Ice Fishing's Top 5 Upgrades

Photo Credit - Matt Addington Photography

Gear in Photo -

-Marcum Lithium M5

-Beaverdam Classic Tip-up

-Striker Predator Bibs

-Striker Combat Gloves

-Engel Cooler

Ice fishing is likely the fastest growing segment in all of sport fishing.  That’s in no small part due to the development in creature comforts that have fundamentally changed the mechanics of the sport.  A five-gallon bucket has turned into any number of portable or permanent structures with a built-in seat.  The massive, exhaust-spewing power augers of old are now odor-free, lightweight electric powerhouses that drill many dozens of holes on a single charge.  Bib overalls and flannel have given way to ice-specific suits that are ergonomically designed for the rigors of the sport. 

Maybe all you’ve added to the arsenal in the past few years is a couple jigs, or maybe you’re coming back into the sport after a hiatus of a few years.  Even if you keep your ear to the ice every season, it's often wise to let first-year products enjoy a few cycles before investing in a dead end.  That said, each of the categories below are tried, tested, and true technologies that I see only advancing rather then retreating. 

Here’s a top-five list of the best categories to upgrade this year if you’ve been reticent to get on the modern ice bandwagon:

1.        Electric Auger – Today’s electric augers are major contenders in the space.  Unless you’re drilling in extremely thick ice, or hundreds of holes per session, you may likely already own one.  No mixed gas or smoke-filled permanents are another major advantage of the tech.  Add to that, that trend towards lighter-weight options, and you’re no longer looking at 40 pound steel grinders that you have to prime, pull, and maintain a carburetor on.  Click “on,” and flick a switch to drill. I’m running a new electric auger this year that I tried at the end of last season and really liked. Fastest and lightest electric i’ve ever used, and it re-drills old holes and rough ice with ease!.

2.       Custom Ice Rods – Go ahead, live a little.  More importantly, take the species and situation you face most often, and select an appropriate tool for the job.  These days, custom ice rods are expressly made to solve problems on the ice, and give you, the angler, the upper hand.  Whether you fish shallow water for gills, or deep rock lakers, there’s a custom rod for you that will be lighter, more sensitive, and plain catch more fish than any of your other sticks combined.  While they can be expensive, they’re a mere fraction of their open-water counterparts, and worth the money in my opinion. I helped design and develop the Croix Custom Ice Lineup by St. Croix Rods. Check them out here, or read up to find the perfect CCI for you!

3.       Floating Ice Fishing Suit – Whether you tempt the fates with early and late ice excursions or not, talk to 10 ice anglers and each of them will have a different story about ice that should’ve been safe and wasn’t.  For your troubles, you’ll get a bib and jacket combination that holds tackle boxes and bait pucks exactly where you’ll need them, and will have padding in the places an ice angler requires.  Not to mention, with venting technologies and the quality of garments out there, you’ll be comfortable no matter the temperature. I wear the Striker Predator bibs and jacket for safety as much as comfort. For the ultimate in comfort and warmth anywhere, I opt for the Striker Climate bibs and jacket.

4.       Digital/Lithium Sonar Technology – I’m a big fan of the analog units out there, as they’ve stood the test of time and caught gobs of fish doing it.  Still, the advantages of digital sonar can’t be ignored.  Customizable views allow you to set up a screen however you like, while maximizing the real-estate offered for only the fish-catching information that’s interesting to you.  While you’re at it, you should power your electronics with a lithium battery.  All the rage in everything from electric cars to power drills, your electric ice-auger has one because of the incredible long life, weight savings, and cold-weather performance.  Lead acid batteries for fish-finders will likely soon become a thing of the past, as manufacturers are now starting to sell their electronics with lithium power onboard. I run both the Lithium LX-7 for a combination of hole-hopping and stationary fishing, and hole hop almost exclusively with my Lithium-powered - M5L.

5.       Shelter – No matter what your budget, there’s a great shelter upgrade out there waiting for you.  From fully thermal hub-style portables, all the way to fully decked out wheelhouses, there’s never been more choices on the marketplace than we have right now.  On the upper end, with increased materials costs, borrowing rates, and tariffs, wheelhouses and the like will probably only continue to go up in price so this could be a good year if you were already budgeting for one.  On the other end of the spectrum, you’ve got incredible performance fabrics and thermal insulation that makes hub and flip-style shelters remarkably durable and easy to heat. I run an Otter XT X-Over series and have been really liking the side-entry feature on the X-Over editions. For the hub angler, the XT Lodge Hub has been perfect for my family.

While a part of me loves the nostalgia of frozen days gone by, ice fishing is more enjoyable when you’re warm and comfortable.  Catching fish while doing so has no doubt led countless new people to the sport.        

The Right Auger for the Job at Hand

Ice augers these days are undergoing a modern revolution of sorts, with all kinds of “firsts” and “never-before’s.”  Many manufacturers are moving away from gas, favoring lighter and more reliable electric models.  I think that shows confidence in the technology, along with consumer adoption in electric models over previous years.  We’re also seeing a big push for lighter auger flighting materials, namely synthetic resins that shave plenty of pounds from the overall unit, especially when paired with cordless drill drivers.  Had you told me me years ago that people would be using a cordless electric drill to power a plastic flighting for all of their ice holes, and I wouldn’t have believed you. 

All of which makes for some great opportunities that ice anglers will undoubtedly benefit from…eventually.  For this season however, folks looking to take part in that revolution have a lot of choices to consider, perhaps too many if you haven’t been following the recent developments.  In that light, while I think there’s a time and a place for many of the designs on the market, if I was forced to choose an ultimate combo, here’s what I’d come up with.

Dedicated Electric Powerhead and 8” or 10” Flighting

You didn’t expect one auger to do every task did you?  For predator-anglers and wheelhouse junkies, a 10” hole offers a few luxuries.  Slower freeze-up is one of them, but so is turning big fish to the top of the ice.  Of course, a 10” hole swallows up boots…and rods….and really just about anything.  It’s not as effective for roaming the open ice, unless predators are your only game.  In which case, the trade-off is worth it.  For late winter, an extra battery offers peace of mind, and really negates the gas-auger argument for all but the most ardent of hole-poppers.

Speed is a consideration for open-ice hole-popping, but total ease of use may be more important to many anglers, especially those in a wheelhouse.  For that reason, the standard-style blade options (not the curved shaver blades) will perform better at break-through and provide a more comfortable experience.  No binding at the bottom, no hard-jarring as the blades catch at the bottom of the hole.  Also, standard-style flat blades can re-drill old holes with ease, making them the best choice for those who drill in permanent houses.

An 8” option is best for most anglers that roam the open ice and fish small predators to walleyes.  It’s the ultimate in versatility, and sales numbers prove that fact.  Should you ever need replacement blades, it’s far easier to find 8”ers than anything else out there, and that one is based on hard-earned experience scouring baitshops throughout the hinterlands at times.  If you fish in portables, or ice troll the frozen expanses, your 80% auger will be a dedicated electric auger powerhead and 8” flighting.

Why a dedicated powerhead?  In my experience, cordless drill drivers are a great option, but not necessarily for larger bits.  Depending on the drill and flighting combination, I simply find it more comfortable to drill with a larger handled apparatus, and am just fine with 20lbs or so for big lakes, thicker ice, and better fish.  Maybe I’ll change my tune in time, but for now, I’m happy with the cutting experience of a dedicated electric powerhead on these larger bits.

Lightweight Synthetic 6” Flighting

Once we start talking panfish, my opinions change dramatically towards the electric hand-drill units.  Pair up an 18V construction grade cordless to the new synthetic resin flighting systems out there now, and you’ve got an unbeatable lightweight combo that simply shreds ice.  You’ll be easier on your drill unit using a 6” flighting, and for panfish, you really don’t need anything bigger.  I’ve seen a 15” crappie come up a 5” hole; mind you, it reminded me of a cork coming off a bottle of champagne, but a 6” hole in the ice fits just about anything.  That includes most walleyes and certainly all panfish you’re likely to catch in the Midwest. 

The beauty of this system is that you can pair the smaller 6” bit to your dedicated powerhead, or run it with a hand drill, whichever you prefer.  Interchange them at will, and you’ve got the best of both worlds for nearly any species you’re likely to encounter.  Fish light when you can, such that you’re not stuck trying to hole hop backwaters panfish with your 10” house auger, and use the larger option when tackling bigger species. 

Why not one auger to rule them all?  For me it’s about using the right tool for the job.  Sure, I can pound roofing nails with a sledgehammer, but it’ll take me more time and effort.  So often, it’s the panfish species that require extra hole drilling sessions to really pinpoint anyway.  That’s when a flyweight 6” synthetic bit can make it so much easier, and you, much more likely, to get out there and find more fish.  Certainly, if you’re a perch and big water walleye angler roaming for nomadic schools up and down the break, you may opt for an 8” synthetic bit for the same reason.  In that instance, you may want a dedicated electric 10” with an 8” synthetic. 

To each their own.  That said, if you’re chasing multiple species in a variety of waters, using these ultimate configuration guidelines to have a larger dedicated electric auger and flighting combination, with a synthetic version only slightly smaller, will get you punching more holes in more ice.  For me, that’s always meant more success, and in this instance, more comfort and convenience to go along with it.  

Spinners - Get Bit By Everything During the Dog Days of Summer

There’s a lot of ways to catch fish during the lazy summer months, but it’s worth remembering that fish are pretty fat and happy right now.  Weedlines are well defined, bait is plentiful in most lakes, and warm water temps mean fish are at peak metabolism.  While they need to eat often, it’s not hard to find a great place to get dinner.  The menu options are varied as well, so it tends to take most fishing patterns and nullify the amplitude of their effectiveness.

What do I mean by that?  Well, in any one lake there can be a top one or two ways to catch walleyes for example for any given season.  What happens in summer is that with such a wide variety of bait, at a number of different zones and cover-types, rather than one or two techniques, you often have about 5 of them which all produce, just not gangbusters like they might’ve during other parts of the season.  That’s why I like to employ tactics that cross-over to a number of different species, and work well in a variety of situations. 

Spinner fishing, pulling crawler harnesses, bottom-bouncing – whatever you want to call it – is to me among the best of the best for maximum action no matter where you fish.  I was just talking with Ted Takasaki, noted tournament angler and hall of famer, about pulling spinners.  “I pull them everywhere I go, from Erie, to Winnipeg, to Sakakawea, and I’ve won tournaments with them over the past few decades everywhere in between.”  Ted was also quick to point out that it’s a big-fish technique too, and he readily uses them to target trophies as well. 

Rough fish like sheephead love spinners too and put a good bend in the rod when lots of fish won’t.

While Ted was talking specifically about walleye-fishing, we both agreed that some of our best panfish catches have been on spinners.  Largemouth and smallies both love to eat-‘em, and while it can be frustrating, pike will clip hooks and readily slam a spinner as well.  If it swims, it’ll eat a crawler or leech rigged behind a spinner and weight system.  That includes rough fish which to many folks aren’t of interest, but really put up a fight and make for some action-packed days when other species aren’t going.  Most often for me, that’s drum or “sheephead,” and they can really save a day when kids are losing interest and too much time passes between bites. 

The question I think has less to do with “if,” but “why?”  Ted chimed in here too, saying that “It’s tough to most fish to pass up the combination of live bait, presented at some speed, with the attraction of vibration, flash, and color.”  Spinners really have a lot going for them in that regard, as few lure classes check as many boxes as these live-bait delivery systems can.  Vibration draws fish from distance, and so does flash or color, while live-bait seals the deal for a strike.

Color can be an overlooked portion of the system, as there are plenty to choose from, as well as standards like hammered nickel and gold.  Yet, in a bug hatch situation for walleyes, it’s nice to match the hatch, with browns, greys, and other subdued colors with a copper or hammered gold blade really being a top-producer.  Again, worms really help elicit strikes, as lots of fish will follow baits without striking, especially at sub-1 mph speeds. 

Regarding pace, it’s nice to pull standard spinners at that 1 – 1.5 mph GPS speed, but it’s even nicer to pull polycarbonate “butterfly” style blades at whatever speed you’d like.  I’m often glued to the electronics, pulling along at a decent pace, then see a glob of fish to slow down on.  If dropping it in their face isn’t getting the job done, I’ll actually try picking up the pace to see if faster doesn’t create some more urgency and elicit reaction strikes. 

I tend to use bottom-bouncers as the weight of choice, especially in water deeper than 15 feet, as they’re relatively snag-proof and really easy to use.  A good bottom bouncer rod and some hard line (braid) will telegraph bottom composition up that steel wire and to your fingertips, giving you valuable information on the underwater real-estate.  As a general rule of thumb, 2 oz bottom bouncers are good in that 18-25 FOW mark.  Feel free to go up to 2.5-3oz. weights in depths to 30 FOW, while pulling out the smaller ones only in 10-15 FOW.

In those instances however, most often I’m fishing around weeds, where I like to use simple bullet-nose sinkers.  Whether after gills and crappies, or walleyes in the weeds, anytime there’s standing cabbage or coontail, I’ll be using bullet-nose bass-style weights to meander through stalks.  If it’s walleyes, I’m looking for wind-blown cabbage areas with sparse pockets and patches.  I’ll pull right through it, and you’d be amazed at how walleyes will come up and out of the weeds to hit an overhead bait. 

In smaller natural lakes with all kinds of weed growth, I just try to use a heavier style bullet-nose weight and stick to the outside edge.  Here, you’ll find all kinds of roaming predators, some of the biggest panfish in the lake, and all kinds of species you may have never thought would eat a spinner.  So get a cooler to keep those crawlers cold, employ as many lines as you can to go through various colors, sizes, baits, and styles, while sticking to the outside edge of a break or weedline.  Fishing doesn’t have to be complicated this time of year, and sometimes just getting bit by anything is the order of the day.

Fishing With Kids - Striking the Right Balance

We were trolling Lake Pepin for walleyes a few weeks ago, which is believe it or not one of my boys’ least favorite types of fishing, even when the bite is “on.”  This particular day, it was most certainly not, but the wind was right, the water color was brown, and levels were up where they needed to be.  I simply knew that if we trolled long enough, we’d luck into a few fish and probably catch plenty of other species to keep them excited.  So despite the overall lack of morale in the boat, we trolled on.

Hours later, with plenty of sauger, walleye, white bass, sheepshead, and even a small pike hitting the back of the boat, the kids had a “meh” day.  Not because we didn’t catch fish, including a nice kicker ‘eye, but because it took too long.  The rods weren’t constantly bending.  Worse, my boys and a friend had to continually maintain near-bottom contact, free snagged lures, and generally pay attention.  I’m happy we could finally get some fish, and show them some action, but to be honest, I don’t think they cared.  Despite my very best efforts and preparations, they had way more fun jumping off the boat near the beach and swimming the last two hours of the day.  I had to drag them out of the water and back to the ramp.

It's a lesson I’ve lived and re-learned so many times, I could never keep count.  We (by “we” I mean “me”) take our children fishing, hoping to excite them with the experience, while clinging to childhood memories we still have.  The result is often a frustrated father and kids that are somewhat incredulous to the time and efforts their parents put into trying to make it fun, while often, failing miserably.  That day on the water, we should’ve quit an hour or two earlier and focused on swimming more than the fishing.  Again, I know better, but am hoping that by re-accounting my own adventures, it might strike a chord with other parents and grandparents looking to help their kids have fun fishing.  Here’s what I’ve learned, and need to be reminded of from time to time.

Swimming is a great distraction and trip-extender, leading to a better day on the water for kids and parents alike.

The younger the children in question are, quite simply, the more you’ll need in the boat to keep them busy.  When our boys were younger, that meant a heavy dose of snacks, drinks, and minnows to play with.  It also meant their own tacklebox, including baits with no hooks for a time.  Just like at home, they preferred to play with anything but the toys you have on hand.  That meant scissors, pliers, expensive rods, and whatever else the grownups were handling, so don’t be surprised if they dive right in to that gear.  A pet on the boat when possible is a great diversion for kids, as are fish you stuff in the live-well.  They can find a thousand reasons to quit fishing and check out what you’ve already caught, which makes basic techniques that catch-anything, a really great way to get kids interested in fishing.

Boats to kids can be like a prison after awhile.  They’ve explored the space, played with what they’re able to, and in minutes to hours, can feel like they’re trapped rather than trolling.  That makes beaching the boat and exploring, even at the landing, that much more important.  If there’s some public ground, a beach, or even just something cool happening in the shallows, take the time to share it.  Let them check out turtles, play with frogs, and try to fish off the dock.  Speaking of, dock fishing (from the dock) could be my children’s favorite type of fishing.  They can run up and down it, fish a larger area, and drop the rod to swim or play whatever, whenever.  That freedom at least for my kids has always been much more important than catching fish.    

Now that my boys are older, ages 13 and 15, they’ve got much more patience for the fishing portions of the trip.  They can handle a few hours in the boat, and on good days, maybe even go the entire time.  That said, the very same things they enjoyed as young kids, they enjoy today.  Whether it’s checking out a fish in the livewell, pounding all the snacks I can haul in a boat over the first 15 minutes of the day, or trying to catch turtles so they can check them out a little closer.  That kind of thing can be tough for dad or grandpa to take, as so often fishing is about timing.  Time of day, locational timing, and the perfect pass or cast that’s fouled or missed before the opportunity has passed. 

On the last trip, the only moments I missed or let past were the ones I should’ve yielded more to them.  Some white bass were busting the surface near a shallow point, and rather than continue to troll walleyes (we just boated a 20”er), I continued on.  Big fail dad.  While I don’t know that we would’ve caught them, I certainly have in those situations before, and it’s a great time.  Like I said, though I’ve learned this lesson may times over, it’s good to keep reminding ourselves why they come out to fish in the first place. 

Kids don’t have the same illusions and prejudice we have for certain species, presentations, experiences, or the way it’s “supposed to be.”  They just like bending a rod and feeling a tug on the line.  When they’re tired, they lose interest.  When they’re hungry, they want to eat.  When the sun is hot, and sometimes even when it’s not, they’d rather be in the water.  A fish on the line is cool, but so is admiring the one they just caught in the livewell.  As my kids grow older, the balance is definitely moving heavier on the fishing end, but there’s no need to try and make pros out of them just yet.  If and when they want to fish more seriously, someday they can take that up and I’ll certainly oblige.  Until then, I’ll keep remembering to let them be kids and enjoy whatever part of the experience speaks to them most, if you do too.

Bleeding Fish - How to Make Any Fish Taste Better

Over the years, I’ve been shown by other anglers a number of ways to make fish taste better.  Nearly all of them involve drawing blood from the fish by washing, salt, or general care of the catch before ever getting to the filleting stage.  It’s a fascinating topic, as everyone seems to have their own family traditions or guide-tested tactics.  Yet, fish have been a manner of sustenance for tens of thousands of years, so surely there must be some deeper roots to a perpetually interesting subject.    

Years ago now, I caught the tail end of a great cooking show called “Mind of a Chef,” where Chef David Chang toured the famous fish market in Kyoto, Japan, explaining an ancient technique in fish preparation called “Ike Jime.”  It was a more complete version of various methods I’ve been shown, where the fish is quickly brain-killed, its spinal cord is severed under the gills, and the tail portion is cut open to insert a wire down inside the length of the spine.  The seemingly gruesome process is done quickly and humanely, to first quickly dispatch the fish and stop brain signals from tensing the muscles moving forward, then bleed the gill portions of the fish, and finally, to detach nerve endings that still may be sending signals from the brain and through the nervous system.  The carcass is then put in an ice-water slurry to bleed out, as the fish naturally expels its blood. 

It’s a technique that’s been deployed successfully for many hundreds and perhaps thousands of years, on an island that treasures its fish.  It’s quickly deployed (think seconds), and is followed precisely to provide the world with sushi and sashimi-grade fish of various species.  While we may not be as interested in performing the full process, or even require care of this caliber to have a simple fish-fry, there’s a great deal of scientific merit to the process itself.  Namely in the taste.

Food science research has proven in tasting and physical labs that this method of fish care simply produces a better tasting fillet, again, primarily because of quick blood removal.  Blood serves as a nutrient rich food source for bacterial growth, so when removed, there’s less chance of off-putting tastes or unsafe bacterial growth.  Additionally, Ike Jime more humanely kills fish and its nervous system more quickly, delaying the onset and amount of rigor mortis.  That small difference leads to firmer, better textured fillets which also contribute to taste improvement.  It’s one of the reasons that the same fish caught in many oceans around the world never make sushi-grade. Most of the fish markets over there keep the fish alive and swimming, where Ike Jime is practiced just before presenting to sell. When cooked same-day, it apparently leads to the optimal timing for the best tasting fish.

So what’s your average angler to do when wanting a great tasting meal of walleye, bluegills, or crappie?  To me, the answer involves a small, but simple portion of the Ike Jime process in your livewell, about 15 minutes or so before you plan to clean the fish.  Brain stab your fish, then turn the fish upside down, and take a knife or even better, my favorite game shears, to cut the small portion of gill and connective tissue that meets at the “V” of the gills, all the way down to the spine.  Here’s a quick video if you’d like a demonstration - https://youtu.be/aFFJtbuYHzs. 

Fillet on right has been bled, and an un-bled fillet on left for comparison.

Perform this cut just before you make your run back to shore, put the fish in your livewell, and run the recirculation to pump bloody water from your well.  The fish will expunge blood from their fillets during your boat-ride, and when you go to clean them, the result will be a nearly snow-white fillet, sans a bit of blood immediately near the top of the fish’s rib cage.  Especially if you’re eating the fish soon thereafter, there’s no better way I know of to fillet and eat fish.  The result is always a firmer, tastier fillet than any other method I’ve tried, and I promise you’ll wish you’d done this sooner.

I’ve never tried the full method of cutting open the tail and inserting piano wire or other firm wire down the length of the spine, though I’m sure it helps or folks wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of doing so for centuries.  That said, for at least my purposes, it’s a step that’s too time consuming given how good the blood removal goes, and resulting taste is.  Speaking of, don’t trust advice regarding leaving blood, slime, or other “natural” portions of the fish on your fillets.  I’ve heard a number of times that “I want to taste the fish and that gives flavor,” or “You’re removing all the taste,” but those suggestions have fallen flat, and fishy at least to my taste buds.  In absence of this technique, a quick rinse of each individual fillet (that part is important), followed by a saltwater solution to draw out blood, then a soak in milk has been the next best method for me when dealing with un-bled fish. 

So give bleeding a try the next time you’re looking to keep a fresh meal of fish, as I’m betting it’ll be something you continue to use moving forward if you don’t already.