Ice Fishing Tips
- Start with small jigs like #12 or 14 Diamond Jigs when starting out, you can always upsize!
- Only use 91 or 93 Octane that is "winter formula" in your auger. Usually winter formula's are available in November or October.
- Strikemaster now recommends 40:1, NOT 24:1 oil ratio in their 2-stroke augers, even the older Tecumseh's.
- Hang 2 or 3 Maggots straight off your hook or thread on a waxie to start.
- Sometimes a T-boned Waxie is good. Make sure the waxie is on TOP of the hook by the barb, not in the middle of the "U" of the hook.
- If there is snow on the ice, walk or drive your ATV with a GPS and map on the contour. Others can drill the the break you mark.
- Use Optimax Oil in your Auger. Less smoke and runs better!
- Vados Bait is great for quality waxies and maggots. Maggots in the fridge, Waxies at 50 deg for storage.
- Mark your skimmer handle in inches if it doesn't come that way, it's an easy way to measure ice depth.
- You CAN use one flasher for two holes in water say 8' or deeper! Just put the flasher in the middle of 3 holes.
- Glow Red Glow Red Glow Red as one of your "go to" colors for walleye & perch
- Crystal Fireline is just plain awesome stuff. You only need 75' of high quality line on an ice reel
- Use spring bobbers or power noodle rod tips (with a good rod backbone when you can get away with it, fish often hit "UP", an overlooked benefit of spring bobbers.
- Use the same principles for ice rods as you do for your summer rods regarding action, material, and power. I have to say I think Thorne Bros are my favorite, you get what you pay for it. All are good though - Genz, Mitchell, St. Croix, Scheels (St. Croix, etc.
- That said, I also like the $10 blue HT fiberglass rods when I want to feel the fish before they feel me!
- I usually only bascially two lines - Crystal Fireline and Pline Floroclear/Floroice. Jigs and lures DO NOT respond the same to braids and flouro/mono line. Watch them on a camera and you'll see it's true.
- You have to learn how to hold your rod like a pencil and make small movements to trigger fish.
Slow Death Tips
If you aren't using them, you need to. Period.
Trailer Tips
In general, most boat dealers and tire places recommend tires rated heavier than what you can get by with and they should be replaced at least every 4-5 years, especially if stored in sunlight. It's also wise to get tires made for trailer duty, not plain passenger radials.
Some things to do at home:
1. Make sure your jack can get under your frame, with or without a support block. I carry a 4-ton hydraulic 8-16" piston.
2. Make sure it gets your rig high enough to replace the blown tire. Remember some jacks have a "screw out" feature on the peg for a little more adjustment.
3. Have various wood blocks - 2 x 4", 4 x 4", and a nice flat piece of wood in case your are on soft dirt or 120 deg asphalt. I've seen jacks go down rather than the boat go up.
4. Have a decent spare, check it now and then for air along with all your tires.
5. Make sure your tire iron actually can fit your lugs. I had a 4-way iron once that couldn't get to the lugs on a spare tire carrier.
6. I need to do this myself. Buy a $10 magnetic trailer light kit.
7. If it's a really old trailer and you haven't taken the lugs off in forever, do so sometime and clean them up, lightly oil/grease and replace them. I've seen guys unable to break a lug loose.
8. Some guys like to rotate trailer tires every year
Walleye Flashers!!!!!!!!!
WALLEYE FLASHERS ARE NOW AVAILABLE IN 1/2 oz. !!!! We asked for it and now we have it. A Great Jig just got better. We can't wait to get these baby's on the water this fall not to mention this year. They are going to be a big hit this fall on the Red and Winnipeg Rivers in Manitoba. Get these and all your walleye tackle at www.reelbait.com tell them reelwalleye sent you.!!!!!!! Here's a hot tip, take the red blades off the glow red baits and put them on the gold jigs in tannic water, such as the Red River up north.
Sharpie's
Make a habit of carrying a big pack of permanent markers with you. That way if a certain color or pattern is hot you can "doctor" your lures, spoons or jigs instantly.
Tortilla's
Instead of using bread all of the time for sandwiches try using tortilla's. They taste good, don't get soggy easily, and pack great. A good way to use them is to make your sandwich then just wrap it in saran wrap.
Line Selection
Use Fireline or superbraids where "feel" or "diving depth" is critical. In almost all other situations, stick with monofilament. Examples that are good for superbraids include fishing jigs vertically in 25' of water, trying to get your shad raps to dive deeper without weight, or bobber fishing in the weeds when you need something "tough". Remember to use more forgiving rods with superbraids, there is NO stretch!
Setting the Hook
A lot of people struggle with setting the hook on river fish while they are jigging. Some good ideas include make sure you reel AND set the hook, really get that rod tip up in the air, and remember - it's free to set the hook! Don't try to guess if that "tic" is a rock, set the hook! Walleye can inhale and exhale baits extremely fast, also remember to maintain your hookset pressure - until a fish opens it's mouth and allows the hooks to imbed, it's simply "holding" your bait and the bait will come right out without hooking if you don't maintain good pressure.
Carry Waterproof Matches a few Ponchos and a Space Blanket or two in your boat
It's easy to get stranded, especially on big water like the Missouri River, just be safe!
Gas
Remember that if you haven't stabilized your gas your boat motor may not run too good this spring. Contrary to what seems logical (running out the old gas), it's suggested that you keep adding fresh gas to your tank as it empties if it's leftover from last year.
Lindy Rig Beads
Hobby Lobby and stores like that are great places to get "cheap" and even better - oddball beads for lindy rigging.
Planer Boards
Change the standard spring on the Off Shore Tattle Tail Flag kits to a C-73 spring made by Century. They really improve the reliability and versatility of the kit. John McAllister discovered the C-73.
Planer Boards
For holding line better, especially superline, change the black or red clips that come standard on most Off Shore Boards. The best two options are their "Snapper" release or better yet, to the "Mr. Walleye" clips from Church Tackle.
Rod Storage
If you are like us, you like to protect your valuable rods and save the hassles of trying to untangle lines when rods are stacked in the rod lockers. A great way to do this is to use rod "socks". We use socks from ReelBait Tackle. www.reelbait.com
Trolling
Have you ever noticed a trolling set goes from good to bad as soon as you start switching lures to the "hot" one? Our theory is that sometimes you want to leave your set "as is". Many times it seems walleyes want to hit a certain lure, but perhaps they are also drawn by other lures in the set. For example, when trolling in Lake Winnipeg, it seems we do much better catching fish on Shad Raps but if we leave one lure in the middle of the set with a "rattle" (deep husky jerk, Jr. Thunderstick, etc.) it seems we do much better than just having all Shad Raps.
Crawler Care
A great way to keep crawlers in the boat is to fill a small cooler with about 1/2-2/3 ice then lay strips of brown paper bags on the ice. The crawlers stay great!!! At night on a trip, dump out the ice and put the crawlers back in bedding or leave them in the paper in a refrigerator.
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