Determining Ice Fishing Line Depth

Video Transcript

"So let's talk about how to mark your line for the depth that you want to fish at. And this is used when you're using tip-ups. So we've sounded our hole. The sounder is on the bottom right now so we know exactly how deep it is. So what I'm going to do, I'm going to hold that line in my finger. And typically when you're ice fishing most people fish 2-3-4 feet off the bottom. So we've got that. So we're going to estimate 1,2,3,4 feet. I'm going to hold that. I'm actually going to hold it in my mouth because it's easier. And then I'm going to bring up my line, set that aside for now. And this is the depth that I want to fish at. This is where I want the line to be on my reel. So there's a number of different ways to do that. One you can tie a very simple slip knot, and just reel your line up to that point. However, when a fish takes it, often that knot comes out. So there's another way to do it. And that entails just having a small bobber, on your line, that you put at the point where you want to fish at. And then the other option, some people actually thread a button onto their line. That works very well. What I like to do is just to simply tie the slip knot that we talked about, and then just insert a match stick into it. And tighten that knot down. Again that's where you reel your line up to. When you catch a fish, and you want to re-bait and fish some more, you know exactly what depth you were fishing at, and where you want to set that line out again. When you're done for the day, slip out the match stick, throw it away, take out your slip knot, and you're ready to fish the next time."