How to Ice Fish

Ice fishing is a great, laid back sport you can enjoy in the winter or somewhere that stays super cold the year round. If you're interested in finding out where and how to ice fish, your Internet connection can be a great resouce.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• something to carry equipment out onto the lake with, such as a sled or even an auto if the ice is super thick!
• snacks and water

How to Find a Place to Ice Fish

1. First you need to find somewhere to ice fish. This is going to involve finding a frozen lake that has fish in it. Sure, you could just find some frozen water somewhere, but the key is that there are fish there! To find a frozen lake, you will have to go north.

2. You might be able to find a frozen lake even as far south as Maryland, but it's probably not frozen enough to be safe for you to venture onto with ice fishing equipment. The temperatures don't stay cold enough long enough. Go somewhere like Michigan, Minnesota, Vermont, or Wisconsin.

3. 
   Frozen Lake Mendota at sunset

   Once you choose a state, look at a map to see what lakes are in that state. Then, use travel websites to find out which lakes people generally go to ice fish. One great lake for ice fishing is Lake Mendota, in Madison, Wisconsin. Many people ice fish on this Lake, which is adjacent to the University of Wisconsin, Madison. This lake generally freezes around December 20th each year, and stays that way into March.

How to Prepare Yourself for Ice Fishing

4. Once you have found your frozen lake, you need to prepare yourself to ice fish there. The first step is to get the appropriate attire for ice fishing. Your feet need to be warm, as this is one of the first body parts to get frostbite in the cold. Wear insulated snow boots that are also waterproof. They should have some traction.

5. As for clothing, you want to protect extremities. Have waterproof gloves that you can move your fingers easily in so that you don't have to take them off to use your hands. Wear a hat or at least have a scarf and earmuffs. Down coats are great, or other insulated waterproof coats with lots of layers underneath. As for pants, buy some that allow your body to breathe, but also keep you warm.

6. You have to decide how much or how little equipment you will use. You may just be trying this for fun, or you may want to get serious about it. If you plan to stay out for long periods of time, in addition to the equipment, you will need some type of protective 'housing' and a heater to keep you warm and protected from the elements.

7. 
   Ice shanty

   For the basic ice fishing, you can just take a chair out onto the ice to sit on while fishing. For longer visits, you can get an ice shanty, or ice hut which has a bunk heater inside. It is possible to have a permanent house on the ice that has tv, a bathroom, and even beds if you want to go that far.

8. 
   Ice saw/ auger...

   As for the equipment, you need a few things. One is an ice saw or auger that will cut a circular hole into the ice. These are either hand operated or power augers. You will also want a skimmer to skim ice and slush from around the hole that accumulates throughout the day.

9. Next, you need the fishing equipment itself. You could get a small fishing rod with bait like crappie minnows or waxworms. Or, a tip-up could be used, which has a flag attached that tips up whenever the line is pulled on. A less popular way is to spear fish, where you would actually stand over the hole with a spear and wait to see a fish.

10. You need bait. Live minnows are frequently used, placed in a bait bucket and carried onto the lake. A dip net helps get the minnows out of the bait bucket to put onto the fish hooks. A gaff hook helps get the fish out of the hole, and a hook disgorger helps get the hook out of the fish's mouth.

11. Always take snacks and water with you onto the lake. This holds especially true if you are going out miles from the shore and it would take awhile to get back to your vehicle. You don't want to dehydrate while you're fishing! Of course, you'll have to make sure your water doesn't freeze. Wrap it in something so it gets less direct exposure to the cold.

How to Actually Ice Fish

12. 
    Carrying fishing equipment on a sled onto Lake Mendota

    Pack up your gear and get your warm clothes on. Head out to the lake. Once you arrive, you need to get the equipment out onto the lake. The easiest way to do this is with a sled. If you have a large amount of equipment, you might want to use a snowmobile with the equipment attached, or even a truck.

13. You need to find a spot to ice fish. You might want to play it safe and stay to the edges of the lake. The edges usually freeze before the middle of the lake. You can with trial and error find spots that have more fish than others. Once you make your hole, you can usually see down to the water below, and may see fish swimming around or not.

14. 
    Hole made for ice fishing...

    Once you find your spot, use the auger or ice saw to make the hole/s. If you want to have more than one hole, the flag idea is great. This way, you are alerted if you get a pull on one of your fishing lines. Set up the flag devices with the lines and hooks attached to the rods where the flags are.

15. Get out a minnow from the bait bucket, bait the hook, and put the line into the water, with the flag attached to tip-up when you get a bite!

16. Now, set up your chair or stool, and wait. Or, if you have a portable ice shack, set it up and place the heater inside. You're ready to go! Every so often, use the ice skimmer to keep the hole clear of ice forming during the day.

17. 
    Tip-up

    If one of the flags stands up, you may have a fish on the line. Get it out of the water like pulling in a regular fish. If you have trouble getting the fish up through the hole, then use the gaff hook to make sure you don't lose it.

18. Once retrieving the fish, use can use the hook disgorger to get the hook out of the fish's mouth. Have something to put the fish in, like a cooler.

19. Pack up your equipment and return to shore. If you're super cold, try warming up your vehicle and getting warm before you put the equipment into your truck or SUV to go home.

Tips & Warnings

• Often there will be a layer of snow on top of the ice, which is why snow boots are important!
• You need a fishing license, even to ice fish in Wisconsin! Carry it with you when you go to fish.
• Just because a lake looks frozen doesn't mean that it is. The easiest guide is to see if there are lots of others out on the lake and noone's fallen through- that's your first clue. But, you still need to make sure there is at least a 4 inch depth of ice for any areas where you will go onto the ice, and more if you will take heavy equipment onto the ice with you.
• Beware of "rotten ice," ice that started to melt and refroze during a few warm winter days. This ice is not as sturdy and could be dangerous.
• If you are on the ice, and start to feel an extremity getting numb, get somewhere warm as soon as possible to avoid frostbite and even worse consequences!