How to Get Started in Ice Fishing

Series Summary

Ice fishing can take place anywhere you have ice and fish in the same place. Well, a tray full of ice cubes and Stouffer's tuna casserole won't quite do the trick; the ice needs to be covering a body of water which is home to hearty fish who can live in very cold water and are accommodating enough to nibble on the bait of foolhardy humans wearing thermal suits or 12 layers of clothes. Apparently, ice fishing provides an ideal opportunity for introspection and contemplation in the Scandinavian countries and an opportunity to socialize and get drunk in the ice fishing lodges and resorts in North America, though the Finns and Norwegians have been known to mix vodka with their isolation. Ice fishing is a popular wintertime sport in Canada, Russia and the United States as well as in Scandinavia. Forest Lake, Minn. hosts one of the most popular ice fishing contests in the U.S. every February. In this free ice fishing series, our experienced fisherman will demonstrate how to drill a hole for fishing. He will also tell you how to skim the hole to get out all of the snow and ice. You will also learn how a tip up and a jig rod works, as well as how to use them.

Video Transcript

"Alright in this series we're going to be talking about some of the basics. How to get started ice fishing part one. First we're going, we're going to talk about the first thing you need to do which is to get a hole drilled in the ice. Now there's three methods to do that. You can use a hand chisel, you can use a hand auger, or you can use a power auger. Then we're going to talk about how to skim out a hole using a skimmer like this. And essentially what that is, is just a way to get all the snow and ice out of your hole so that you can efficiently fish in it. We're also going to talk about how a jig rod works, what a jig rod is, how to rig a jig rod. Talk a bit about a couple different types of tip-ups that you can use. Some of the differences between them. How you want to set up and rig those as well. We're going to talk about how to set a drag on a jig rod reel which is very, very important in terms of ensuring that you're not breaking off fish, and that you're landing and hooking fish efficiently. We're also going to talk about what types of jig rods you might want to use depending on what species of fish that you're fishing for."