Bare Minimum Ice Fishing

[Hamsnacks]

First time Ice fishing, none of "the boys" will come out and try it with me.

Thinking of taking the wife and kids out this week and giving it a try.
I am interested in doing it right, buying the right shelter and extra equipment... but wondering if I were to just try it out this week for an hour or so could I do without any of it?

Based on what I've read online and the current temperature outside, I am thinking all I'd need would be an ice fishing rod, a manual auger and that would be pretty much it for a quick first attempt.
Any other advice or anything else required?

I was told to try out Lake Isle since it is only an hour away from Edmonton and a good spot, would you agree?

Thanks in advance

[buckman]

Dress warm you should be fine. Look for where the other anglers have gathered gives you an indication of where the fish may be. Also an area with lots of frozen over holes can be a good spot.

[Surfnturf]

The most important thing is PROPER CLOTHES. I personally wear my hunting clothes with thermals underneath, 1000 g insulated hunting boots. Do not overlook these most important pieces of "equipment". You will get cold and miserable fast. Lakes are windy places. If you are planning on bringing the kids and wife for more than an hour, shelter with heating I'd say is a must.
I personally like to keep it light and use inexpensive/value items. Utility sled to carry my stuff, hand auger, ice ladle to clear your holes of slush, 2 ice fishing rod/reel combos, 1 tip up, 1 quality thermos that keeps my tea hot all day, 1 wide mouth thermos for my hot soup for lunch, jigging lures, a garmin striker 4 sonar/flasher with a battery (improves your chances exponentially), a Cabelas's 6x6 uninsulated ice fishing tent and a top tank propane"sunflower" heater (I only use them on days temperature dips under -15 C including windchill factor).
Again, for me, the most important "equipment " are my clothes and boots, others might disagree.

[Smoky buck]

All you need is an auger, some rods or tip ups or even a chunk of wood with line, smelt or herring, hooks, and leaders

Drive out drill holes 7-15ft of water drop down your bait just up up from the bottom and wait

Don’t need to follow the crowds just look at a depth chart of the lake to help pick your spots. If you are not getting bites move

[Bush]

If you’re bringing kids a underwater camera will definitely keep them focused on fishing, a pop up shelter makes a huge difference warm day or not to add a huge amount of comfort for a wife. Warm day a heater is still nice in the morning or evening and also nice to add heat to a mid day snack.


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[freeride]

I used to ice fish all the time in manitoba, -20 down to -35 was my cut off. My equipment.... hand augers, 2 rods. Warm clothes.

If i got cold I drilled another hole, or ran around to warm up.
It's funny because it's so much warmer here, now I have a tent, heater, fish finder... lol

All you really NEED is to get through the ice, rods to catch or hooks, and warm clothing.... the rest makes it more enjoyable or for the significant other to come.

It's like camping, some guys just need a tarp, some wont leave home without the 5th wheel and satalight dish.

[freeride]

Dont know how old your kids are, but if they are young and get bored we used to shuffle our feet in the snow and make a grid, then play tag where you can only run on the pathways. Use tip ups for fishing and the kids will play tag while watching for the flag to pop. Keeps everyone warm too

[HuyFishin]

I agree with surfnturf

Dress warm as possible. It will be colder on the ice then it is anywhere else. Layer up properly otherwise your family will go home early.


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[Jigsalot]

Originally Posted by HuyFishin

I agree with surfnturf

Dress warm as possible. It will be colder on the ice then it is anywhere else. Layer up properly otherwise your family will go home early.


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Good boots for sure. I remember a long time ago I took a bud from work for his first trip. Well he wore jeans and was frozen. We left around noon. Even if it plus 5 in Edmonton it will be cool on the lake.

[Bush Critter]

A tent sure make things a lot more comfortable, keeps you out of the wind and makes it a lot easier to sight fish. Well worth the investment

[liketoshoot]

Fished for year with very little and had just as much fun

Hook, line and some bait. Dress warm and a bucket to sit on is nice. 6” hand auger is easy to get you going.

[Crankbait]

Just don't give your kids a saucer sled and an umbrella if it's windy.

Before you all hit the ice, put some hand warmers in your boots at your toes (two hours longer).

If you were in south Alberta, I'd meet you on the ice and show/give some basics. It's amazing how little you really need. And like anything, those bits and pieces will start to add up and your garage will become smaller.

[58thecat]

Where are you going? Outside temp and wind chill play a big part....what species of fish are you targeting?...this will give you an idea of what bait/lures to use.... If your bringing the clan then think rods and let them have fun too....6-8" hand auger will cut a few holes....vehicle close by to heat up?....build this trip for all to enjoy and go from there.

[Hamsnacks]

Thank you for all the quick and informational responses, honestly really helped out a lot, thank you!

May just use this week to plan it out a bit more and then head out next week to make it a more enjoyable trip. May even rent the stuff, been seeing a lot of ads on Facebook and Kijiji for around $80 you could get everything you need, not a bad 1-time fee to see if the family enjoys it or not.

Thinking of Isle lake unless there's a better stop for beginners near Edmonton, and hoping to catch some pike.

Thanks again.

[Bushleague]

Originally Posted by Hamsnacks

Thank you for all the quick and informational responses, honestly really helped out a lot, thank you!

May just use this week to plan it out a bit more and then head out next week to make it a more enjoyable trip. May even rent the stuff, been seeing a lot of ads on Facebook and Kijiji for around $80 you could get everything you need, not a bad 1-time fee to see if the family enjoys it or not.

Thinking of Isle lake unless there's a better stop for beginners near Edmonton, and hoping to catch some pike.

Thanks again.

This thread outlined it pretty thoroughly. Jigging sticks, hand auger, skimmer, handful of spoons and jig heads, bait.

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showt...hlight=fishing

[Bushleague]

Heres a thread I posted last year about a homemade tipup I build that is very effective.

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showthread.php?p=4132557

And heres a vid I made about an even more simple setup.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETsIn9mYYVQ

[Fishwhere]

Hey there,

You pretty much have the right idea.

Auger, scoop, ice rod or some sort of a set up to have line on, and some bait. Rule of thumb for me with no shelter is about minus 10ish depending on wind. As mentioned on here - as warm as you think you should dress - dress way warmer. I also agree on buying used stuff, its a great way to save some cash, and just to try it out.

You mentioned only going for a short period for the first few times etc... to each their own, but i would try find someone to go with, like a buddy, or someone who has done it a little bit before. I would not take the wife/kid the first time or so until you know a little bit about what you are doing, it may end up being you ending up doing everything for everyone else, when your goal is to see if you enjoy it. I like the family thing, but just an idea in the beginning.

Also for generic fish catching i dont know much about lake isle but i havent heard a lot of great things there. Go give wabamun a shot. Go fish for at least 2 hours at first light, or in the evening last light to maximize your time in the best fishing periods.

Good luck.

As a side note - i thought it was a little funny someone talking about having an cheaper set up and mentioning flashers. Not exactly a cheap add on to an ice fishing set up. Hahaha but i would love one to try.

[Surfnturf]

Originally Posted by Fishwhere

Hey there,

You pretty much have the right idea.

Auger, scoop, ice rod or some sort of a set up to have line on, and some bait. Rule of thumb for me with no shelter is about minus 10ish depending on wind. As mentioned on here - as warm as you think you should dress - dress way warmer. I also agree on buying used stuff, its a great way to save some cash, and just to try it out.

You mentioned only going for a short period for the first few times etc... to each their own, but i would try find someone to go with, like a buddy, or someone who has done it a little bit before. I would not take the wife/kid the first time or so until you know a little bit about what you are doing, it may end up being you ending up doing everything for everyone else, when your goal is to see if you enjoy it. I like the family thing, but just an idea in the beginning.

Also for generic fish catching i dont know much about lake isle but i havent heard a lot of great things there. Go give wabamun a shot. Go fish for at least 2 hours at first light, or in the evening last light to maximize your time in the best fishing periods.

Good luck.

As a side note - i thought it was a little funny someone talking about having an cheaper set up and mentioning flashers. Not exactly a cheap add on to an ice fishing set up. Hahaha but i would love one to try.

I really don't see a 150 dollar flasher to be an expensive item...look at other flasher prices. Laugh away but some people spend that in gas on 3 ice fishing trips...

[TrollGRG]

Lots of good advice here

The most important item you need to consider is clothing. If you dress the part, you can make do with little else. Pick your day and you clothing and you can be comfortable enough.

Many moons ago (50+ years) we didn't have an auger, tip up, or even a bucket to sit on. we had an ice chipper to make the hole and the lines were just hand held or we used an improvised tip-up from a twig from shore. The only shelter was our clothing. We soon learnt that if you are using a chipper - hang onto it when you break through the last little bit of ice or you will lose the chipper ;o)

Those were fun times - didn't get as many fish as I do today but it was more entertaining.

[58thecat]

Dress accordingly as in too much...ya can always strip down....and in your situation I like the idea mentioned to renting gear...give it a go...if it's a bust no real cost but if it sparks an interest then you can at least have an idea where to start.

[Bushleague]

Today I headed out with what I consider the bare minimum, I literally loaded the sled up at my house and started walking down the road to the lake. Heres what I took, the lawn chair is optional and was never actually used today.

DSCF1871 by , on Flickr

Heres one of my handlines, rigged up with a jighead and a half minnow, the other one was rigged with a treble hook and a whole minnow. The jighead and the treble give a totally different action when jigged, so I usually start with both and adjust as needed.

DSCF1873 by , on Flickr

I'm a fan of using set lines, and its pretty much a result of using a hand auger for so long. You're often better off letting the lines do the fishing while you bore more holes and move the lines around, rather than sitting on a pail and twiddling a jigging stick all day. Keeps you warm too. I used the same setup as in the video, with the handlines I pull off about 6' of line into the pail, then run a couple wraps around the pail handle to keep from losing a line.

DSCF1874 by , on Flickr

The results? A few small jack, a couple missed strikes, and a couple nice burbot. Been awhile since I caught myself a meal, using about $20 bucks worth of gear (auger was $15 at a yard sale), and without burning a drop of fuel.

DSCF1877 by , on Flickr

[58thecat]

dam Bushleague you are very effective at keeping it simple...awesome...yet effective!!!! That snake fish might scare the kids though

[Bushleague]

Originally Posted by 58thecat

dam Bushleague you are very effective at keeping it simple...awesome...yet effective!!!! That snake fish might scare the kids though

Lol, that slimy bugger was kinda funny, I got his head up the hole and had it almost to the the top but couldnt budge him any further. I was a bit puzzled until I realized that he had his tail hooked under the ice and was holding himself there. Maybe I've run into that before but just didnt know it cause the ice was too thick to see.

Had to stick my hand down and grab his gill, burbs have got to be one of the more difficult fish to grab by the gills.

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by Bushleague

Lol, that slimy bugger was kinda funny, I got his head up the hole and had it almost to the the top but couldnt budge him any further. I was a bit puzzled until I realized that he had his tail hooked under the ice and was holding himself there. Maybe I've run into that before but just didnt know it cause the ice was too thick to see.

Had to stick my hand down and grab his gill, burbs have got to be one of the more difficult fish to grab by the gills.

ya for some reason when you grab them they tend to curl their tail and they are freakin' strong...the wife caught one the other day and I told her to hold it straight ...nope...just a ball of muscle but great to eat!!!!

[Whammies]

Originally Posted by 58thecat

ya for some reason when you grab them they tend to curl their tail and they are freakin' strong...the wife caught one the other day and I told her to hold it straight ...nope...just a ball of muscle but great to eat!!!!

I didn't think there was any meat on them things

[EZM]

Originally Posted by Whammies

I didn't think there was any meat on them things

Lot's of beautiful, firm, white meat like lobster !!!!!!!

You have to skin him first but when you peel him back and expose the flesh, the two fillets off the back are like big lobster tails - and amazing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-wzScMzs60

[sns2]

C'mon AO. Can someone who is going to Wab, AB Beach or Pigeon offer to take Hamsnacks along with them. If I was going, I sure would.

[slamilton]

If you are getting a tent I would try setting it up at home. My first time setting mine up was a gongshow in the wind. I ended up breaking a pole taking it down because I was so frustrated.