Getting Started in Modern Ice Fishing

In the past ice fishing wore a different look.  Big stationary shelters made of plywood and foam insulation dotted the community spots and locations with a lot of potential received little if any fishing pressure.

The fish houses of today are no longer heavy; they can be moved quickly from spot to spot, acting as a gear holder in the process. They have to hold fish, too, because modern ice anglers are catching a lot of fish! Many are eager for ice fishing to start, because they catch more fish through the ice than they do on open water.

The olden days were not that long ago. We’re only going back to the 1970s, when Dave Genz was inspired by his uncle Gene, among others, and began revolutionizing the sport. Genz is still at it today, working with fellow Power Sticks to help people trade in cumbersome gear and old ideas for the new way.

“The question comes up all the time,” says Genz. “People wonder what it would take to get started in modern ice fishing.”

So what does it take? What if you were an ice angler in the olden days, but drifted away? What if you’ve heard about this modern ice fishing and are interested, but don’t know where to begin?

Start right here, right now.

Like no other outdoor sport, the gear is modern ice fishing. “If you don’t have the right stuff,” says Genz, “you just can’t do it.”

Modern ice fishing is the opposite of ‘olden-days’ ice fishing. In the olden days, people would drill one hole and sit over the top of it, waiting for fish to come to them. They chose the spot by looking to see where everybody else was and joining them.

Today, ice anglers drill as many holes as needed to catch fish, using contour maps to guide them, using special equipment designed just for them.

Let’s begin with the hook and work our way up, to get you started. But for now, it’s important to know that modern technology has come to ice lures. Genz has worked for years with Lindy to develop a lineup of jigs and other baits that fit the bill.

“The goal with an ice-fishing lure,” says Genz, “is to get it down where you want it quickly, so you can be efficient. You want it to fish heavy for its size, and it needs to be designed so it shows up easily on electronics (he makes constant use of Vexilar flashers).  Then, it’s important to be able to swim the bait horizontally, jig it aggressively, and keep it moving to trigger bites. The fish has to be able to see it, too, and that’s why we spent so much time perfecting Techni-Glo finishes and coming up with the Tazer to keep the paint glowing.”

Lindy’s ice lures are made to be mated with live bait and plastics, especially the Techni-Glo line of plastics.

We mentioned that olden-days ice anglers typically struggled to bore or chop one hole through the ice, then sat over it until it was time to go home. That was largely because the tools for slicing ice had not been refined, either.

Now the hardest part is walking over to where you’re going to drill the hole.  Now, we drill patterns of holes. The augers are lighter and they cut so easily. Some people quit ice fishing because it was so hard to drill a hole. But with the new StrikeMaster Lazer augers, and the drilling is the easy part. It’s so easy to drill a hole now that it’s not even a big deal.

Genz mentions his personal strategy for choosing which style auger to bring. Early in the winter, when ice is relatively thinner, he uses a Lazer hand auger. “That’s because I’m walking out on the ice,” he says. “After the ice is thick enough to use my snowmobile or ATV, then I bring the power auger.”

The conversation switches to the value of snowmobiles and ATVs to modern ice anglers. You can certainly do a lot of fishing by walking, but to cover a large lake, or to just make you more efficient, motorized transport lets you do more.

Genz prefers the Bearcat snowmobiles, and many of the Power Sticks use ‘Cat ATVs. Ice Team has worked closely with Arctic Cat to develop racks specially designed to transport modern ice fishing gear. In addition, serious anglers mount modern electronics to the snowmobile or ATV, including GPS units and Vexilar flashers. It’s common to see Genz fishing ‘side saddle’ when in search mode. One can quickly fish many holes until they find a hot area. Then, they set up the Fish Trap and settle in over a small area.

“People see us doing that,” says Genz, “and they figure we must be freezing to death out there. But the clothes are so much better than they used to be, that you can fish outside without getting cold.”

The secret: new generation Ice Armor that feature warm lining, waterproof and windproof exterior, padded knees and seat. It’s like wearing a portable shelter.  And the new gloves let you reach into the hole to land a fish and keep on fishing.” (They are also Ice Armor, waterproof, warm but dexterous enough to allow you to drill holes and jig.)

About the only thing we haven’t discussed in detail are portable shelters. The legendary Fish Traps that Genz invented are complemented by a series called Clams. They have been dubbed bass boats on ice, and the label is appropriate. You can pull a Trap behind you as you walk, and it will hold all your gear. The sled has runners on the bottom that also help the shelter track true behind a snowmobile or ATV, so you can tow them down the lake—even tie together trains of Traps.

When you need to get inside, the walls flip up around you in seconds. Especially when it’s windy, you have much more control over your presentation inside a shelter. Especially in extreme cold, a heater is a big asset. But to be safe it should feature a low-oxygen sensor that shuts off the pilot. Ice Teamers rely on the Mr. Heater Buddy series.

When it comes down to it, you can’t think of anything connected to ice fishing that hasn’t been refined in the recent past. Even when it comes to the new breed of traveling ice anglers, who drive from lake to lake, state to state, province to province, there is a modern series of trailers designed for the job. Ice Team works closely with Floe to build trailers, even covered models, that let you pull up to the lake and glide out onto it in minutes.

With the exception of trolling or drifting, there is nothing you can do on open water that you can’t do when ice fishing. Because your platform is stationary when you want it to be, there are advantages to ice fishing that open-water anglers can’t match. Using modern tools, ice fishing is a whole new sport, waiting to be discovered.