Wonder if this is the year to invest in ice fishing gear?

[dsol]

Ice fishing? What kind of bait do you use to catch ice? How does everyone prepare theirs? I prefer mine with scotch poured over it...

 

[Fargo]

Honestly, unless there is water available with walleye or pike in it, it just isn't worth it to me to put money into ice fishing. I grew up doing a lot of it up in Minnesota but that was a very different game from Indiana.

I go a time or two a year down here but honestly the fishing just isn't very good since bass and cats seldom play ball. Plus, I don't walk on ice less than 7 inches. That said, it is a lot less work making holes when you don't have 2 to 3 feet of ice to punch through with a hand auger.

 

[UTL]

40 acre lake that our house is on is about 2" think this afternoon. Maybe by tuesday I'll try to catch some bluegills.

 

[bobjones223]

Honestly, unless there is water available with walleye or pike in it, it just isn't worth it to me to put money into ice fishing. I grew up doing a lot of it up in Minnesota but that was a very different game from Indiana.

I go a time or two a year down here but honestly the fishing just isn't very good since bass and cats seldom play ball. Plus, I don't walk on ice less than 7 inches. That said, it is a lot less work making holes when you don't have 2 to 3 feet of ice to punch through with a hand auger.

The thing I have found about ice fishing in Indiana is there is no middle ground. It is either the most amazing day on the ice or you get skunked....I have yet to have an OK day?

One thing I will say is if you have never had bluegill through the ice you are missing out on some AMAZING eats. Coat them in cornmeal and heat up the cast iron....MMMMMMMMM

Now they say you can go out on 2.75" of ice.....I like 5"+ before I feel comfortable out there. I think with the temps we have right now there should be enough ice to be safe.

 

[Richwon4]

They are VERY DIFFICULT to sharpen. If someone does not have much previous experience sharpening Auger Blades then don't give them your blades. It is worth the small investment of purchasing new blades...in Indiana they last a long time if cared for.

Does anyone in the Indy area sharpen auger blades?

 

[Richwon4]

Ice reports on a local Northern Indiana Lake was 3.5 to 4 a week ago. That is good ice as apposed to bad ice...big difference.

 

[AndrewG]

I get nervous when temps go above 32 and then refreeze. The ice gets weird and grainy and I don't trust it. When I lived in Manitoba Canada it would get below freezing and stay there for months. You could tow out a shed with the truck and falling through would not cross anybody's mind. There would be parking lots on the ice for winter festivals. fishing was like sitting on the couch in the living room with a hole in the floor that you pull fish from while listening to the hockey game on the radio. The drawback - it was cold for months. That's why I live here now!

 

[hopper68]

http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/education_safety/safety/ice/icecard.pdf

 

[Fargo]

I get nervous when temps go above 32 and then refreeze. The ice gets weird and grainy and I don't trust it. When I lived in Manitoba Canada it would get below freezing and stay there for months. You could tow out a shed with the truck and falling through would not cross anybody's mind. There would be parking lots on the ice for winter festivals. fishing was like sitting on the couch in the living room with a hole in the floor that you pull fish from while listening to the hockey game on the radio. The drawback - it was cold for months. That's why I live here now!

They used to park full size semi trailers on Detroit Lake in Minnesota for the snowmobile races. They did it for years but then one year got unlucky and a bunch of them went through the ice. We used to drive on the ice pretty regularly once it got more than 2 feet thick. It is pretty fun in a car or truck going pretty fast on the ice as you can do some pretty wild spins and such. Then again, I had a lot more tolerance for the cold back when I was a teenager than I do now.