Early ice presents the opportunity to fish for fish that have not seen a jig in months. As an angler I am "chomping at the bit" to get out there and fish again. Here in Colorado some of our lakes freeze around Thanksgiving while others wait till the New Year.
The late fall season gives us the opportunity to make sure all our gear is ready to go. I like to start with my shelters, get the
Voyagers and X-2’s out. Clean them up tighten all the screws and take a quick look to make sure any other maintenance issues have not been missed. I also take out the moth balls I put in last winter to keep the mice out. After that I start my auger, check all screws and replace theblades.
The
MR. Heaters need to be cleaned up and started. My little buddy’s have been a very dependable heater for years now. The
Vexilars have been on a charger for the summer so they just need a little dusting off. I grab my rods and reels, run a q-tip through each rod guide to make sure there is no “rough “spots to nick my line and re spool my reels.
When I respool any reels I like to use a black marker and write the test on the inside of each spool. When I get to my jig boxes it’s almost like Christmas. Sorting through all the shiny spoons and colorful plastics gets me down right excited to get out on the ice.Have you seen the new line of
Lindy ice jigs.
The last item I look at is my clothes. Get me boots, liners, gloves, hats and any other cold weather gear together. When safe ice gets here I will be ready to get out there and not have to try to find things the last minute.
Please don’t forget to sign up for the
Ice Team
I have attached a simple video on how to modify your ice fishing bucket to hold rods with out tangling them up.