Ice Fishing Site » Ice Fishing Traps and Tip Ups

Check Tip Ups and Traps Regularly For More Ice Fishing Sucess

Sun, 04 Jan 2009 00:50:06 +0000

A key thing to do to ensure that your bait is lively and enticing fish is to check and move your tip ups and traps. It sure seems that a tip up checked regularly catches more fish than the ones that have been just sitting there. It could be that the minnow is getting jostled into more motion, or it could be the simple act of moving the bait up and down a bit to entice fish.

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.

How To Remove The Y Bones On A Northern Pike With A Fillet Knife

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 22:59:17 +0000

Here is a great video displaying how to remove the Y bones on a northern pike. Pike are great fish to eat and the ice fishing action can be fast and furious using a tip up or trap. The biggest problem after keep some pike is to clean them and remove all the bones. The first cut is very similar to all other fish, but the Y bones are specific to northern pike.

Ice Fishing Tip Ups – Rules of Thumb

Sat, 20 Dec 2008 18:42:31 +0000

Fishing with tip ups can be a great way to catch fish through the ice, especially northern pike. While the concept of a tip up is fairly easy to grasp, utilizing one to its maximum effectiveness requires some fine tuning of techniques.

First thing to remember is that fish will often rise up to take a bait, but are reluctant to swim downward to chase a bait. For that reason, make sure to set your bait at least 1 foot off the bottom, but I would suggest 2-4' off the bottom. Don't be afraid to put the bait even as high as a couple of feet below the ice! Fish have been known to cruise towards the top of the ice, especially northern pike.

The second thing to consider is how easy the spool spins and the tip up spring releases. If a bunch of tension is required fish will at times release the bait and you will be out of luck. If it isn't too windy you can get by with using the smooth side of the trigger and will allow for an easy release of the flag. Also make sure that your spool spins smoothly. If it doesn't, find a low temperature grease (or even vegetable oil) and apply to the spool.

Bait choices are normally minnows and are targeted at what species you are targeting. I suggest going with shiners or sucker minnows for northern pike.

What tips do you think enhance your catch rate while using tips ups?

St. Paul Ice Show This Weekend – Including Link For Discounted Tickets and Coupons

Sat, 06 Dec 2008 16:36:45 +0000

The St. Paul Ice Show is this weekend and if you are in Minnesota and an ice fishing fanatic, this is the place to be. Billed as the largest ice fishing show in North America, this show literally has everything you will ever need or want for ice fishing. There are vendors from all the major manufacturers as well as up and coming companies. There are normally some very good deals to be had at this show if one is wont to make some pruchases. I'm talking ice fishing flashers, underwater cameras, ice augers, ice fishing houses, ice fishing rods, portable propane heaters, lures, the whole shooting match.

Here is an online form for discounted tickets: here
There is also a place for get a discount coupon for the show: here

If you went, please leave a comment on the things you saw that caught your eye or any great bargains you were able to find.

How To Use An Ice Fishing Trap To Catch Fish

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 00:56:53 +0000

When multiple lines are available to be set up, as is the case in most states for ice fishing, an ice fishing trap (or tip up) is a great way to catch fish. Simply drill your holes, set up your traps and wait for the flags to pop.

Ice fishing traps are relatively simple to use, but deadly effective when applied correctly. Basically just get as many traps per person as you are allowed, drill holes as various depths along a break or piece of structure and set a trap at each hole. Each trap should be set up with braided line and a hook. I normally use a treble hook to increase my chances at a good hook set, but any sharp hook will do. Simply hook your minnow to the treble hook, lower down to close to the bottom and let sit there. Watch your traps from a comfortable place and run like heck when a flag trips.

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