Ice Fishing: Essential Gear for Hard Water Season

If you’re ready to give hard water fishing a try this season, it’ll be helpful to have a list of the ice fishing essential gear items you’ll need to get started. While it might seem as if you’d need quite a bit of specialized ice fishing equipment, you really don’t need much to start catching fish through the ice this winter.

Before you plan go fishing on a frozen lake or pond, you’ll want to be sure to read early season ice fishing tips on safety first. Once you have read up on the ice fishing safety basics, then you can get your ice fishing gear basics prepped.

Ice Fishing Essential Gear for Hard Water Season

Here are ten ice fishing essential gear items to help you start catching species like perch, bluegill and walleye through the ice:

  1. Ice fishing rods/reels. A standard ice fishing combo generally consists of a 24 to 28-inch long, medium-action jigging rod paired with a lightweight spinning reel.
  2. Jigs and live bait. Wax worms and fathead minnows are two of the best live baits to use when ice fishing. You can rig your live baits on a bare hook or tip your jigs with pieces of live bait.
  3. Terminal tackle. This includes hooks, sinkers, and swivels. Be sure to bring your line clippers and pliers too.
  4. Ice fishing electronics. You can utilize electronics to help you locate and catch more fish. These electronics can include sonar and/or an underwater camera.
  5. Ice fishing tools, including an auger. You can get a hand auger, which requires more work, but is also more budget friendly.
  6. Retractable ice picks. You should always have a pair of ice picks around your neck. Most winter safety flotation jackets even come with ice picks attached. Be ready to use them to pull yourself up onto the ice should you fall through.

Continue reading, Ice Fishing: Essential Gear for Hard Water Season by Debbie Hanson at TakeMeFishing.org.

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