Ice Fishing Made Easy

Each year around November or December, Canadian anglers are faced with the task of storing their boats and tackle as winter moves in and ice locks down the lakes and rivers. For some, the next five-months are spent tinkering with gear, shopping for new fishing supplies, watching fishing shows and generally doing anything remotely fishing related as a means to stay sane until the spring. For others, the arrival of winter signals the beginning of a whole new fishing season. Snowmobiles and ATVs take the place of boats; long rods give way to short jigging sticks and chopping or drilling holes through the ice replaces casting as the method of offering baits to fish.

- Norman Martin

Despite the obvious differences, the basics of ice fishing are really no different than for open water fishing. The goal of finding and ultimately catching fish is the same, regardless of the season, and many of the same principles still apply. The fact that the water is hard instead of soft shouldn’t make a difference in how anglers approach ice fishing but in a lot of cases it does.

For example, a great number of winter anglers seem happy to plunk a shack out on the ice and call it home until the spring thaw rather than moving from spot to spot as is common when fishing from a boat or walking a shoreline. They fish with one or two ice rods or tip ups - regardless of the species or technique they are using - and they often use just a couple of approaches, generally a set line and a jigging line.

Instead of studying the lake and planning an effective approach, ice fishers routinely head out to the groups of huts or packs of other anglers and assume that those are the hotspots. Occasionally these folks will enjoy some good fishing but more often they will have much less success than they do at other times of the year. The main reason is that their approach to winter fishing is inefficient compared to their open water system. With that said, all it takes is a little attention to detail and some refinements in techniques and tactics for anyone to increase their success on the ice.

Plan Your Attack