Ice fishing sytems : Gear tranport.

[Stewie]

Right now I have all my gear in a bucket. Two tip ups, a couple of jigging rods, cleats, ice picks, scoop and a box of jigs and stuff. I have a 6 inch hand auger and a really nice spud that my friend Jake made for me.

The important box carries a Coleman stove, a frying pan, a coffee pot, and other cooking accessories. I usually bring dogs, rolls, relish and mustard, as well as coffee and cocoa fixings.

Whenever you go out on the ice, be sure to bring a coffee cup, as someone always has a pot going.

[Rockfish9]

This is my "old" sled... I have since donated it to someone younger and more willing to drag it...

it was constructed from 1/2" ply wood, divided in the middle with doors on each side, each side would hold 3 30" high tip ups...
the top was also divided.. i built my own tip ups, the spools are interchangeable... some set up for trout.. some for bass and pickerel, some for pike.... . the other section was for terminal gear and jigs...

the runners were doubled and cut from 3/4" ply wood.. laminated, gliued and screwed... the vottom lined with aluminum... a fold down tag along helt the bait.. removable auger perch was on the top... custom jip pole holders were made from 1" electrical conduit... and holders were installed for the gaff and slush scoop.. it's downfall was deep snow and it was HEAVY...
it seved me well for many years... as tiem went on i saw it's flaws...
more pics. latter when I get home..

[nightfighter]

What is a spud?

Please enlighten me on different reels/gear for different species...

How do you lnow what species are in a body of water/ice?

General guidelines for jigs or bait for particular species?

[Rockfish9]

Originally Posted by nightfighter

What is a spud?

Please enlighten me on different reels/gear for different species...

How do you lnow what species are in a body of water/ice?

General guidelines for jigs or bait for particular species?

I'm going to cover it all in a series of posts.. spud = ice chisel

[Stewie]

My spud is made up of two 30 inch pieces of gas pipe. One is 1 inch stuff and has a 2 1/2 inch wide chisel welded to the bottom. The top end is threaded and is attached to a piece of 1/2 inch gas pipe via an adapter. There is a cap screwed onto the very top and through a hole in it is attached a loop of nylon rope. The loop goes around your wrist so that you don't lose the spud through the hole in the ice. It is also used early and late in the season to check for safety. If I can't poke a hole all the way through the ice with a hard jab, it is thick enough to walk on. It weighs about 8 pounds, but comes apart in the middle so that it is easy to transport.

It is less work to chip a 6 inch hole through 6 inches of ice with the spud, than with my ice auger.

[niko]

great thread - ice fishing for dummies. gonna give it a try with the boy this winter.

[Sea Dangles]

Started last year and I really enjoy it.Got the auger right away and that takes a lot of sweat out of it.The first sled I got was an suv size sled that was great. Then I walked into Tom's for shiners one day and fell in love. They had pulled down a dust covered sled that has molded plastic areas for tip ups,a couple 5 gallon buckets, the ice auger, and finally a special molded area for shot glasses and bottle of choice. So now I have two ice sleds.

[The Dad Fisherman]

Originally Posted by nightfighter

How do you lnow what species are in a body of water/ice?

This is a good place to start....

MassWildlife - Pond Maps

Also word of mouth helps a lot...I'm finding that Ice fisherman will give you a heads up on what species are in what pond...w/ the exception of Pike.....they seem to want to take those secrets to the grave.