New gear makes ice fishing much easier

As the wind howls through the Black Hills Spruce in my front yard, I busy myself re-arranging gear in the back of my Dodge Ram. I call this the “In Between Time”, when I and other outdoor people are coming out of one outdoor activity and getting into another.

We just returned from a late season pheasant hunt in the Watertown area, so I still have my shotguns, shells and hunters orange clothing loaded and once the wind dies down a bit, I will transfer it to my office loading dock.

Once it is unloaded, I will get ready for my next outdoor adventure in ice fishing.

I love ice fishing, and with the gear and clothing I have, it takes a lot to drive me off the ice. I really do not enjoy being out in 10 below weather when a strong northwesterly wind is blowing my ice fishing sled and me all over the ice. However, when the wind lies down and the sun comes out, I am game for any kind of ice fishing.

For the best fishing in South Dakota, I would head back to my old stomping grounds in northeastern South Dakota, the Glacial Lakes and Prairies region. There you will find numerous lakes, the home of about every species of fish you could want. Lakes that come to mind include Kampeska, Swan, Goose, Dry, Big Stone, Bitter, Waubay, Reetz, Lynn, Horseshoe, Enemy Swim, Picas and Opitz.

 I remember when I was growing up in Watertown where I made my first attempt at ice fishing on Pelican Lake south of town.  

 It’s a wonder I didn’t give up on ice fishing after my first attempt as we had to follow the frozen Sioux River about two miles to get to where the good ice fishing was suppose to be. I attempted it several times, dragging my sled with a peach crate wired to it where I stored my homemade ice fishing rods. They, both of them consisted of two pieces from a broken broom handle with two nails driven into them, where my line wrapped around, this with a small bobber, small weight and hook was the total of all my ice fishing gear.

I would pick up some minnows from the bait shop put them into my coffee can and head out to Pelican to catch some “big” fish. I tried it a couple of times, but would end up exhausted trying to chop through a foot of ice with a spud bar. I kept at it but do not recall if I actually ever caught a fish, but was bitten by the ice-fishing bug and dreamed about doing it again.

I remember what I used as my first ice fishing depth locator; it was a large bell sinker tied onto heavy Dacron fishing line, wrapped onto an old-line spool. Its one-foot increments were marked by a knot in the line and I had it “knotted” out to a depth of 20 feet as I never fished water deeper than twelve feet, but was ready just in case I found deeper water. This “scientific” piece of equipment gave me an idea as to how far to set my bobber as everyone knew or thought they knew, fish in the winter were always right on the bottom.

As I got more into fishing after I moved down to Nebraska where I now live, I learned more about fish locators and how they could help me to locate and catch fish.

As fishing and I became more sophisticated and more scientific, I started using Vexilar flashers with the Fl-8 being my go to locator and now I have the FL X-28 and the Vexilar Double Vision DT system, which is an FL-20 teamed up with the Vexilar underwater camera allowing me to double up and see what is down there!

Ice augers have also made the sport of ice fishing much more enjoyable as with the new gas powered, propane and electric augers you can cut through the ice quickly and be fishing in less time than ever before.

There have been many new designs in ice fishing baits, which include size, colors and material with the new tungsten baits becoming more and more popular. The reason tungsten has become so popular is that it is denser and heavier than lead, so you can fish a bait that is smaller and one, that will sink quickly, which is needed if you are fishing a school that are eager to bite.  

As far as cold weather clothing, both the bibs and jackets are much lighter, have a wind resistance outer shell and the new insulation in them does an excellent job of keeping you warm.

Ice fishing has come a long way and the advancement in ice fishing gear gives ice fishermen an opportunity to get out after other outdoor activities has stopped and to be warm in even the toughest conditions.

Ice fishing is a great sport and it seems as if fish taken from ice-cold water just seem to taste so much better.

Gary Howey, a Watertown native, now residing in Hartington, Neb., is a former tournament angler, fishing and hunting guide. He is the producer/host of the award winning Outdoorsmen Adventures television series.