Ice fishing while camping

[connorc]

We picked up some shiners from Tom's bait and Tackle in Westford Mass and drove up to Northwood. Got a fire going and had to cut through a solid 7 inches of ice with only an axe (no auger). Tipups went out and the show began. I was jigging with a Swedish pimple lure, and tipped one of the hooks with a gulp waxie. Within seconds of jigging there was a solid 11" perch on the line. Kept jigging and soon caught a white perch and another yellow perch. tipups soon went off and I caught two nice yellow perch. One had swallowed the hook, so she became dinner.

Here are my takeaways:

Bay de noc swedish pimple 1/10 oz in hammered Nickle, tipped with a gulp waxie: Killed it and was a perch producing machine

Getting through ice: Bring an auger. All the holes we made were really crude and tiring to create with only two axes.

Cooking perch: Learn how to filet, as my cuts of perch not only were very lean, but tasted horrible (any advice on this)

And with that, here are some photos of the outing.

[AQUAASSASSIN]

Phenomenal post man! Congratulations and welcome! Hope to hear a lot more of you in the future.

[sebago2jigtima]

sounds like you hammered it !

[AQUAASSASSIN]

As for the advice you asked. I find the deeper you get the perch the better they taste and don’t resemble mud, also lakes with good forage like smelt they will taste better too.

Auger is key!

[Roccus]

Great post.. this is what the site is about.. agree with what AA said, location and forage makes a differance.. in the muddy lakes, if you soak the fillets a few hours in milk, it will take out the muddy taste.

[SALMONEMIA]

Nice post. Good job,  I like the swedish pimple it always produces fish. 

[AQUAASSASSIN]

Nice post. Good job,  I like the swedish pimple it always produces fish.

Agreed his lure pictured can be a go to on any water body for any species and always produce.

[Guinea]

Looks like a great day! And welcome to the shanty. 

[800stealth]

Chopping holes with an ax... That's some dedication, sounds like you guys had fun.

[PoolGuy]

As for the advice you asked. I find the deeper you get the perch the better they taste and don’t resemble mud, also lakes with good forage like smelt they will taste better too.

Auger is key!

This ^

[george_l]

Using an axe...  Yeah a couple of years ago I saw a guy with a pop up, hacking away at the ice.  I couldn't understand how someone with a popup would be using an axe.  Turns out he couldn't get his auger working.

I drilled him and his girlfriend a bunch of holes and fished with them for the day.

The ice was over a foot thick.  The guy was definitely a happy camper. 

[jigmaster5]

Nice job!  A bunch of fish, too!

We picked up some shiners from Tom's bait and Tackle in Westford Mass

NH has some funny rules about out-of-state bait, check regs.  Better to find out here than from the EPO...just trying to save you some trouble...

As far as augers & axes...if you have a good power drill, you can put together a great combo w/ the bottom half of a hand auger which will beat the heck out of any ax.  Life changing!  Google for more info.

Some other gear you might like....a good chisel...good for testing ice + knocking out old holes.  (I'd rather have a chisel than an ax for chopping holes, too).

Also, some ice picks to wear around your neck.  Maybe some rope, too.  Never know when you might need them.  I saw reports of some ppl going thru this weekend in NH...can happen any time...lakes froze unevenly this yr.  A little snow on top, everything looks the same.  Just something to consider.

Good luck!   

[DConICE]

Way to make the most of the gear you had, sounds like a very successful trip.

As you catch fish, this sport will catch you, and you will find yourself investing more and more in specialized gear.
I started by buying a used hand auger for 25 bucks from a guy that took me out... then there were more traps, jig rods, power augers, electronics, safety gear, sleds, shelters... etc. etc. etc.

Welcome

[Icenoobie]

Great post.. this is what the site is about.. agree with what AA said, location and forage makes a differance.. in the muddy lakes, if you soak the fillets a few hours in milk, it will take out the muddy taste.

Why is that? My friend's mom soaks Bluefish fillets in milk overnight and it makes them less “fishy”. Does it draw out some of the oil or something like that?

[AQUAASSASSIN]

Why is that? My friend's mom soaks Bluefish fillets in milk overnight and it makes them less “fishy”. Does it draw out some of the oil or something like that?

The proteins in milk bind with the compounds that make things “ fishy” there is a actual chemical reaction there resulting in fish no longer smelling and making it milder.