Is Ice Fishing About Fishing... Or Buying Stuff?

[Otto]

If I can’t fish, I’m going to cut bait.

[matzilla]

What are these in the first picture? I'm wondering if I need them! 

Very simple tip downs....I just got the rest of the parts yesterday and will post some pictures later

[bogtrotter]

Neither.  It's about cooking and eating yummy meals on the ice.

[bart]

Very simple tip downs....I just got the rest of the parts yesterday and will post some pictures later

Cool! I made mine a while back, get into Crappies they will keep you busy...

[matzilla]

Cool! I made mine a while back, get into Crappies they will keep you busy...

Yep these will be for crappie, perch, and walleye - need to build a couple of rods to use on them.

[DR.SPECKLER]

Ive been steadily buying and bringing out way less ice fishing gear.ice season  is so short here last couple years.i bought camp dry for my shappell 6500 and i may need to get bait.i still have about 500 spikes alive that i bought last December!!

[Remps17]

I think there are so many options and new tech. that never existed 15+ years ago people want to do research before they spend their money. I know I am that way. custom rods were not that common 15 years ago and now they make up a huge portion of the market and they ask a super steep price for them. I think its silly not to do research before you buy something and there isnt a better place to do research then customers experience on a forum such as this one. 

20 years ago was a simpler time. haha.

[JonPerry]

I agree that it's a bit of both, mostly because at times I need to buy stuff  to fish. The interesting thing is I don't ask anyone what I should buy.

[IceAddict87]

It’s both, I spend hours researching stuff to make the most out of every minute i have on the ice. I have been doing a couple ice trips a year for the past few years. I will spend 4-5 days straight fishing on the trips i take so i want to make sure my gear is good and will handle whatever i need it to. I got into ice fishing a few years ago and i think the biggest mistake i made initially was getting all the wrong gear to start. I was so concerned with getting a bid otter lodge shack but no way to pull it, a hand auger that worked great in central iowa on 6-8” of ice but was laughable when i tried to use it on anything over 10”. I have pretty much sold all of my original equipment and bought all new. It’s an addiction, It’s a challenge that not everyone enjoys. People ask me what I do for fun and when i say ice fishing they look at me like I’m crazy. I spend more time talking and thinking about it than i do actually doing it. Sometimes i wish I lived about 6hours north of where i am, if that were the case i probably wouldn’t have a job because i would be out all the time.

[Old Goat]

Just like a Reeses  the 2 go hand in hand.

[RStock521]

The answer is yes.  Just yes.  All of the above!

[Gunflint]

You understand. You certainly understand.

[WALL E GATOR]

It is interesting to see how the theme of the posts change thru the season. Its a forum, of course people are going to pontificate on and on and on about their newest shiny toy. Once ice is on it'll be look at all the fish I caught posts. Then end of the season it goes over to - will get out there next year posts. Frankly I like it all. The Gear posts are good to hear real unbiased paid for reviews by guys that spent their own money to find out if its any good or not. I'm still rather new to this sport so still getting my gear refined and reduced down to a reasonable load to carry. Until I can get out on the ice it is about what to buy what to fix what to build etc as long as it keeps me excited about the Hardwater.

[OldSailor]

Unless someone gives you everything you could ever need, you need to buy stuff!!! And yes it can be expensive!! Unless you go for the bare minimum equipment and sit out on a  bucket!!

[bootstrap]

the problem is the days are short and ice conditions can be poor. so there is a lot of time to be online dreaming and looking at gear. and buying and buying and buying.

[slipperybob]

Or don't let that person that comes to ask you for some Auger Gas...then asks for Auger Gas tank...then asks for two stroke oil...then comes back to ask you for the whole auger...Back then I ran the Strikelite four stroke and the answer was always, "I can't help you there." Good times.

Then the person that comes to ask for some bait...then asks for some hooks...then asks for a sinker...then asks for some line...Next thing we know, they be asking to sit inside your shelter too...then asks for your flasher...   Ice fishing is a little different once one uses a flasher. Foolish times.

I had once had to tow someone off the lake cuz they drove a little car into lets say that other trucks would get stuck just getting off the path.  Tire chain/cables makes a lot of difference and towing his little car was like a sliding toboggan adventure.  Fun times.

Then what's the hyped up new gear and tackle stuff.  I've gotta try it out for myself too.  Cost times.

[lakerchaser]

Different things for different people.

When I was first married and on a tight budget I used it to keep our freezer full. Course I had bought a used auger, rods, hummingbird ice 55, etc before getting married. 7-15 lbs of trout a week or every other week over a winter kept our freezer full through the summer too. For several years, so it saved us a lot in groceries.

I lived in a low pressure area, and learned a lot. Had a good teacher at the time who put me 10 years ahead by sharing his experience with me.

I think the best investments for me were the jiffy and the flasher, since it was more for subsistence purposes I could cover some serious water and find the fish, not waste time fishing where the food wasn’t at.

Getting back into it after a 4 year hiatus, but I still have all my gear, a new carb on the jiffy, some fresh line and a reel to replace one I stepped on. It’s pretty cheap entertainment, what’s gonna cost me is having to buy 5 more flashers for the family expansion....keep upgrading mine and passing em down I guess.....maybe I should buy stock in “custom jigs and spins“ lol.... oh, a pop up shanty and an old snowmobile are nice too lol....all on sale end of season.

I live above the Arctic circle now, so the winters are so long I have to get back into it. Problem is a guy can go broke buying auger extensors up here! It’s not uncommon to have to punch through 6-8’ of ice...any more than that and I am less interested in drilling it.

[hnd]

pray tell what else should we be talking about when its 45 degrees out and the lows for the next 10 days is barely below freezing?