If you are just starting out in the world of ice fishing or if you are a seasoned fisherman here are a few things that you need to have to help make your fishing trip a little less stressful. Every year that we have ice my husband and I load up our car with all the gear that we need for a good day on the ice along with our 5 kids. Here are a few things that we have found over the years that we have to bring with us.
First things first, make sure you have a legal fishing license, we have a lifetime hunting/fishing license so we don’t think about this. Next is to figure out where you want to go fishing and check out the laws and rules for that body of water and state. In our state you can have 7 lines in the water per person (as long as the kids are willing to pull up the fish) this includes tip ups, jig sticks and jaw jackers. We check our ice auger and make sure that the blades are sharp. We have a couple, the boys said that their favorite one is the one that hooks up to the drill. But we have a 6″ or 8″ auger. We make sure to pack both as some tip ups work better with the 8″ and we like using the 6″ for jig sticks.
Our first thing we always pack is a Jet sled. Over the years we have had to add a second Jet Sled to our gear. Next we pack an ice shanty because you never know what the weather is going to be like on the ice at any given time on the lake. This is the shanty that we have but you don’t need to have one this big or expensive. This one just fits 6-8 people so it fits our family best. https://amzn.to/42bRLrn We also pack some type of heat source. (My go to is a Mister heater https://amzn.to/4jfCKLd ) Now comes the important stuff to pack that makes fishing possible. We pack around 20 tip ups, but with our numbers legally we are able to set up 49 lines all together. We have tried many different tip ups throughout the years and this year our boys have said that their favorite ones are the Jaw Jackers. Here are two different kinds of tip ups we use them both. https://amzn.to/40sFT30 https://amzn.to/40sG91Y Our boys favorite ones to use are ones that they make with PVC pipe that are able to hold their jig sticks. ( I will see if I can get the boys to post pictures step by step so you can try making them yourself.) The kids get fishing lures every year for Christmas or we go shopping and by random ones but I will have to have the boys take some pictures of their favorite ones that they think work the best. .0
We also make sure to check with our local bait shops what their hours are and what bait they have available. Usually you can find local bait shops that have everything you need. We tend to just search them on Facebook for their hours and what they have for bait. We have three or four in our area that have different bait from each other. Depending on what you are fishing for depends on what you want for bait. We like to use live bait for our tip ups and jaw jackers. For our jigs sticks we use Grubs. https://amzn.to/4ajWI3A In the last couple years we have invested in some good shoe creepers. These creepers stretch over your winter boots with metal spikes on them to help you have traction on ice. (I don’t know why we waited so long to get these) https://amzn.to/40h3gva Some of the things that I think are the most important things to pack are warm clothes, and snacks. With our family we like to get on the ice between 7-8 am and we typically don’t get off the ice until dark. We also like to pack either ready-made food or this year we brought a little stove and hot dogs to cook. That way we got a warm meal on the ice. I also pack water and if I remember I will pack hot chocolate. With 5 kids you can never pack enough snacks. If we know that the ice is smooth I will let the kids pack ice skates. I have linked a few things that we use with amazon links, this was the best way to show what products we use. (Our family may get a small amount when you use these links to purchase products.) Hopefully you have enjoyed learning something new. Our next post will be written with the help of the boys.