ice-fishing observations -- I must be the odd-ball

Utah Fishing Reports & Discussion Utah Fishing General
1

Things have certainly changed in the last 10 years. Maybe it’s Cabela’s. Maybe it’s human nature to want to have what the other guys have. I don’t know, but I think I must be going against the norm these days. There are a number of things that are very common – in fact, if you don’t have these things, your probably in the minority like myself.

There was a day when ice fishing consisted of grabbing the same rod you use in July, a 5 gallon bucket for use as a “gear box” / chair, a spud or hand auger, and you went out and braved the elements to fish through the ice. Now days, it seems as if you can’t go out on the ice without your folding camp chairs, pop-up tent shelter, gas powered auger, portable Mr. Heater, 24" ice rod \ reel with “ice line”, automatic jigger machine, sonar, underwater camera, Jet Sled, ATV, Volcano cooker, and in some cases the kitchen sink.

Personally, I still use my same spinning outfit that I use in the summer. I still carry my 5 gallon bucket for use as a “gear box” / chair. I don’t have any type of shelter other than my coveralls, coat, and beanie. I still bring my hand-auger - although we do have a gas powered auger that we like to cuss when it doesn’t run properly (anyone else have issues with gas augers?). I do use a Jet Sled, and occasionally an ATV. No electronics of any sort, except for a traditional camera for the occasional picture.

I watched a group of guys at Fish Lake shovel out a trail through the snow so that they could get their ATV’s, shelters, sleds, etc. out to the ice. It appeared to be a lot of effort. When they made it to the ice, they proceeded about 100 yards off shore, and shut the machines down and unloaded. I think I could have dragged their equip out that far on the ice for them in less time than what it took for them to blaze an ATV trail out.

So, my cliff-ish ramblings come down to this: At what point does a day out fishing become too much work?

( FWIW – I think I catch as many fish as the guys with all the fancy gear “extra” gear).

2

To sum it up, I guess you could say that these days it’s all about comfort.

3

Amen! I do have a hut and smaller rods and all that but they only come along when the wife and kids come. I try to make it as comfortable and ‘easy’ as possible so they have a good experience. But when it’s just me the bucket is the be all/end all of ice fishing.

4

Absolutely! I use to tent it too :laughing:
It would probably take all that and a float suit to get me out on ice.

But come spring, give me a pole and dental floss with a whispy dry and I am good to go.

5

So, my cliff-ish ramblings come down to this: At what point does a day out fishing become too much work?

Easy. When the water freezes.

6

why not be as comfortable as possible. i have all of the stuff you mentioned, but too each his own. :sunglasses:

7

**I used to do the same. Back in the early eighty’s, when ****we went to year round fishing, very few went ice fishing. **I would take an axe, some bait, and my pole.

Now, I like having a tent and power auger. It must be an age thing.

**As far as your auger goes, I had issues from the day I purchased mine new. I hated it. I then started using fuel **stabilizer and I NEVER have problems.

8

It is all worth it if it helps me catch fish.

9

I will admit that sometimes I might wish that I had all of the fancy gear and toys. However for the most part I will stick with the basics.

One thing that I notices on Saturday when i was at the berry (I dont want to talk about how the fishing was [pirate]) is how annoyed I was with all of the noise and fumes floating across the lake from power augers, snow machines, and four wheelers. One reason that i go fishing is to get out and enjoy nature and that sure makes it hard.

10

Fishing becomes too much work when you feel the need to whine about what the other guy has. I have it all, snowmobile,four wheelers, Polaris Ranger with a full cab,power auger,half a dozen ice rods, Vexilar, ice house,camera, etc. Not that I need it all every time, but when the weather gets nasty or the walk is too far, or the fish get finicky, it comes in handy. The goal is to enjoy fishing. If you enjoy sitting on a bucket with a long rod and no shelter thats fine, but if someone else enjoys hauling a camp trailer full of goodies behind a snow cat out, thats fine too.
Some people fish to catch fish. Some people fish just to get away and screw off.
HE WHO DIES WITH THE MOST TOYS WINS!!

11

i personally think everyone of you guys are nuts for being on the ice!! LOL!! but i like to stop at pineview when i teach a class up in the mountains and look at everyone fishing… its amazing all the crap can be supported by the ice

12

"At what point does a day out fishing become too much work? "

It all becomes too much when the junk gets in the way of what you went fishing for. I fish for one reason, to catch fish. I don’t fish so I can get more gear, BS with people, eat food, drink beverages, brag to others, etc, etc. If I think I brought too much gear that reduced my catch then it was too much to bring along. I’ve reduced my partners (distractions) more often than my gear.

I started out ice fishing 27 years ago in simple fashion, 5 1/2 ft rod, a bucket, hand auger and a small selection of lures and I caught plenty of fish but I wasn’t very comfortable. Over the years I’ve upgraded to several short rods, all rigged differently to save time, a large deep sled to prevent spills, several boxes of ice fishing lures, several buckets, camp chairs, a lazer hand auger, and finally a shelter. This has all served to improve/increase my catch all while increasing my comfort level on the ice. Enjoyment of the time spent is where it’s at for me. Don’t let the junk get in the way of your enjoyment.

13

The thing that amazes me is I see the types of guys PBH talks about at Strawberry. But they trailer up two snowmobiles, trailer them over 120 miles round trip, but then finally get to Strawberry and drive 1/4 mile out on to the ice! If I had gone through the pain of getting those machines gassed up and loaded and had to pull them for four hours round trip, I sure as heck wouldn’t drive them a 1/4 mile out on to the ice where every guy on foot can walk to in five minutes!!!

14

I will admit that sometimes I might wish that I had all of the fancy gear and toys. However for the most part I will stick with the basics.

One thing that I notices on Saturday when i was at the berry (I dont want to talk about how the fishing was [pirate]) is how annoyed I was with all of the noise and fumes floating across the lake from power augers, snow machines, and four wheelers. One reason that i go fishing is to get out and enjoy nature and that sure makes it hard.

In all honesty, you get that n the soft water days as well. I remember when we got our four stroke how nice it was. Quiet and doesn’t stink of gas, but there is still allot of two strokes out there, or big motors on an idle.
I agree I hate that smell, but it seems it is there no matter what[sly]

15

I guess I have to agree with those who like the basics. I started buying all the tents, and equipment, but soon decided it was just too much trouble to load it all up, haul it to the lake, unload it, drag it onto the ice, set it up, fish in it for a while, but unable to move because everything takes too long to pack up, pack it all up at the end of the day, drag it off the ice, load it all up, haul it all home, unload it, and put it all away, and then collapse in bed. A couple of years ago I gave up on the gear acquisition.

Just isn’t worth it any more. My best trips are with the smallest jet sled possible, manual auger, bucket, and for the last few years my tackle box needs fewer and fewer jigs. If it doesn’t fit in the trunk of my Corolla…it probably doesnt go anymore. Seldom is it so cold I need a tent, and I enjoy the mobility of as little gear as possible.

That said, I won’t fish without my Marcum…sometimes I take two[crazy]

Three ice fishing shelters in the garage I better sell…

IceAndFly

16

I agree on how you cant just get up and move to another area very easily. I have been able to experience both worlds and I am a big fan of both ways to go about ice fishing so, for me it just depends on the day.

That being said I think I am fishing more effectively when I dont have too many distractions and I am mobile. If you can get away with having all the gear and being mobil as well then I am all about doing it. Or if it is a blizzard or night time than a shelter can be a tool to allow me to fish longer.

17

I have the jet sled, special tackle box with all my ice gear, a fish finder attached to a small coller which doubles as a bait box, 4 very nice ice rod set-ups, a 10" power auger, several buckets to sit on and hold gear and poles, and I have two tents.

I have ice fished for 6 years and I have slowly accumulated all my gear.

First off, my gas auger takes a few minutes to start when it gets cold. So I usually store it in my truck, start it for 30 seconds before heading out and then it starts up right away when we are ready to drill.

Second, I only use my tents when I want to watch the fish in clear water or when it is very windy or cold or when I take my wife, kids or newbies. This is probably once every 4 trips or so. Mine folds into a backpack case so it isn’t too much trouble getting out and it takes 30 seconds to set up. Perfect tent for those who don’t have wheelers/snowmobiles.

I usually fish early ice so dragging the sled on less than 2" of ice is usually not too hard. But when the snow gets more than 2"s, then I cannot travel more than 1/4 mile or so or it is not worth the hassle.

But over the 6 years, I have been more and more successful at ice fishing. Part of it is knwoing the waters I fish, but a huge part is the gear. If all my gear was stolen and I had to replace it, this is what I would get:

  1. 3 ice rods that actually hold screw the reel on and hold it on, that are at least 30"s with at least 4 eyelets ($10-25 each). I would put reels that have at least a few ball bearings ($30-50 each). I think a lot of new ice fishermen make the mistake of buying crap reels with sucky drags that freeze and then break off fish. I would also put cheap but long spring bobbers on all of them. So total of about $50 per set-up.

  2. A 10" inch mako power auger. I love my 10" auger but it is so much heavier than the 8" and often the two extra inches aren’t needed. It depends on how strong you are, how far your favorite places are, if you have wheelers, etc. Sometimes I wish I had the 8". Cost about $350.

  3. A color fish finder. I only have a black and white that cost me around $200 but it has drastically improved my ice fishing. I can’t fish without it now. I hope to get a color one for next year. Cost about $300.

  4. The lightest sled you can find that will cary your gear. $40.

  5. A medium sixed tackle box and ice fishing gear. I would buy nothing but radical glow tube jigs in the 2.25 inch (chartreuse and glow) and 1.5: ice cutter jigs (white with red flake, predator, glow, pink and chartreuse). And then 1/8, 1/16 and 1/32 ounce jig heads and weights. Cost is about $100 per year.

  6. Ice fishing tent - quick fish 3 which is light, easy to carry and easy to set-up. About $150.

  7. Two buckets to hold gear and to sit on. about $10 each.

  8. FInally a 4 wheeler. Mostly because you can use it in the winter to ice fish and in the summer in the boulders. I hope to get one this year but who knows. I hope to spend less than $5k on my first one.

I have had a few trips that I thought “Is this worth it” while dragging my stuff to or from the fishing spot. But so far over the last few years, I feel like my gear has helped me get the art of ice fishing down to a science. I never get skunked (when I take the time to do research and go to places I am familiar with) and I have caught more and usually bigger fish.

My fish finder is the biggest difference as I can target fish throughout the column while everyone else targets one area and I know if there are fish there but just aren’t biting or if there are no fish in the area.

Did I mention how much I am addicted to ice fishing?

18

RE:“Just isn’t worth it any more. My best trips are with the smallest jet sled possible, manual auger, bucket, and for the last few years my tackle box needs fewer and fewer jigs. If it doesn’t fit in the trunk of my Corolla…it probably doesnt go anymore. Seldom is it so cold I need a tent, and I enjoy the mobility of as little gear as possible.”

I couldn’t agree more, (although I guess I am hooked on my fishfinder and power auger). It is my unscientific observation that the guys with the big shelters and all of the bells and whistles get so comfy inside their shelters that they never feel the need to get out, move, and really find the fish, therefore catching less fish than the guy with the basics out moving around trying different things, and more frequently having better ultimate success.

19

Jacksonman I have basiclly everything you have (QuickFish 6 new this year, Humminbird ICE-55 6 color flasher, brand new lazer 10" power auger, nice Mr Buddy heater) and I have to say that you hit the nail exactly on the head. Thank you for making your point, I could not agree more. If you ever want to go fishing let me know.

20

Its what me and my friends and family call the BS factor. How many times do we go hunting, fishing, or camping and end up working to hard to get ready and then to hard to clean up and put everything away when we get home. Then at sometime on the trip one of the hi tech mechanical toys fails and you spend hours fixing it that takes time away from relaxation or recreation.

If your going on like a 7 day trip, sometimes it is all worth it. For just a half day or weekend trip definatley not. I have sort of studied what trips were great or not and what I took with me. I make note of this and then try to get the BS factor right. When I do take to much crap and screw the BS factor up it makes for a miserable trip.

So I definatly agree and also disagree with you on your outlook and it depends on lenght of time off, how far I have to drive, etc to see how much work is worth putting into the trip. Once you get the BS factor mastered, it makes for some great enjoyable trips in the outdoors.