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As I write this, the lakes in my home state of Minnesota are just beginning to make ice. I couldn’t be happier. Sure, I’ll miss the sparkling lakes and green grass as much as the next guy, but I love ice fishing. So I have my fingers crossed for calm, cold nights to turn those liquids to solids.
One of the reasons I’m so excited this year is because I just got my soon-to-be-chilly hands on some new toys. No, “toy” isn’t the right word. “Tools” are more like it.
The first tool is the LMS-334c IceMachine from Lowrance. I’ve already tested it from the boat and it’s unbelievable. It combines the most sensitive sonar with GPS+WAAS mapping. Then puts it into a compact case with a big 5-inch hi-res color screen. The end result is a unit that tells you EXACTLY where you are and EXACTLY what’s underneath you.
Let’s say you have a rock hump holding walleyes that’s the size of a dining room table. Now you can find it, day after day, immediately. No more drilling dozens of holes to probe the depths to find your spot. No more juggling a hand-held GPS along with a less-sensitive flasher. You’ll find fish faster.
Better yet, you’ll catch fish faster thanks to the information this sonar delivers. You can see the tiniest ice jig, the bottom-huggingest walleye, individual suspended crappies… everything. You’ll also see fish rising to take the bait in separated detail that flashers won’t provide. Plus, because the sonar is so strong, deep-water signals for lake trout and other deep-dwellers are just as intense.
Now, when you get to that perfect waypoint, you might as well start fishing faster by cutting faster holes. To help you do it, there’s some new auger technology out there. It’s from Eskimo and they call it the Shark Z51. It has a 51.7cc engine designed especially for their auger. It makes 8,000 RPMs and literally screams through the ice.
Eskimo also recently unveiled their new Quickfish 350 portable shelter that has more comfortable seating and storage than other shelters in its class. It’s a slick shack that sets up in seconds and gives ice fishermen all the room they need for gear and the people inside.
When it comes to the winter tackle arsenal, you can’t beat jigging spoons for virtually every species – from crappies and walleyes to lake trout and pike. For panfish, I like to use the smallest spoons available and fish them without any bait. I always start with this presentation after I’ve located the fish -- and it usually produces.
If the fish are tight-lipped, I’ll switch to jigs. A Lindy Genz Bug tipped with a Tiny Tail is a good bet. But I’m never without a Grub Getter filled with waxworms AND colored Eurolarvae too, because sometimes live bait is only thing that gets ‘em.
For larger gamefish like walleyes, a jigging spoon tipped with a minnow head is deadly. In Minnesota, you can fish two lines through the ice. So I always put down one set line with a lively redtail or fathead minnow – either on a tip-up or rigged with a Thill slip bobber. Then I actively work the jigging spoon on my other line.
This year I’m pretty jazzed because Lindy has included their Techni-Glo paint on every spoon and jig they offer. That bright glow definitely makes the difference, especially at dusk, dawn and during the nighttime hours.
If you have an underwater camera, use it. You’ll learn more about effective presentations in an hour -- by watching a fish’s reactions – than you’d learn in years of fishing blind. The biggest thing I’ve learned is that most people tend to “over-do” it when it comes to jigging. You’ll be surprised at how many fish will prefer a tiny quiver or even zero action compared to rigorous jigging.
And just one more thing: Safety. It takes patience to wait for safe ice this time of year. Wait for 3-4 inches for fishing on foot. And don’t drive your truck out there until there’s at least 10-12 inches of clear, blue, hard ice on waters without current.
Like me, I hope you get that warm feeling when the temperatures drop below 32 degrees. Because there’s nothing like getting into sizzling action through the ice.
Good Fishing!
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