Help me spend my $

[MooseKnuckleVI]

Hello,

I have a camp on Lake Ontario on Black River Bay. Going to give ice fishing a try this winter. I've never done it, not even for 1 minute. Cold doesn't bother me so much, used to sitting for late season deer in PA.

Anyway, I have no gear besides a Sportsman 570 and a buddy heater. That's literally it (unless I can use some of my regular panfishing and bass gear like jig heads, etc that I already have for summer)

I need a shelter, auger, jigging rods and maybe some tipups and various other things I probably don't even know about. Not looking to get terribly crazy with this since I might not have a ton of time to devote to it. Looking for a decent but basic setup to use to kill some time without being miserably cold and bored. I don't want junky gear, I want to actually catch fish when I go. But I don't need the top of the line stuff either.

So far I'm thinking:
Nanook thermal 2 man or Legend XL thermal
Eskimo Mako power auger
elite 4x ice machine

What else? I'll be hopefully targeting walleye pike and panfish. I'd like to have 2 panfish combos and 2 pike/walleye combos. I'm partial to the ugly stick rods but I don't know a thing about ice rods so I'm all ears. What is a good way to set up each rod as far as line type, line weight, etc? Also, what's a decent tip up to get?

Not looking to break the bank with more gear. I've already spent thousands the past two seasons on salmon and walleye gear for the warmer seasons. Pretty much just want an excuse to go to camp this winter and eat and drink. I like to idea of a 2 man flip over. I read the Nanook is a little tight for two guys but I don't think I'd have a second person with me all that often, I just want the ability to take a buddy if I want. I think the price was only like $50 more for the Nanook than the legend, so why not? I'm pretty set on the flip over style.

Any and all suggestions welcome,
thanks

[don519]

Craiglist has a lot of gear for sale and  most retail stores are stocking ice fishing gear

[rgfixit]

I'll make it easy for you. Just adopt me and you'll have all the gear you'll ever need

Rg

[derek_buck]

Make sure to get yourself a set of ice picks.  That way, if you ever fall through, you will be able to pull yourself back out.  Also invest in a spud if you will be walking on early ice.

[800stealth]

Make sure to get yourself a set of ice picks.  That way, if you ever fall through, you will be able to pull yourself back out.  Also invest in a spud if you will be walking on early ice.

X2, and a good set of ice creepers for your boots to help keep you upright when the ice is glare too.
I would also suggest surfing youtube for videos that show how to self rescue if you do go through the ice.

[hardwater diehard]

You said cold doesn't  bother you ...how about the wind ...if you already have a great layering system then great ..if not consider an ice suit ...many many many threads/posts on every make and model out there . Same goes for your partial list ...use the search engine upper left to explore each option and new option . Most manufacturers have species specific rod and reel combos ...some of your open water jigs and spoons should work for the hard water.

PS you should add your location to your profile .Good luck .

[Spider1]

where are you located? You mentioned PA hunting, are you from PA? The best thing to do to get started is buy what you need and then hook up with someone that knows what they're doing. #1 though, think safety. A guy can get hurt or killed on the ice pretty easily. Ice picks and a spud bar, a pair of ice walkers will keep you from slipping and hurting yourself too. These are essentials. You need to drill a hole so get a good hand auger. 6 inches for panfish, 8 inches if you want room for something bigger. You don't need a flasher to start, but they are nice and once you have one you won't go out without it. Warm close and GOOD boots. Feet get cold. Think Merino wool. Have a good bucket. You will need a good bucket. Jigs and rods are the easy part. Watch every video you can, lots of them available.

[bart]

Help you spend your money! I want... 

[BlackDogAlpha]

I too am up for adoption.

Pick your outdoor retailer. Then bring that plastic thing women love. Credit Card, but I like the way youre thinking.

Gear in general : there is a ton of info on specific gear on this site, most of this is common sense but I regularly leave something on the kitchen table.

A fishing license. Yeah. I was that guy.
A way to stay warm. Layers on layers. the ice suits are great if youre out of tent a lot. Best boots you can buy, with good 50 dollar cleats, helicopter rides are expensive. Good socks gloves hat, hot packets.
Sunglasses
2 poles minimum, you can get a full medium rig for around 25 a piece. The Ugly sticks are a bit stiff for pannies but good for walleyes. 4-6# line.
A pole holder to be able to set your pole down to eat a sammwich
Buddy heater for the flipper
Ice traps to balance out the poles as allowed on your ice.
A sled to pull it around, an Otter is heavier than a Jetsled. A cover for the sled.
auger (covered)
electronics (covered)
a fish bucket/minnow container/waxies tub
a bag or container for all your smaller stuff, enclosable. seat if needed.
The means to save yourself (picks) and others (30'-50' of nylon rope)
A good sharp knife, a measuring tape, the fishing law book for the area, toilet paper, one big trash bag (in a ziplock)
The means to instantly start a fire (magnesium stick/lighter) and a waterproof container filled with dryer lint.
A waterPROOF cellphone case
forceps and nippers

Tackle: For general overall, at least one of each (and specifically whatever your waterbody says works the best, see several posts on best lure ever): Mine: swedish pimple, jiggin rap, pk flutterfish, Hali jig. Jigs I would go with a few mid weight tungsten in the colors for your lake, usually white, yellow, chartreuse, perch and then either tip with bait or fake bait. You can buy a mixed pack for $20-30. Size the jigs according to walleye or panfish accordingly. You could get away with regular jigs but they will hang wrong in the water. You can use a lot of spoons from fresh, but flip them and reverse the hooks. Big eyes on the rig are good. Check your law book and make sure you arent using lead sinkers in a no lead zone or too many hooks to a line.
a small box of hooks and sinkers for re-rigging or improvising
2-3 pike leaders

[felix]

Most of the gear we have reflects our own individual preferences, with such an open question you can expect a great deal of variation in the responses that you get. There are only a few thing are truly essential. A way to make a whole in the ice, a hook, line, bait. I would add to that some safety gear.

Get or make some ice picks that can go around your neck and be used to help pull yourself out, a spud bar for testing the ice in front of you as you walk, and keep a throw rope handy in case someone else needs help.

Most guys just starting out think that the pack boots or hunting boots the already have will be good enough. A few steps onto snow covered slush proves them wrong. Investing in a good pair of ice fishing boots is usually money well spent. All rubber, knee high and as warm as you can get.

My preferences have evolved over the years. I fish differently now that I have a flasher. Now that I have one I don't go without it. Having one allows me to fish  "run and gun" style, but there are also times when I set up and cover an area with tip-ups and don't move all day. Even then I am usually working a jigging rod and looking at my flasher.

When fishing for pike I like to set up as many devices as allowed. I usually don't move much once its all set up. On the coldest windiest days having a shelter is the key for being able to stay out there, but I almost always go without. Good boots and dressing properly are more important to me then a shelter, but..........some days I do regret leaving the flip-over at home. I'm a walker, you have a 4 wheeler so dragging a two man flip-over won't be a big deal for you. I believe you are required to use a solid hitch to tow anything. Using a rope only may be illegal.

You will be fishing for pike so I would recommend that you get some tip-ups. I prefer the older wooden cross type. Heritage Lakers seem to work well for most. I'm not sure about the number of devices you are allowed in the area you fish, if it's 6, then get 6. If you want to jig while waiting for a flag just use 5.

Rod choices are just about endless. Mass produced does not mean junk, but there are a lot of mass produced pieces of junk out there. My preference for brand is St. Croix. Their premier series works well for me. It's a good idea to use shorter rods (28"-30") when jigging inside a shanty. Most pan fish rods are short having one ultra lite and one lite in the 28" range should work. For Walleye I use a 32" med., for pike a 32" MH or H. Again, I mostly fish outside, a shorter rod would work fine.

You can save $ by using the spinning reels you already have. You can even use the same line that you use in open water. Ice fishing line has some advantages, but a whole lot of fish have been caught without it. One thing to keep in mind is how easy it is to see your line. Being able to see your line on top of the snow and ice can be a great advantage on windy days and on some days the only way to detect a bite will be to watch your line for movement.

Tube jigs work well for pike, ball jigs tipped with minnow/plastic for Walleye. Any pan fish sized jig that you may have tipped with a maggot or plastic will work through the ice as well. A huge assortment of jigging spoons and hard baits are available. Get a few that vibrate/flutter or rattle and you will be off to a good start.

I use a cordless drill set up with a 6",7" or 8" auger depending on species and ice thickness. I like to "run and gun" and being a walker this lite weight set up works well for me.
 
Other than that a scoop for clearing slush and ice from the hole.  When fishing for pike have jaw spreaders and needle nose pliers, hemostats when fishing for pan fish.

Ice fishing is fishing, some days they bite some days not. When they don't bite so good people tend to walk around and visit more then when the bite is on. Having a welcoming attitude and a flask of brandy to offer visitors may help lubricate some valuable info. I have met some great people out on the ice. Don't be afraid to go for a walk and say hello to others. Some days the social aspects are the best aspects and you don't need to be an expert to enjoy that.

Good luck

[chilly-willy]

sound like you got  a good list and a good location need I say more....

as for rod and reels I like stiffer rods with a little give but that's just me.. like a fast tip rod that stiff all the way to the tip I like those school white rods I make spinning rods out of those so I would take a walk threw a store and see what they got to offer on top of what you like ulgy stick are great rods so are ht ice blue rods.... just get a good reel for them with a good drag like a shimano has .... but it all is preference do you think those fish you catch in the summer will handle these rods? and if so go for what you think will...  we use medium to medium heavy for walleyes around here in the ice blue series rods take a look at those and what ever the local bait shops carry..   

[lowaccord66]

It's an infinetly open ended question....and I wouldn't give the answer to my best friend as my answer to the question is mine alone.  You get to learn this stuff best on your own through trial and error to find the mix of gear that works for you.  All the responses I've read are great however in many cases they are most relevant to the person responding.  Picking and choosing pieces of the suggestions in the posts above to try would be my best advice. 

[chilly-willy]

It's an infinetly open ended question....and I wouldn't give the answer to my best friend as my answer to the question is mine alone.  You get to learn this stuff best on your own through trial and error to find the mix of gear that works for you.  All the responses I've read are great however in many cases they are most relevant to the person responding.  Picking and choosing pieces of the suggestions in the posts above to try would be my best advice.

exactly what I am trying to convey... why tell him to try one million different products and confuse him throwing other stuff at him. that he does not need...  when he know his price ranges etc and the rest is trial and error like said so keep it simple "s" or the kiss method...he has a good list to start off with so go from there see what you can find by you.. you may not be able to find that shanty if any thing and change your mind or what ever...but like said it trail and error...     

[lowaccord66]

I hear you, when I saw his question come up I knew what we'd see, fishermen tend to be very proud about their equipment choices...its clear in the thread.

[chilly-willy]

I hear you, when I saw his question come up I knew what we'd see, fishermen tend to be very proud about their equipment choices...its clear in the thread.

yep sure do ...



by the way I sent the original poster a pm for a maybe cheaper bigger shanty with free shipping...

[wetdreams]

Hook up with someone first to take you out and if you enjoy it then break out the PLASTIC !

[MooseKnuckleVI]

Thanks everyone. I live in SE PA. Camp is near Watertown NY. Spend a lot of time hunting in tioga county PA. Gets pretty cd during flintlock season upstate but it Gets damn cold up at camp. Thinking a shelter is a must have. Pretty much always windy on big O. Local place up there has a good selection of ice gear but I never looked hard at it.

Guess I shoulda been more specific. Guess I'm looking for opinions on quality of the nanook, that Eskimo auger and the elite4x. Same with the ugly stick ice rods. Also what about an inline reel? Pros/cons vs a spinning setup? The eyes up there are big. 8-12 lbs are common. Pike can be hammer handles or huge. Panfish have been tough for me to locate but to be honest I haven't spent a ton of time targeting them. Lots of silver bass (white perch) up there.

Trying to save time and $ by hearing opinions on gear. When I got into trolling for salmon up there I pretty much did everything wrong wasted a ton of time and money and had a crappy first season. I'd obviously like to avoid that with the ice fishing. A buddy of mine ice fishes up there but he's real big into tournaments. That's not my thing and I don't wanna tag along with him and be in his way. Besides him everyone up there is real tight lipped. Dunno how bad they are when it comes to ice fishing but I'd assume it's the same way as it is during summer.

Probably a stupid question, but what about locations? Would my summer boat fishing spots be a good place to start or do the fish act totally different under the ice?
Thanks for the info so far keep it coming.

[chilly-willy]

Thanks everyone. I live in SE PA. Camp is near Watertown NY. Spend a lot of time hunting in tioga county PA. Gets pretty cd during flintlock season upstate but it Gets damn cold up at camp. Thinking a shelter is a must have. Pretty much always windy on big O. Local place up there has a good selection of ice gear but I never looked hard at it.

Guess I shoulda been more specific. Guess I'm looking for opinions on quality of the nanook, that Eskimo auger and the elite4x. Same with the ugly stick ice rods. Also what about an inline reel? Pros/cons vs a spinning setup? The eyes up there are big. 8-12 lbs are common. Pike can be hammer handles or huge. Panfish have been tough for me to locate but to be honest I haven't spent a ton of time targeting them. Lots of silver bass (white perch) up there.

Trying to save time and $ by hearing opinions on gear. When I got into trolling for salmon up there I pretty much did everything wrong wasted a ton of time and money and had a crappy first season. I'd obviously like to avoid that with the ice fishing. A buddy of mine ice fishes up there but he's real big into tournaments. That's not my thing and I don't wanna tag along with him and be in his way. Besides him everyone up there is real tight lipped. Dunno how bad they are when it comes to ice fishing but I'd assume it's the same way as it is during summer.

Probably a stupid question, but what about locations? Would my summer boat fishing spots be a good place to start or do the fish act totally different under the ice?
Thanks for the info so far keep it coming.

nanook is a great shelter I prefer frabill and eskimo my self but it is personal preference.. I don't own a power auger I own a nills so I let some one else comment on that.. elite 4 is a great ice flasher cant go wrong there either...got one of those my self to.. every thing on that list seemed good so let talk tactic's


ice fihsin is the same as soft water some what except your standing on the water surface walking on water lol's... any how you can figure out the weed edges easily were the weeds stop is the first drop.... usally you can tell this because weed wont grow more then say 20 fow in pure clear water.. stained water even less deep cause of light penetration... so see were the weeds stop is the first drop say left of that first drop is all weeds and to the right deep water.. now for pike you want to fish the left side with tip ups cause the weeds die off and turn in to a flat or a flat barren land scape...were they chase small gills perch etc in to and hunt them on and try to trap them..   

 there are the first drop were you can set the 1 and 2 foot zones one foot zone is one foot below the surface for the flats...  two foot zone is for the deeper water heading away from the flat so In the two foot zone your two foot off the bottom so you set the tip up for two foot off the bottom to the right of were the weed lines stopped...this is why you mark the weed lines early In the season with the gps or no generally know were they are photo's if need be name the bays too helps.. look for out side point , inside points , and horse shoe shaped funneling in points  so if they got funneling  threw something like two shore point of land to get in to a back bay give less setting along shore lines to find fish to escape you .. by missing your tip ups  you can even jig the funneling point etc see imagine a funnel the one side is bigger then the other so you pour liquid threw it so it tapers that what your looking for is a tapper points...

 like when fishing lakers island can be funneling points for lake trout....so when they pass threw the area it deducts from fishing a lot of area you cover more ground doing it strategically.. by the way this is all found in a the book ice fishing secret's which I suggest you find a copy of it produced by in-fishermen the tv show guys lols' I got a copy for like 5 dollar shipped on half .com but that up to you I think a new copy goes for around $30 with shipping,...any how in side and out side points or contours can be were walleye run there pray up on to...so keep it in mind... the in side and out side point and horse shoes are adjacent to deep water like close but or exit to ...is the best way to fish the fish cause like in summer the fish stay cool deep but in winter they stay deep to keep warm....so kind of the same just a tad different...

[river rat78]

Welcome to the addiction that is ice fishing. I don't own a gas or powered auger so I can't really help you there. Since you are going to be targeting some big walleyes and pike then you will want at least an 8". As far as flip over shelters go it's best to check them out in person. If you are going to be pulling it by hand at any time then you want to consider the weight of the shelter. If you do check them out in person then I would see how much room it offers when you add a heater, flasher, and minnow bucket. If it's a 2 man have someone that works there sit in it with you. As far as the fabric goes a thermal helps stop the wind better, no wind flap, and holds heat better and heats quicker. A non thermal will be lighter and cost less.

[MooseKnuckleVI]

ordered te eskimo mako auger, eskimo wide one thermal shelter and the elite 4x along with some odds and ends. Gotta get some rods next. I have a bunch of gift cards for cabelas to spend before they get bought out or whatever is going on.