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Hardwater Essentials for Ice Fishing
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items It's hardwater season! Growing up in New England, you learn to make the most of the winters. Along with winter hiking I spend a lot of my time on the ice. Whether you're looking for some gifts for the fishermen in your life or planning to try it your...
Sections
6
Safety Gear
Drill Your Holes!
Tip-up Essentials
Get Jiggy With It!
Shelter Accessories
Load Up the Sled
Safety Gear
Before we can even think about fishing, safety first. This is the safety gear I use to keep me safe. The ice is variable and things happen, so it's better to be safe than sorry. Falling through will ruin your day for sure.
I wear these around my neck so they're always accessible in case I go through. Ice is obviously slippery so you won't get much traction trying to get out of a hole without these. WEAR THEM!
Frabill Ice Picks
A whistle is another piece of gear that I keep around my neck in case I need to flag someone down.
Bass Pro Shops Flat Marine Safety Whistle
A throw bag or just a rope to keep in your sled is good when you're with or around other people in case you need to aid in a rescue. This lets you keep your distance from the thin area while still being able to throw and reach whoever has fallen thro...
HT Enterprises Rescue Throw Bag
An Ice Chisel is my absolute “don't leave home without it” piece of gear. This is what I use to test the ice thickness and strength as I'm walking out for the day. Keep it sharp, and keep it on a rope in case it punches through. Early and late season...
Eskimo Redneck Economy Ice Chisel
These are actually the ice cleats I wear winter hiking, but they double as my ice fishing cleats. These are the gold standard and they have great bite and won't have you sliding around no matter how smooth the ice is. I'm putting these as safety gear...
Kahtoola MICROspikes Ice Cleats
These are a great budget option for ice cleats, and the pair I will give to friends when they come on the ice with me. Still a great cleat that has great grip.
Eagle Claw Stainless Steel Chain Ice Cleats
Drill Your Holes!
There's a ton of ways to get through the ice. This is the gear that I use to quickly set up and get to fishing!
The Milwaukee M18 Fuel has become a staple drill for ice fisherman, and is what I choose to pair with the Eskimo Pistol Bit.
Milwaukee M18 FUEL 1/2inch Drill/Driver (Bare Tool)
I personally use a drill auger system because let's face it, gas augers are heavy, require maintenance, and are loud. This attaches to your drill of choice (make sure you have a good powerful brushless drill and extra batteries) and makes quick work ...
Eskimo Pistol Bit Ice Power Ice Auger
If you're just getting started, you probably don't want to spend a ton of money. I started out my first few years with just a hand auger and it will certainly get the job done, just with a little more effort.
StrikeMaster Mora Ice Auger
As much as I love the Pistol Bit from Eskimo, the K-Drill is a very popular option and this combo pack gets you everything you need to get started, including the Milwaukee M18 ½ drive drill, the batteries, charging tation, and youre auger.
K-Drill 8-1/2 Inch Diameter Ice Auger with Built-In Adjustable Extension Shaft & Milwaukee M18 FUEL 1/2 Inch Drill/Driver Kit
Once you're through the ice, you need to clear the hole of all the ice chips. I like a metal skimmer that has a chisel on the end because on really cold days the hole can freeze over quick, and you'll need something beefy to get through that new laye...
Eagle Claw Chipper Ice Skimmer
Tip-up Essentials
There's no feeling quite like chasing flags. Yea jigging is fun, but seeing a flag go up 200ft away and sprinting over to the hole, seeing the spool tearing off line as a fish runs with your bait, and then hand fighting that fish…that gets your adren...
These are AWESOME tip-ups and I love this brand because they sell all of the replacement parts you need on their web site if anything happens to your tip-up, you lose a flag, or you just want to upgrade the spool.
Heritage Laker Standard Wood Tip-Up
I spool up all of my tip-ups with fly line backing. It's hollow braid Dacron that has a waxy feel to it and looks like heavy duty braid. It's strong but manageable and won't cut into your hands when fighting a fish like actual braid. I use 30lb and l...
White River Fly Shop Prestige Flyline Backing
I like this style of swivel and snap to attach to the end of my backing line. The large snap is easy to operate with cold hands and swap out leaders, and the ball bearing swivel helps eliminate line twist.
Tsunami Ball Bearing Swivels with Coastlock Snap
I don't always get the chance to target pike, but when I do I want to make sure I have some extra protection to keep them from breaking off. This titanium leader is great for making leaders because it is supple and can be knotted (I use a figure 8 kn...
Knot2Kinky 25-Pound Nickel-Titanium Leader Wire
For bass fishing, I generally don't go very heavy on the leader. This leader line is what I trust in the open water season and I'll use 16lb on my ice leaders, or 35lb if there are a lot of pickerel around.
Sunline Saltimate System Shock Fluorocarbon Leader - Tackle Warehouse
I like an Octopus Hook for my live bait tip-up fishing. This is what I have on the end of each of my leaders. Usually I'm going with a size 2/0 for medium shiners, but you cna go larger or smaller depending on what you;re fishing with. One tip I find...
Gamakatsu Octopus Fish Hooks
This is the single most important thing you wouldn't even think about. I like to set my bait about 1-2ft off the bottom, and this allows me to set the depth on my tip-ups by dropping down the line before I bait it, and finding how much line I need to...
Thill Depth Finder/Marker
A button is what I put on my tip-up backing line to mark the depth, and keep it marked even after a fish takes the bait. I put this on before my snap swivel, and it allows me to have a marker on my line so that when I respool after a catch I know exa...
Mini Size White Buttons
I love spool keepers because the last thing you want to be doing when you're hands are freezing is untangling a mess of line in your tip-up bag. These keep your tip-up spools organized and your hooks protected from accidentsally snagging any of your ...
Eagle Claw Spool Hook Keepers – 5 Pack
Unfortunately, the ice fishing bag I use to store my tip-ups and ice rod is no longer being made. This is the closest thing on the market and has large pockets you can stack your tip-ups in and store your jigging rods. The side pockets allow you to c...
ICE Fishing Rod Tackle Bag
Get Jiggy With It!
I love tip-up fishing but fighting a big fish on a tiny jigging rod is also a blast! It's also a staple for those of you going after panfish like Crappie or Perch!
I'm a big fan of Fenwick and this ice rod is very sensitive and has a great action for fighting fish. I use the 28" Medium Light as a good all-around rod, but if you're targeting panfish you can stick with that or go down to the light. For bigger fis...
Fenwick Eagle Ice Spinning Rod
13 Fishing makes some great ice gear and the freefall is a great reel. The trigger to help let line out while your jig is falling is very helpful when fishing with gloves on.
13 Fishing Black Betty FreeFall Ghost Patriot Ice Reel
I'm a braid-to-leader guy all year. I use this in 10lb for my jigging reels. If you're targeting bigger fish I'd step up to 20lb.
Sufix 832 Ice Braid Line Ghost
I use this for my leader on my jigging setup. Usually I'm going with 4lb and I'm just careful to set my drag accordingly. Make sure you don't horse the fish at the hole. Play them and wait for them to be ready.
Sufix InvisiLine Ice Fluorocarbon Fishing Line
The Swedish Pimple is HANDS DOWN the one jigging lure I would pick if I could only have one. It's a classic and just gets bites from every species. 1/10th and 1/5oz for panfish, 1/3oz for Bass.
Bay de Noc Swedish Pimple Lures
If you've got multiple jigging setups or are bringing rods for your buddies it's helpful to have a soft case to keep everything organized.
Rapala Soft-Sided Rod Bag
I like the smaller Plano boxes to store my ice lures and tipup terminal tackle because I really don't bring a whole lot with me. This is the perfect compact size.
Plano 3600 ProLatch StowAway Tackle Box
Shelter Accessories
You've made it on to the ice, but maybe the weather forecast wasn't quite what you were hoping for. A shelter will keep you out all day no matter how bad the weather turns. This is what I use to make my time on the ice as enjoyable as possible.
The Eskimo Quickfish 3 series is a classic and you'll likely see a lot of these on the ice. The unmistakable red sticks out and is great for windy days where visibility might be low. I use the insulated version which retains a lot of heta even if you...
Eskimo QuickFish 3HD Pop-Up Ice Shelter
Ice screws are really important for me in the wind. Securing the walls of your shelter is essential from keeping them getting blown in and collapsing. I usually bring a few ratchet ropes to secure the walls to these.
Eagle Claw Ice Eye Bolt Shelter Anchors
I love this drill adapter because it makes quick work of your ice screws when securing your shelter in place. Yea you can do them by hand but this saves a lot of time and effort.
HT Enterprises Ice Anchor Tool
I always bring a few of these to secure the sides of my shelter to the ice screws. The ratchet mechanism makes adjustments easy and setup a breeze.
ProGrip 1/4 in. x 8 ft. XRT Rope Lock Push Button Release 150 lb. Break Strength 140240
I love this heater because it just heats up the shelter so fast. You'll forget you're on the ice with how warm this thing can get. Just make sure your shelter has proper ventilation and to open your vents!
Mr. Heater Buddy Heater
Load Up the Sled
Once you start getting into the sport you'll likely want a sled to carry all of your gear on to the ice. This is the gear I use and trust in hard water season.
The jet sled is great but really any sled will do, they are all pretty much the same. Just make sure the rope is long enough so you can drag it without catching your heels on the front of the sled as you're walking.
Shappell Jet Sled
Chairs are great but they also take up a lot of real estate in the sled. When I'm moving around and jigging I like this minimalist stool to quickly move between holes.
GCI Outdoor Packseat Portable Tripod
Even in the shelter I still prefer a stool because they are lighter, and take up less room. The added back and drink holder is nice though when I'm waiting it out inside and sitting for longer periods.
DSG Tripod Stool with Back
I always hve a small table inside the shalter to hold drinks, snacks, or just lay my jigging box on.
Cascade Mountain Tech Ultralight Camp Table