty good and they had a little wind break set up to try to keep at least some of the wind off of them. Just before I reached them I watched one of them reel what appeared to be a nice fish to the edge of his ice hole, and then try to lift/drag it onto the ice. His line snapped and he dove for that fish as it went back down the hole. He went into all the way up to his shoulder in a feeble effort to grab that fish. At the time I thought he was going to regret doing that really soon in that bitter cold.
I have tried several different gloves, and they all sort of work, but when it is bitter cold (10 degrees below zero or more) my hands will always get cold unless I am able to keep them in my pockets, keep a heater going, or I am able to find some sort of shelter.
Hey, it is NEVER too early to talk about ice fishing, man. Especially only two and 3/4 months away from first drill!
Kent is a lot more experienced at ice fishing than me, but let me offer what works for me. First of all, make sure you get one of those lip grippers so that when fishing for big fish (such as trout or tiger muskies, etc.) that you can handle them with that, and get as little water and fish slime on the gloves. I will be getting one of those this season.
Secondly, I have found that if I have two pairs of gloves with me, one being my wool (type) fingerless gloves with a little mitten cover type thing for most of the time, and then when I get a nice big slimy wet trout up through the hole with grippers to take off my warm glove on my left hand (the hand I hold the fish with while taking jig out with right hand and pliers) and slip on the neoprene glove to handle the slime. After fish is taken care of then take off neoprene and put back on the warm glove. This method works well for me, but that’s just my .02 and there are probably better ways to do it.
I’ll tell you what has worked good for us. I like either buckskin or deerskin winter gloves for the main protection. But make sure they are real sking not imitations or half and half. Then, get a box of latex or exam gloves and put them on before the main gloves. As soon as you need dexterity for a few moments like when handling fish, you can slip one or or both of the main gloves and you still have protection from the cold/wet. Then you can either dry the exam gloves or put on a new pair from the box. One box from Costco has 150 or so gloves so they last a whole season. They are great for cleaning fish and putting on bait/scents. And depending on what brand you get they help with sweating on the hands too. Another plus with the exam gloves is that you can protect your hands from line cuts (especially braided). And that keeps you even happier because as soon as you have a cut the wind and dry air make it even worse.
To tell you the truth the best way that I keep my hands warm is by moving them. I figure that if they are getting cold I am not fishing effectively. So either change lures/baits or move to a new location and drill more. And the deer/buckskin leather gloves are good in pretty cold weather. I love ice fishing it is my favorite. It is so easy to move and start again when you don’t have any shelters or tents. Just a good old sled and bucket to sit on for 15-20 minutes before you move again.
Now that we have the ice fishing questions going, how does everyone keep fishfinder monitors/displays from getting damaged when it is below -5 or -10 degrees? The new fishfinder I have says that its display can be damaged if the temperature is under -10. [crazy] I have been trying to come up with a solution to this that is small, and easy to deal with before the season starts. Thanks.
last season we started to use those yellow dish washing gloves there pretty thick I think any rubber glove would work As soon as we caught a fish we switch from our wool mitten gloves to the rubber glove handle the fish then switch back.
But ultimately I think having a good propane heater with extra propane works the best.
Kenai gloves make the best gloves for ice fishing IMO. As you mentioned, they’re not real bulky like some of those welding gloves they try to sell you, and they keep my hands warm.
I’m not a spokesperson for them or anything, but I seriously wouldn’t hesitate to buy another pair. I love 'em!
So, Ron, you can get your big mitts in those big mitts and still do finite tasks like tying jigs to your line, reeling in big 'uns AND pulling fish through the ice hole when your line breaks? I guess if you can be an artist with a welding rod and use welding gloves, the ice fishing gloves would be a piece of cake!
well i’m not sure we are talking about that same gloves? the ice armor gloves i got are thin and like ski gloves.. with 5 fingers and were very good at keeping the hands dry and had as good of fill with a rod in the hand as any i have tryed. no i cant tie knot with any kind of gloves on i got to take them off for that..no gloves are as good as not having gloves on but when it’s so cold ya need them the ice armor gloves are the best i have seen..
Personally I just use my ski gloves. Make sure they are ‘waterproof’ (which they never really are). When I have a fish coming in I can’t take the time to switch gloves, and you never really get a good touch or dexterity with anything but the exam gloves. When I have the fish on, I just quickly yank off my glove and do it bare handed, including reaching into the hole for the fish if needed.
Once I’m done with the fish, I have a roll of paper towels (the good blue ones) to dry off. Once I’m dry, put the gloves back on that I just took off.
I do use the exam gloves for most things like cleaning the fish, etc (keeps the fish stink off), but don’t have time to mess with them with a fish coming in.
I also like to keep a heater running when it gets very cold out there.
Now I just need to get my butt back on the ice once I can get the snowmobiles running again.
Try Otter Skins. I think that is what they are called. I got some at SW. They are pretty expensive, but they are waterproof. They are not warm, however.
Hey, it is NEVER too early to talk about ice fishing, man. Especially only two and 3/4 months away from first drill!