How to Make an Ice Fishing Rod

Ice fishing rods are often a lot shorter than regular fishing rods because you're fishing through a small hole in the ice and are usually sitting in an ice hut. You can buy an ice fishing rod if you don't mind spending the extra money but it's easy to make one using wood that you may already have lying around. Follow these steps to make an ice fishing rod.

Instructions

1. Take a 2-ft. long wooden dowel that's 3/8-inch thick and secure two guides to it using electrical tape.

2. Break off the snap of a safety pin then bend the wired portion a small amount. Tape it to the end of the dowel. This will be the tip top of the ice fishing rod.

3. Cut off a small amount of a closet rod or something with similar thickness to be the handle of the ice fishing rod. Use a drill and make a hole in the end of the handle about 2 inches long and 3/8-inch in diameter. Secure it to the wooden dowel.

4. Make two small holes 1/8-inch in diameter in the handle. These should be at a slight V angle 2 inches apart. Glue small pieces of wooden dowel into the holes. This will be used as a form of a reel to wrap the line around.

5. Pull the braided line through the tip top and the guides. Secure it to the back peg on the handle. Store the remaining line on the handle just like you would a reel.

Tips & Warnings

• You can also make a quick and cheap modification to an old fishing rod to make an ice fishing rod. Use the tip section of an old spinning rod and take off the guides at the bottom of it. Cover the bottom of the section with masking tape so that it fits back on the handle of the old fishing rod.