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I have never been ice fishing before And know absolutly nothing about it. I know it is late in the season to start but better late than never. Im planning on my first time being this wednesday and planning to go to strawberry because i here so much about it. my grandpa has a hand powered ice awgur, is it even possibly to drill a hole in 2 feet of ice with one of those things?
so my question is what do i need before wednesday? do i need one of those small fishing poles or can i use a regular one? what kind of bait do you use? how do you rig everything up? And if nobody minds sharing where at strawberry should i go?
any help would be greatly appreciated and thank you in advance.
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My guess is that you are walking and not using sleds. I dont think 4 wheelers can make it on the lake right now with the new snow overnight.
Your regular pole will work fine. Shorter poles if you like it for next year. You might consider getting a strike indicator for the light bite, 2 bucks top. Make sure you dress to stay warm! Wind breaking clothes for the berry a must this time of year.
Pretty much the same gear you would normally use only smaller. ice flies, jigs, ect. worms, minnows, chubs, wax/meal worms as sweeteners are good. I use no weight this time of year but eah to their own on that. jig slow and wait between jigs. pay attention the bite has been lite. Colors white, chartruse, brown, black and dark green have all worked for me this winter.
Good luck and yes you can drill through 2 feet of ice with a hand aguer. But i wouldn't want too! Take some help with ya and switch off. For your 1st trip try the ladders area or Mud creek.
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[cool][#0000ff]Hey Nate, welcome aboard...both to BFT and to ice fishing. I suggest that you spend some time looking in the Strawberry part of the archives. Lots of good info there about the best lures and methods of fishing. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff] [url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?forum=87;"][#000000][size 1]Strawberry, Scolfield, Starvation Reports Archive Board[/size][/#000000][/url][/#0000ff][#000000][size 1] [/size][/#000000]
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[#0000ff]I suspect that if Strawberry on Wednesday is going to be your first ice fishing experience, and you have only a hand auger, that you are not going to have a very good outing. The ice is almost too thick for even a good power auger right now, and the fish are tough for even some of the more experienced strawberry regulars. Unless you know some good GPS spots, and have a good assortment of proven Strawberry lures and baits, you may get nothing more than a lot of exercise. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I might suggest that you wait until you can tag along with someone experienced on Strawberry, to get a better feel for that water. In the meantime, Jordanelle is still good ice and there are always perch and usually some rainbows to keep you busy. It is a lot more accomodating to new ice anglers.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]You will need one of the short rods only if you plan to fish inside an ice shanty. If you fish outside, then your favorite rod will work. However, you might want to see about getting a strike indicator (spring bobber) for the end of your rod, because sometimes the fish under ice bite very lightly and you might have trouble seeing the bites on your regular rod if you are not used to them.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]You can use a lot of different kinds of lures, from little jigs to spoons. There are many different kinds of "ice flies" and jigs made especially for ice fishing. Most of these are designed to be used with a bit of bait on the hook. Waxworms are favorites for "tipping", as are mealworms, nightcrawlers and pieces of minnow or cut bait.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]If you go to any Sportsmans Warehouse, they have a complete section set up with all of the special ice goodies you might want to look at for getting outfitted. The good news is that plenty of fish are taken by just baiting up a hook, with a split shot a foot above it and sending it down.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]When you really get serious, you will want to get a good sonar, a power auger an ice sled and maybe a shelter too. Once you get the ice fishing bug it will eat up a lot of your budget.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Good luck.[/#0000ff]
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Welcome to BFT! A good place to start is on the archives site for Strawberry. Read and follow what some of the Pro's that fish it regularly have said and you should do well. Good Luck
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You might also check the ice conditions at strawberry. It is plenty thick (and then some) so you aren't going to fall through. However, if there is a foot of slush on top of the ice you may be in for a miserable day and may never try ice fishing again. In fact, you may feel that way anyway trying to drill through that much ice with a hand auger.
The one thing that makes the BIGGEST difference is having some kind of fishfinder that you can use to target the fish. Especially if you have one that can pick up your lure as well. The fish tend to congregate, for the most part, at certain depths during the winter (thermal clines). If your lure isn't at that depth, you won't catch more than a cold, even if there are 20 hungry fish below or above you.
If you can get into the right dept, it doesn't matter nearly as much what you are fishing with. Added scents do seem to really help ice fishing, though. I have down well with the PowerBait scent stuff, others like smelly jelly.
This late in the year the fish are REALLY lethargic. It is probably best to use small baits like meal worms, wax worms, or you can even use pieces of night crawlers. Also, they generally wont hit hard at all. you need to keep hold of your pole at all times and watch the end and the line in the water. Sometimes the only way you know a fish is there is your line will start slowly moving around in the water. Then you need to patiently try to set the hook. If it doesn't work, let it settle again. Often the fish will come back for another try. They may be lethargic, but they are hungry.
Probably the best thing you can do to have an enjoyable experience is to try to hook up with someone that knows what they are doing. It seems there are plenty of people on this board that are happy to have someone friendly tag along. You might even offer to work out a good deal with them that is beneficial to both of you. You can offer to bring the food and drinks, and pay for much of the gas, and they can outfit you with all of the gear and advice while you are there. Most of us have more gear than we need. [  ]
I, for one, have not gotten out this year. Yes, a  fact. I would be more than happy to get out, use my equipment (power auger, shack, poles, bait, etc) if someone had the snow machines to drag it all out to a good spot. Just need to find someone that has the snowmobiles that doesn't have all the other good gear, and find a day where there isn't as much slush. Those days may be past for the year, though. If so, I'll just sit her anxiously waiting the day I can get the boat out.
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Nate, welcome to BFT. If you are going to attempt to drill through that much ice with a hand auger make certain that those blades are sharp -- or forget it. Make sure that you have an ice scoop. Don't hesitate to put plastic bags over your socks to keep your feet dry. You should be able to catch some fish right at the marina, just go a few hundred feet either north or south of the boat ramp. Fishfinders are great, but not a necessity to be able to catch a few fish. Try fishing in water from about 15' to 45' (shallower earlier in the day and then move out later). You can calculate the depth of the water fairly accurately by dropping your jig to the bottom and then walking across the ice until your jig reaches the ice, and then counting your paces to get back to the hole. Drop your jig to the bottom and reel up about 1 crank. Jig a little and let it rest for about 15 - 20 seconds. Reel up a crank or two and repeat the process. Keep repeating this process until you have reached the surface. When you get a bite, rather than immediately jerking, slowly lift your rod tip, and if you feel weight snap your wrist to set the hook. If others are out on the ice don't hesitate to walk up to them (before drilling that first hole) and tell them that you are a beginner and would appreciate any help that they are willing to offer.
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Welcome to the board natemo. The ice is very thick last
week my gas auger was buried right to the engine to break through ice. Sure would hate to have hand drilled a hole through that muck ice. On that note they rent gas augers at the marina I think for around 25 dollars/day.
We fished last week and caught 43. Smaller jigs worked best in the usual colors mentioned in the above post. good luck and think about renting an auger.
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Hey there! Good questions. I started Ice fishing this year too. I would have been lost if I went by myself. I strongly urge you to follow the advice offered to get an expert to go along with you to teach you the basics. I was fortunate enough to have someone respond to my request for a "tutor" or "teacher for a newbie ice fisher". I paid for some of the gas, and went where he suggested. Turned out the equipment I bought wasn't right for the place I went. Luckily the guy (now friend) I went with had more than enough gear to share with me. I had a blast!
I've been 5 or 6 more times this year. My last 3 trips were on my own. I had good success and felt that it was due to what I learned from a seasoned vet at ice-fishing. Don't be afraid to ask for help. Let others on the forum know when you can go and ask if you can tag along with someone. You might be surprised at the generosity and willingness of many members of BFT to extend a helping hand. Good luck. If you do go Wednesday, I hope it works out. If it doesn't don't give up on it. It is dang fun when you get the hang of it. Some of it is luck, and a lot of it is knowing how to stay dry and warm. Anyway, bla, bla, bla. Welcome.
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thank you very much everybody that replied. I would really like to tag along sometime with a seasoned ice fisher, it would definetly be worth the gas and food to learn a new way to fish and the tricks of the trade. I am going wednesday because it is my birthday and i cant get any one to go out there with me. Since it is my birthday no one can convince me otherwise or say no you cant go. Definetly going to check out the power augers at the marina. Does any one know what time they open?
well i am going to give it a try on wednesday if i dont catch any fish thats ok, if i do thats a plus, just going to go out and see what this ice fishing is all about. Again thanks to everyone for the help and advice.
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forgot a question. when you use a strike indicator how do you rig it up? and what kind of stgrike indicator do you use. and everyone has said that the bite is really lite, do you just hold the line with one finger or just pay close attention to the end of the pole?
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Here is the telephone number for The Strawberry Marina:
Store/rentals: (435) 548-2261
Or you can email them:
[url "mailto:Info@StrawberryBay.com"]Info@StrawberryBay.com[/url]
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Nate, would like to hear a report about your great birthday adventure on Wednesday.
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was not able to go on thursday but i did go today. I got to the strawberry marina at about 6:30 am and it was really foggy i walked about 150 yards straight out. The hand powered auger wasnt as bad as i thought it would, but i can see how everybody prefers the powered augers. I fished until about noon. The fishing was ok for me, i landed 5 fish, lost about 7 or 8 at the bottom of the hole and broke off about 10 jiggs. Very frustrating at times, but all in all it was fun and cant wait to do it again.
After the first experience i have some more questions. First every fish that i landed seemed to be the exact same size about 18 or 19" is that typical? what type of line do you use? i got some 4lb ice fishing line from sportsmans and to be honest it was horrible line, but that is what the guy at sportsmans said to use. what type of knots do you use to tie on the jigg? i used a clinch knot, but i kept breaking off fish. How high to you lift the pole when you jigg? And lastly when the heck do you know when to set the hook and how hard? when i kept breaking off fish i thought i was setting the hook to hard but a couple of times i didnt even set the hook i just started reeling the line.
thank you again to everybody for the help and advice i had a lot of fun. i have to tag along with some of you some time because it is propably a little more fun when your not by yourself and you can see how others sre doing it.
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Nate, it sounds like you did great for your first outing. I prefer either a Uni Knot or a Polamar Knot. You may have been using too stiff of a rod for 4 pound test. One is supposed to snap their wrist, rather than jerking with their entire arm when setting the hook. I often forget this myself and jerk with my whole arm. I use 6 or 8 pound test at Strawberry. The best way I have found to know when to set the hook is to lift on the rod slowly, and if you feel weight snap your wrist. Most of the fish at Strawberry seem to fall between about 17 and 19" long, with a few smaller and larger than that. Again, you did great for your first trip.
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