Now, I am by no means the only person to do this and truth be told I stole the idea from a good friend that is a bass fishing fanatic on soft water. The premise is to have 3-5 rods (more if you really want to get into the spirit!) and have a different presentation on each. Perhaps if I am crappie fishing I would have on a 1/16 oz Lindy Frostee Jigging Spoon on one pole, a 1/16 oz Genz Bug on another, a Gill Pill on a third rod, and a small Chubby Darter on a 4th rod. Obviously you can mix and match with your personal favorites, but you get my point. The key aspect being if you see that fish rise on your Marcum VX-1, but he won't bite, switch to a different rod and presentation and see if that works.

I think you will see a noticeable impact in the amount of fish caught when applying this method.

Often when I am tip up fishing with my buddies we take turns making a "drive" from one end of the tip ups to the other.  Think of it as similar to pheasant hunting where you are pushing the pheasants to the end of a field in order to get them to flush.  Now obviously you are not driving the fish the same way you would a pheasant, but if you are checking your traps while making your "drive" it does seem to help.  I know it has increased our ice fishing success when using tip ups.

There is nothing worse than getting out on the lake ready for a great day of ice fishing and finding that your ice auger won't work.  Do yourself a favor and make sure to replace the gas at least every year and more likely every 30 days to ensure your auger works as expected.

Have you had a similar experience with your ice auger?

First thing I normally do is to downsize my presentation.  If you are using a 1/8 ounce lure, downsize to the same color but one that is 1/16 ounce.  Another option is to use a different color in the same size.  Perhaps they want gold instead of silver or glow instead of not glow.  Perhaps it is your bait presenation.  Change to a crappie minnow instead of a fathead or just the head of the minnow instead of the entire body.  Perhaps a change to a wax worm is in order. 

What are your experiences to get those finicky fish to bite when you are on the ice?

I have heard of two ways to keep the hole open that are both simple and inexpensive.

1. Take a cloth, fill it with rock salt (like the kind you would use on your driveway), and tie it shut.  Place the salt filled cloth down the hole.  That is it.  The salt mixes with the water and creates a much lower freezing point allowing it to remain ice free.

2. This option is a bit more involved, but yields better results, especially when it is really cold.  drill a second hole adjacent to the hole you are fishing, but not completely through the ice.  Make sure that water can make its way over to both holes.  Place a metal coffee can (or similar metal can) in the hole filled with charcoal.  Light the charcoal and let it burn while you fish.  The burning charcoal keep the water warm enough to not freeze.

What ways do you use to keep your ice holes open when it get cold outside?

This works with all the flashers, so it isn't just a Vexilar thing.  Try it with your Marcum flasher or Hummingbird flasher and see what it shows.  This is a great way for the ice angler with a hand auger to maximize the holes that he does cut.

Have you ever tried this trick?  How has it worked for you?

Last winter I caught my biggest walleye ice fishing on a 1/16 oz Lindy Frostee Jigging spoon with a wax worm.  All the guys around me were catching small walleyes and perch, and I pulled in the largest one caught that night.  It seems counter intuitive, but it often works.  For walleyes getting down to 1/16 oz definitely shows them a different presentation than they are used to seeing.  For crappies and sunfish, don't be afraid to try micro jigs that are 1/64 or even 1/80 oz in size.

Yes, you can literally see your bait jig up and down with your hand on the screen.  Better yet, you can tell if any fish are around the hole you are fishing.  A popular method it to simply drop your Vexilar flasher down the hole and look for marks of fish on the screen.  If you don't find any, move to the next hole.  In other words, don't waste your time on a hole with no fish!

Sounds too good to be true, but I assure you it isn't.  I have followed the exact same pattern and fished more productively and have seen better catch rates because of it.  Plus you can watch the fish as they rise to take your bait and watch their reactions as you jig.  Perhaps they want a slower jig or a dead stick.  The flasher will tell you that instantaneously. 

A flasher really is a must to take advantage of the modern ice angler's way of life.  I guarantee it will put more fish on the ice for you. 

Do you have any stories to relate in regards to fishing with and without a flasher?

This is especially true when there is a ton of activity on top of the ice.  Case in point, I was in an ice fishing tournament last year where although we had a large area to punch holes, everyone crowded around the same football field sized area.  There was drinking and talking and the usual banter you would expect on the ice.  Problem was that no one was catching any fish.  Our group had 0.  When I looked at the white board with all the fish that had been weighed, there were like 3 fish for the whole tournament 90 minutes in!  So, given this I decided to venture out on my own to a rock pile about 300 yards out.  After punching a hole and dropping down a crappie minnow my Marcum VX-1 Flasher lit up like a Christmas tree.  There were fish everywhere down there.  I pulled up one after another after having caught none in the first 90 minutes. 

So, don't be afraid to blaze a new trail.  Consider it a new adventure, and who knows it may end up being quite fruitful!