Brrr! Don't really ice fish but accepting the invite because yall (a word that people who ice fish may not be familiar with; that's what Google is for ;^> ) use some awesome jigs that are also relevant to any of us that fish lakes where the name of the game is often vertical jigging deep.

I don't fish the ice myself;; have a lot of respect for the guys that do!!  some of the ice fishing tricks;; can be applied just about anytime of the year!

Thanks for inviting me....accepted!

Thanks Yall for joining!

I've already picked up a few micro tips from you hard water guys

thanks for sharing John.. that is an impressive collection of hard water fish you have compiled and it is also awesome you share the techniques you have honed through the years to secure these targets.

Yes to vertical jigging in open water!

For me deep jigging for ice gills on mono especially with 2lb test was a no-no but with these cold temps and freeze up on the spool with braid mono is the way to go. I am developing a good sense of feel even at depths at over 20 ft.

I am a believer that developing that sense of feel in ice fishing detecting the “light bite” hones that skill and carries over to open water fishing.

Last open water season as I was collecting the rods from the rack in the garage for a panfishing trip on the boat and just as a thought I grabbed one of my ice rigs still rigged with a slabbie jig and pink maggot from winter ice fishing.  I had the only success with during winter 13-14. I tried vertical jigging with this setup and had a blast once out on the lake. It was the perfect setup for identifying schools of fish below. Crappies, gills, white bass and perch were easily tagged on this rig. I have since replaced the vertical jigging setup with a Okuma Celilo 4.5 to 5.5 footer with good success. I am really anticipating the use of Tungsten Micro jigs that members like Tony Livingston has preached and promoted on this site. Thanks Tony for adding to my ice fishing season. Big improvement over preceding seasons  and thanks for members like Joe Angelucci for techniques on downsizing… they catch big fish too. Bill Modica North American Spoon Chuggers is a great open water technique that has similarities pointing to ice fishing techniques.

http://bigbluegill.com/group/northamericanspoonchuckers

http://bigbluegill.com/group/pattern-rigging-presentation-for-blueg...

Has anyone tried Berkley Gulp Fry?

sad day... bundled up all the fishing gear except the sonar (going to use on the kayak) 2 rods and some popular jigs and packed it away... see ya in January

Nice short movie Slip sinker looks like your set up pretty good there buddy.

Just think 120 more days till ice fishing season!

a great way to stay in tune during open water season... (with Dave Genz)

60 days till ice season!

Propane Ice Auguer

Does anyone have any experience with these and what kind do you prefer? We're allowed up to an 8-inch hole here in PA. They seem they'd be a lot cleaner to operate.

Thanks

20160130. Had a great time catch a few Smallish Y.Perch on the orange and chartreuse Mustache Worm  

Bruce, I've been doing A LOT of reading on ice fishing, now that I'm in MI.  I haven't purchased any gear yet, but the few comments that I've read concerning propane augers is that you need to keep the bottle warm.  Once you're drilled your holes, shut your auger down and remove the bottle.  Take the bottle into your shack.  Probably not a good idea to lay the bottle on the ice.

I've heard that the regulators will freeze up, preventing the auger from starting.  I think I've also read that if the bottle gets really cold, it can loose pressure, which will also affect performance.

However, I have heard of some folks getting adapters so they can use a big bottle of propane (20 lbs?) to refill the little ones.  Saves money, and cuts down on the amount of trash/littering by not constantly tossing out the 1 lbs bottles of propane.

Here's a photo of the fish caught by my friends after I left for the doctor appointment. There are mostly gills, with a few perch and two crappies in the pile.

I guess they call these photos fish porn.

Bruce

has any one used a tucr precision noodle ice rod. i saw the rods on indepth out doors and they look like a very nice rod, kinda pricey, thats why i was wondering if any body has used them before i drop a hundo for a rod.

Ouch pricey!... I believe ive seen the same clip on custom rods… definitely looks to have the fun factor going on. Keep us posted on your decision.

Two strategies for bite detection sight and feel… The rod looks to be designed for mono and sight method.

up date on the new ice rod. i picked up a thread wrapper from mudhole custome rods and 3 ice rod kits. ive used them and i really like the way they handle. looking forward to building a flyrod real soon

Which thread wrapper did you get John .I got a rod kit for Christmas and have to consider getting a thread wrapper. Its not a Mudhole kit its a Netcraft kit . An Ultra Light Spinning rod kit . This will be a 1st attempt at constructing a rod .

EXCELLENT PERCH HAUL BRUCE!

The handle is pretty easy. The thread wraps on the eyes get progressively more difficult as you get near the tip, the more the tip flexes the harder it gets.

Thanks for that warning . I still haven't assembled my rod kit .I figure read up on it and put together sometime around St.Patrick's Day.

ATTENTION !!ICE FISHERMEN !!  JUST SAW THIS ADVERTISEMENT;; YOU MIGHT FIND INTERESTING;;;  JIM DRECH; ( INVENTOR ) FROM ALEXANDRIA; MN. ;;  BEMIDJI;PIONEER.COM;; HAS COME UP WITH A ;; ICE HOLE TRAP !CALLED GRAND PAWS ICE HOLE TRAP;;;  YOU STEP ON SOME KIND OF LEVER;;  AND;; A METAL DISK;; CLOSES THE HOLE;; TRAPPING THE FISH YOU ARE TRYING TO HAUL UO FROM THE ICE !!  YOU LOOSE;; FEWER FISH THAT WAY ACCORDING TO HIM.  THINK ABOUT THAT FOR  A MINUTE;; YOU;RE TRYING TO BRING UP A GOOD SIZE FISH;; WORRY ABOUT LOOSING IT; AS YOU TRY TO HAUL IT UP;;; CLOSE THE HOLE WITH THE TRAP !!  MIGHT BE WORTH CHECKING OUT !!  SELLS;; FOR SOMEWHERE AROUND $40.00 

i watched several videos on you tube, lets just say when they show you how easy it is there never doing the next to last eye by the tip, but that being said enjoy and have fun making your first rod.

Its not hard but hope you have good eyes. You'll need some type of wheels to lay the rod blank on and spin. The finer thread you can used the better it will look but harder to see. The most important thing to remember keep the wraps close and not overlap them.

Thanks Dick.

Thanks John.

20180311- ice fishing was a big bust up here in the tundra of mid-Michigan... hadnt spent a dime of time out on the hard water.

if you were lucky enough to spend time out on the ice and luck enough to hook up with a bragger share your results on the bragger board.

as the ice slowly fades away i wish everyone luck and safe ventures this open water season!

https://www.sportsmansguide.com/product/index/sufix-ice-magic-ice-f...

Anybody use this stuff? I'm not sure if this Suffix was discussed. I need some new line.

Thanks, Bruce