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So I got invited to night ice fishing this Friday night up at Strawberry. As I found out more details, it appeared that it was going to end up a cold night for me as there would be 3 or 4 of us...and ONE two man ice hut. So I went and bought an ice hut today and now I can't wait for tomorrow night to get here!
We plan on taking a heater, a lantern, lots of food and the usual fishing stuff. We are going to leave right after work tomorrow and hopefully arrive around 7:00 p.m. or so and set up. We plan on staying till Saturday morning. Has anyone used a battery operated green light to light up the water? We have one, but I dont' know if I want to haul a car battery out there or not.
Randy
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I used to N.ot have E.nough T.ime O.ff to go fishing. Then I retired. Now I have less time than I had before. Sheesh.
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I have done it, prepare for a cold night. Fish seem to just tear it up at night, but IMHO, the trade off between catching all those fish and being unbeleiveably cold is not worth it. Part of Ice fishing to me is being up there on an absolutley bright sunny day with no wind and catching alot of fish. Call me spoiled, but that has happened more often than not. With a green light or not, you'll see that you miss alot of bites. Good luck let us know how you do and if night fishing is for you.
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Night ice fishing can be a hoot,, if, you have a shanty with heat, a portable floor, and a built in bed so you can sack out and wake up bright eye'd and ready for a nice breakfast of taters and steak and eggs.
As far as the fishing, well, it can be hit and miss. And thats where a portable DVD player comes in.. [laugh]
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I do at least one night trip a year up to strawberry. I love it. Sometimes it's good and others it is slow but I always have a good time with friends, telling stories and just joking around. Where are you planning on fishing?
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You gotta have a shelter at night. Way too cold to even bother or make it any fun! The lantern may very well keep you warm enough in the QF II without even turning the heater on!
I have used a green light at night before but only off the side of the boat. I have never done it through the ice. I suspect you could get it to run off a smaller 12 volt 7 amp battery like we use to run the fish finders. Its way more portable! You would probably get quite a few good hours out of it!
Let us know how you do and if you use the light. I am going to try to do a few night trips this winter and would like to learn from your experience!
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I have done the night thing many times from my boat and on the ice. A few times on the boat I have done extremely well. I have caught a few fish at night ice fishing, but never really got into them in a big way. One problem at night is that often it is so cold that moving the shack and drilling new holes does not seem like an option to me. I have used a submerged light at night from both my boat and while ice fishing. It may have helped a little but I'm not sure. I believe using jigs that glow helps a little. Fishing at light is like fishing in a rain forest, with all of the moisture falling from the top of the shack (combustion from either the lantern and/or the heater produces lots of moisture). The fish can move really shallow at night, so consider fishing shallower than you typically do during daylight hours.
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night ice fishing.. great fun.. my thoughts on the light, leve it home they are not worth the truble.
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All good advice, thanks! We will be at the Ladders and will post up after we get home from our adventure.
Randy
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I used to N.ot have E.nough T.ime O.ff to go fishing. Then I retired. Now I have less time than I had before. Sheesh.
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[cool]NETO, I went out one time last year with fishing4fun and bassackward. We had a blast, and we were in a spot way South of the marina. I'm not really familiar with that part of the lake like I am the Northern part and Soldier Creek part, but I think maybe we were at Renegade or somewhere near there. We were on a spot where the fish kept consistently swimming through all night, and we were using white tubes about 2.5 inches long tipped with chub minnow and banana smelly jelly. It was tons of fun, but you definitely want a shelter and heater, and you also want glow in the dark tubes or ice flies. The non-glow stuff that I tried (like white whatacrickets) didn't get bit at all or very little. Hope this info helps. You also might want to send a p.m. to fishing4fun. He knows his 'berry night icefishing better than most...
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Went night fishing once last year for the first time and had a good time but it was cold. My advise would be to take a good heater and keep things inside your tent that you dont want to freeze.
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I just gave N.E.T.O. a call to make sure that he still had all of his body parts, and yes he survived the night and is still out there fishing. I got a fishing report but I will allow him the opportunity to give all of the exciting details.
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