Ice Fishing for Beginners

By, Joe Solberg

Introduction

• Hello everyone, if you are reading this PowerPoint, you have already taken your first step into learning how to go ice fishing! It can be an extremely fun, social, and exhilarating event. One must know you can also get very bored, cold, and upset when the fish aren’t biting; but you know what they say: That’s why it’s “Fishing” and not “Catching.”

Introduction continued…• Throughout the next several slides you will learn the

necessities like: safety, basic gear like rods & reels and types of augers, clothing, areas close by in MN & ND to fish, as well as have the ability to watch some awesome videos to learn and get motivated!

• First I’ll give you a little personal background about myself. I was born and raised in Fargo, I’ve been fishing since I was about 4 either in Montana or Minnesota, and recently in North Dakota. I picked up ice fishing 2 winters ago so I’m still very new to the sport, and am still learning. With that said, I am also very passionate to get new fishermen into the sport because it is fun, and very rewarding to spend time outside away from TV and hustle & bustle of life! So, let’s begin!

Safety • Safety is PARAMOUNT while ice fishing. Number one, always know the thickness of the ice you’ll be on. Second, try to not go alone. Lastly, try to carry a map or GPS and ensure you know your whereabouts, weather can change very quickly while on the ice, and it would not fun to get stranded on a large lake with no idea where to go!

SafetyMinnesota DNR and North Dakota Game & Fish are also very good safety resources. Along with other websites they will usually post up to date weather conditions as well as ice conditions, that way you know if you can drive your truck out or you’ll need to walk out on the ice. Here are the links for your convenience! Minnesota: http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/safety/ice/thickness.htmlNorth Dakota: http://gf.nd.gov/fishingFun video: http://youtu.be/oEi8cV_aCI0

Cold Weather Gear• Now that we’ve

covered safety, we need to talk about another aspect of safety. That is wearing the right clothing!

Cold Weather Gear• For some, sitting out on the ice for hours may seem like you

will get very cold. However it is quite the opposite. The thrills of talking with friends and catching fish will keep you up beat and not focus on the cold so much.

• Some pointers from myself and other anglers is that you want to stay as dry as possible. Once you get wet in any manner, you will get much colder, much quicker!

• A lot of popular gear to wear ice fishing is carhartt overalls and jackets, and almost any other waterproof snow pants.

• Hat, gloves, and face protection are also big keys. If you’re not using some kind of shelter, you will want to cover all your skin since you will then be exposed to the wind!

Fishing gear• Next, we are going to

talk about essential fishing gear you will need to venture out onto the ice to catch fish! • Some of it is expensive

and will have to be bought over time, where some things are pretty affordable!

Fishing gear• Did you notice the man in the previous page? He is just sitting

on $5 bucket, has little bag with some safety gear, his clothing and rod. The two most expensive things in the photo are his pole and his auger he used to get through the hole.

• From personal experience, I am just now getting an ice auger to get one for myself, but for the longest time I would just share with friends. Ice augers cost anywhere from $350-700! It’s crazy!

• Other essential gear is your fishing pole. For example, Scheels has many types of rods for all experience levels, and for all fish sizes!

Fishing Gear

Pictured here are 2 different type of electronics used for ice fishing.

The top (blue) Vexilar is about $350, and the bottom (red) Marcum is about $500. It is used to scan the water directly below your hole for fish, and they act as a fish finder to alert you when you should really try and jig the fish over to your hook.

These pieces of equipment are definitely items you would want to save a little money for as they are expensive, but also worth it to have with you out on the ice!

Fishing Areas in ND• The North Dakota has a

great website, which is the link I gave you earlier in the presentation. Every body of water in North Dakota that is stocked with fish is on their website.

• The Game and Fish Dept. is definitely a good tool to use to plan a trip, you call also figure out which fish you want to target while your out there.

Fishing Areas in ND• Here is a small list for you to look at of great fishing lakes in

North Dakota! • Devils lake• Lake Sakakawea• Dry lake (Ashley, ND)• Buffalo Lake• Island Lake• Little Missouri River• Big Missouri River-These are just a small list of lakes in the state that are publicly available to you to fish on!

Fishing Areas in MN• Like North Dakota,

Minnesota DNR is heavily dedicated to fishing, and they love seeing it done legally year round! There are many of the same rules, and many different ones between the two state. One must also be keep keeping tabs on slot limits (size of fish) and what types of fish at certain points of year.

Fishing Area Lakes in MN• Here is a small list of lakes in Minnesota that are fairly close to

Fargo. • Pelican Lake• Big or Little Cormorant• Detroit Lakes• Lake of the Woods• West McDonald• Mille Lacs

• This is a short list, as one may know Minnesota is the land of 10, 0000 so there are plenty of waters to go to within a reasonable distance.

Augers

Jiffy Pro-lite Propane Hand

Augers• Many people like to use the hand auger, especially in early

season when the ice is thin cut through it with a hand auger. After December they are almost ineffective due to the time it takes to drill a hole.

• Here is a fun video to show you two different brands of ice augers. I have one of the jiffy propane augers: http://youtu.be/n2rSAycgerI

• As stated before, everyone has their personal preference, and augers are one of those pieces of gear that is expensive. My best advice to first time fishermen is to find friends with this gear so you are at least able to borrow from them if need!

Fun Facts About Fishing• I found this list of “Fun Facts.” on a website called Random

History.• Did you know a fish can drown in water, if there is no oxygen

present. –This relates to ice fishing because many lakes will have a winter kill due to ice getting too thick and not allowing UV Rays and oxygen to penetrate the water.

• Catfish have over 27,000 taste buds. Humans have around 7,000.• Most brands of lipstick contain fish scales.

• Here is a fun ice fishing video for you to get exciting about going out! http://youtu.be/hC22NzeofJE The guys in this video are from Manitoba Canada, and they make me super excited about getting out on the ice. I hope it’s the same for you!

Conservation• As an avid outdoorsmen and fishermen, I love the sport of

hunting and fishing; but I also love conservation. I believe hunting and fishing is a great way to practice conservation.

• Not only in the way of protecting wildlife numbers from getting out of control, but also getting out and appreciating nature and the outdoors.

• Some things a first time ice fishermen can practice is to always pack out what pack in! Meaning, don’t leave you trash out on the lake. The ice will melt, and that trash goes right into the water!

Summary• In summary, I hope you can take some of the things I’ve talked

about throughout this presentation and apply it to ice fishing. • Ice Fishing is a sport that is very easy and fun to learn. The

best way is with friends or family, go out and enjoy the outdoors and catch some fish.

• I also hop that you will practice ice fishing safely, have fun, and always keep conservation in the back of your mind so there are fish to catch for generations to come!

Works Cited• Department, N. D. (2012). North Dakota Game and Fish.

Retrieved from Homepage: http://gf.nd.gov/• History.com, R. (2012, April 09). Random Facts. Retrieved from

60 interesting facts about fishing: http://facts.randomhistory.com/fish-facts.html

• Resources, M. D. (2013). Minnesota DNR. Retrieved from Home Page: http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/index.html

• Scheels. (2013). Scheels Fishing. Retrieved from Scheels Sports: http://www.scheels.com/shop/en/scheels-catalog/fishing

• YouTube. (2013). YouTube. Retrieved from YouTube, LLC: http://www.youtube.com/