Ice Fishing Site » Northern Pike http://icefishingsite.com Join the revolution in ice fishing! Fri, 23 Oct 2009 17:41:29 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 How To Remove The Y Bones On A Northern Pike With A Fillet Knife http://icefishingsite.com/2008/12/30/how-to-remove-the-y-bones-on-a-northern-pike-with-a-fillet-knife/ http://icefishingsite.com/2008/12/30/how-to-remove-the-y-bones-on-a-northern-pike-with-a-fillet-knife/#comments Tue, 30 Dec 2008 22:59:17 +0000 http://icefishingsite.com/?p=220 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.

]]> http://icefishingsite.com/2008/12/30/how-to-remove-the-y-bones-on-a-northern-pike-with-a-fillet-knife/feed/ 2 Ice Fishing Tip Ups – Rules of Thumb http://icefishingsite.com/2008/12/20/ice-fishing-tip-ups-rules-of-thumb/ http://icefishingsite.com/2008/12/20/ice-fishing-tip-ups-rules-of-thumb/#comments Sat, 20 Dec 2008 18:42:31 +0000 http://icefishingsite.com/?p=199 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?

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