Gearing Up For Ice Fishing: What You Need To Do Before The Season Starts

With ice fishing season quickly approaching, there are quite a few things you need to start doing in order to be ready when the lakes freeze. 

Your tackle, rods, and reels are the three main areas you need to focus on while preparing for ice fishing season. Each needs to be reviewed carefully and fixed or updated as necessary to make sure you’re ready to hit the ice. 

First, start with your ice fishing rods and reels. For your rods, check for any cracks or breaks along the guides. If they have any issues, now is the best time to fix or replace them. On your reels, check if anything is rusted or corroded, and clean that up. Then, try out the drag system and see if you need to add some lubrication to the reel to make it work better.

Another aspect of the reel to look at is your line. Test it out and see if there are any parts of it that are brittle or frayed. If there are, it might be a good idea to spool on some fresh line. Also, try to think about the kinds of fishing you’ll be doing this ice season. If you don’t have a rod or reel that will work well for a new species you’re going to try catching, it may be time to go get a new setup before the season starts.

Next, move onto your tackle boxes. After a few months in storage, you may find that a few of your lures have rusted hooks. Now is a good time to replace those with fresh ones. Check to see what kinds of lures you have from last season, and decide if you need to get a few more of your favorites.

When it comes to bait, some anglers like live bait, while others prefer soft plastics. Using both is a good idea to cover a variety of scenarios. Make sure your live bait containers are clean and ready to use. For soft plastics, take inventory of what you have, and make sure to get a variety of colors and styles to try out.

There are lots of other pieces of gear to consider taking a look at during your ice fishing prep, including the following:

• Ice Auger: Inspect the blades on your auger, and either sharpen or replace them depending on their condition.
• Ice House: Now is the best time to open up your ice house, repair any damage, and give it a good thorough cleaning before the snow flies.
• Ice Fishing Clothes: Go and find all your warm clothes for the season and check for any damage to fix, or decide if it’s time to upgrade any of your clothing.
• Safety Gear: Make sure you find your safety gear like your ice picks and your boot cleats. These are essential, especially on early ice.
• Fish Finder: Inspect your fish finder and make sure all the wires are in good shape and repair any damages. It’s a good idea to charge up your batteries and make sure they’re in good working order as well.

After going through all of that, it’s not a bad idea to go online or head to the tackle shop and see what new tackle and gear there is this year for ice fishing. Each year the industry moves forward, providing many new and innovative products that make our lives easier while ice fishing. Go see what’s out there and decide if there’s anything you want to add to your collection for this season.