Ice Fishing

Ice fishing gear, supplies, equipment, how to tips, articles, videos, ice fishing pictures l Bass Pro Shops & Cabela's

Set Lines: Your Silent Partner on Ice

Recently I was ice fishing for walleye on a lake and experienced rather slow action. It was a classic mid-winter doldrums scenario. Fish were inactive most of the day and when dusk arrived the feeding was brief. While finesse jigging produced a few walleye, soaking a 3.5-inch minnow on a set-line put the bulk of the fish on the ice.

Cohos on the March Ice

What do you do when the temperature gauge reads sub zero for weeks on end? We do what any sane person would do: throw another log into the fireplace and wait for warmer weather. Right now, in the Chequamegon Bay area of Lake Superior you could hardly tell it was winter with the temps being in the mid thirties and the smell of spring in the air.

Take Advantage of Twilight on Ice

While ice fishing is exhilarating, it can also be challenging at times. Frigid temperatures will test gear to its limits and the mid-winter period is the time when many species get fussy and require your best jigging recipes before they'll nibble. One way to stack the odds in your favor, no matter how nasty the weather or fickle the fish, is to be out at peak activity periods. Twilight is one of these occasions.

 

Soft Baits for Ice Fishing

Fishing on ice regularly puts anglers up against fussy fish and coaxing onlookers to bite is one of the fun challenges of this winter activity. Carrying a good selection of soft-baits and using them either as the main presentation or to tip a hard-bait are two reliable tactics to trigger hits from choosy customers. Soft-baits are also less messy and easier to manage in winter than certain types of live bait. Here are some recommendations on soft-baits to carry this winter.