Often times the location where you catch fish in the fall on lakes, they will be near that under the ice as well. The fish may migrate to deeper water during the mid-winter months, but that varies depending on lake. The tough thing about bass is, they tend to roam a lot more with the ice cover over there heads. Most typically I see people catch bass with tip ups set out for pikes. As since these predatory fish are all hunting the same type of baitfish.

cool thanks a lot that was really helpful. anyone else have any ideas/helpful tip for a beginner like hook, riggings, and ect.

First, prepare to be addicted! Ice fishing is like a virus that gets in your system and you will never get it out! One day you will be cursing the weather man for not giving you temperatures below freezing in the 7 day forecast. Pretty much everyone will tell you that your nuts for wanting to do anything in freezing temperatures, let alone sit on a frozen lake staring at an ice hole... SO, now that you know what to expect here are my tips to someone starting into ice fishing.

1. Creature comforts first. I spent many days freezing my cheeks off on a cold 5 gallon bucket. Finally I purchased a small portable ice hut. That made a huge difference! I could concentrate on fishing rather than the fact that snot was freezing to my face. Not long after the ice hut I also found a small propane heater on sale. Now I could sit out on the ice in a sweatshirt and life was good, catching fish or not. Now that you are comfortable you can play around and experiment with different things to see what works and what doesn't.

2. The next most important thing is to get a flasher and I am not talking about someone in a long trench coat! There are several good ones on the market and again you can always look at an older used one if you are on a budget. By using a flasher you will increase your success rate tenfold!! It is so important to me now that if I drove 3 hours to a lake and realized that I forgot it, I would turn around and go back home. You will never be upset with this investment or the much higher ratio of fish that you will catch.

3. As you build up your ice fishing arsenal work toward mobility. If you are not catching fish, move. Sometime you have to hunt them down, but once you find them they can be in abundance. For me I picked up an Otter sled to tote my gear. Then after saving I converted the sled to a pullover ice house with the upgrade kit. Eventually I went to a power ice auger. Now I can go out in the morning punch 25 - 30 holes, pull up and fish each until I am not seeing production. If I had a hot hole that died I may go back and revisit it later, or just punch more holes. By being mobile you are actively seeking the fish, not hoping for a stray bite.

4. Be flexible. Don't limit yourself to one species. Maybe the bass are slow, but the perch are on fire. Go after them! The fish you pass up is the fish you will never get. Not to mention you may learn a thing or two about the species that you really want. For example, maybe you are using bait that is big to go after that big bass. Nothing happening. Size down to go after the sunfish and boom, big ol mister master angler bass takes a bite! Sometimes the big fish want small bait... Be open to experimenting and you will learn a lot. Which brings me to my final tip.

5. Use these forums! Find out what others are doing successfully. This is actually my first post on the fishing club forum. There are many out there like Ice Shanty and I have gathered some of the best knowledge just learning from others and putting it to practice on the ice.

As I am concluding this I do have one more tip that is a MUST. Be safe. While it may be very difficult to wait for safe ice just do it! There are charts that will give you further information about ice conditions and what is safe. Every body of water is different. Some lakes are fine with 4" of ice others may have underground springs that weaken the ice in spots. Know your lake and as your learning it don't be afraid to carry ice awls around your neck or even wear a PFD (personal floatation device) in case the worst happens.

Good luck on your adventures!

Fish ON!!!
Lunker

holy crap thank you so MUCH really! this is what i was looking for and i am already addicted! to fishing hard core just when there isn't ice lol really i cant thank you enough

you dont happen to have any tips on kinds of rigs or rigging line, hook,whight, and bait ect  ?

20 Dec 2011 05:28 PM
Hi all I will chime in, Mr. Bass it really depends on what you’re looking to catch and as was so well stated by the previous poster you do not want to limit yourself to one species, that said unless you have all the big boy toys or plan on fishing close to parking then you want to limit your weight. Also i could not agree more the most important thing is the flasher, I use the Vexilar, it is great but they all great once you figure out how to use them properly. Another cool big boy toy is the Camera but it also tends to pi$$ you off when they are there staring at your bait!!! The first and foremost thing on your mind is what I can do to be totally safe on the ice, whether it’s for yourself or someone else that may need the help.


My old standby is a blue and silver or green and silver Swedish pimple (tipped with bait of choice, i.e. minnow, grub, spike or leech) on one rod and the experimental rod would start with a small jig tipped with a waxy.

Good luck all and the rivers will have to do until we have hard water. err uh where did he say that lake was....

The rigs really depends on the fish you're after. For most of the hardwater fisherfolks they chase panfish or perch. So often time it's a small ice jig or spoon presentation. Often the bait is waxworms or various larvae worms and little minnows. However wit the amount of soft plastics available can often times outproduce live bait.

The lake that im going to be fishing the most and i live right next to is Silver Lake, In Barnard VT there and huge Pike and largemouth, and perch

I would set out tip up fishing for Pikes and Largemouths and jigging for Perch at the same time.

thank everyone for the help ill post up some pic if and wen i get some fish 

Don't be afraid to size down for big bass.  A lot of times, while bass fisherman are using small shiners for bass, I am landing more bass with small fat heads and large crappie minnows on both tip ups and dead stick rigs. Set them up like you would perch fishing: Size 4 hook and a split shot, or a small jig like a bro bug or gill pill with a minnow. 

very nice im going to try and get out tomorrow if i can find some equipment

Perch tend to be from the bottom to 1' up----I use a small tear drop jig w/ a spike(maggot)-----in deeper water(15' and over)---I'll put a small bell sinker on the bottom(2 get down quick) w/ 1 jig 6" up and another at 12"--they tend to school up so if you get 1 get back down there quick---if there's a bunch of dinks I'll usually to to move away from them.

Posted By wmcritchie on 19 Jan 2012 12:07 PM
Perch tend to be from the bottom to 1' up----I use a small tear drop jig w/ a spike(maggot)-----in deeper water(15' and over)---I'll put a small bell sinker on the bottom(2 get down quick) w/ 1 jig 6" up and another at 12"--they tend to school up so if you get 1 get back down there quick---if there's a bunch of dinks I'll usually to to move away from them.

thx for the help. how do you all feel about jigging with small shiners for perch  ? ?

shiners is what i use for perch most of the time
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what size shiner are you using on the tip-ups? and what size are the pike in your area? you just might want to size up hooks and baits for the pike.

well i got a few perch on my pike tip-ups with large shiners and today i got smaller shiners and got one perch jigging so ill try it again tomorrow ,