Essential Ice Fishing Gear

January 31, 2016 / galen / Fishing, Ice Fishing

Ice Fishing Essentials Gear List

5 Gallon Bucket & Seat
Auger
Rod & Reels (x 3)
Hooks
Tackle Box Tray
Bait
Hole Cleaner

By essential ice fishing gear, we mean the minimum requirements to get out and enjoy a day on the frozen lake. This is not everything, and it’s not the high end of ice fishing gear. That’s another article.

To start with, and we try to list off the obvious items first, you need a 5 gallon bucket with a lid. The bucket is your tackle box and your seat. If you are trying to take more gear than you can fit in a 5 gallon bucket, you are taking too much. Inside the bucket should be your ice fishing rod and reel, your bait, and your single box of hooks and weights. Add to this a hole cleaner (like a big perforated soup ladle) and you are stocked with the basics. If you plan on keeping some of your catch, then you need to add a filet knife and some plastic storage bags. Remember, it should all fit in the bucket. The only things not likely to fit in the bucket are the rods and reels, but there is a solution to that.

I’m a big fan of The Fishin Hole so I’m going to feature some product pics available at their stores.

Once you get to your spot, you need an ice auger. If we were trying to fish with primitive weapons I would say a hand crank auger, but when you have up to 4 feet of ice to drill through during a cold Saskatchewan winter, you NEED a power auger. Generally there are 8″ diameter and 10″ diameter models available. Don’t be cheap on your auger, get a quality 10″ auger. If you are planning on drilling a dozen holes or so, you don’t want the auger to ruin your day. Make sure you have the tank full of your oil/gas mixture before you leave so you don’t need to mess with that on the ice.

So you have a few holes drilled and you can set the auger aside for awhile. Now make sure you have the least expensive item in your ice fishing tackle box / bucket ready to go, the hole cleaner.

Some people call it a skimmer, or an ice ladle. No matter what you call it, when your holes start to freeze over, this $5 tool will make it easy to remove that thin top layer of ice from the hole.

The bucket, as was mentioned first, is your tackle box and your seat. I recommend you buy a pivoting bucket seat cover to go with your bucket. It gives a little bit of extra cushion for your butt and lets you move around easier. You will want a lid that is easy on and easy off as you will be storing your tackle in it and you will need to go in and out of it frequently. One custom modification you will want to make is to drill a hole in an outer flap on the lid and loop a zip tie through the bucket handle and the hole you drilled. When you put your rods in the bucket, they will stick out the top too far to bend under the lid. So let the lid dangle, but not get left behind.

Your choice in lures and bait is almost endless. I have three favorites that I like to have pre-tied on three separate rod and reel combos. When you are out on the ice, especially on a cold and windy day, tying knots can be difficult. Have three rods rigged up will keep you fishing and able to adjust your lure and bait presentation quickly.

Above left is a Swimming Jig. I used to use just a regular jig head, the same as when summer jigging over a walleye hole. It was my go to lure. Now I like the action of the swimming jig which seems to produce strikes a little better, especially with perch. To add some flash to the presentation, the Whopper Hawger in the middle is easy to fish and with a single J hook is also quick to release the fish. When I’m targeting walleye and pike, I like the Lindy Darter which also has a rattle feature to attract predators from further away. For bait, check with your local tackle shop, but the standard meal worms for perch and minnows for pike and walleye will never go out of style. Leaches may also work well but are hard to handle in the cold with gloves on .

I always multiple lures of each kind available, in varying weights and colors, just in case I feel the need to change up. The need to change up is usually triggered by the guy next to you out fishing you 3 to 1 using an orange lure while you are using green. Keep them in a tackle box utility tray, just one. Don’t try to bring your whole tackle box with you, just bring the one tray, with just the essentials. Less gear makes for less hassle out on the ice.

I mentioned before to have 3 rods rigged up and ready. I like to have rods rigged up for the lure/bait combination so that there is no waiting and no tying while on the ice. Pick the rod, add the bait to the hook and drop it down the hole. I am far less fussy about the rod and reel for ice fishing than I am for fly fishing. You can get a good quality ice fishing rod and reel combo for $35 to $45 dollars. At that price, get 2 or 3. When you save yourself tying time in a -30 windchill, you will know.

So there are your Essentials for Ice Fishing Gear. As I am writing this post, I keep finding myself wanting to drift into talking about some higher end ice fishing gear, some which is listed below. That will be a future article.

Ice Fishing Advanced Gear List

When you go beyond the bare essentials, you quickly empty your wallet, but add to the experience.

Tip ups
Pop Up Shack or Shelter
Propane heater
Wood burning stove
Underwater camera
Snowmobile gear sled

Add Your Favorite Places

January 6, 2016 / galen / Fishing, Hunting

Do you have some favorite fishing or hunting places? We do, and we love to help out others around us by adding them to the Favorite Places section.

Our Favorite Places to Fish and Hunt

Adding one of your favorite places does not mean giving up your secret spot. You don’t need to offer up your GPS waypoints. Rather, you are helping other hunters and anglers be more successful in the outdoors, doing the same things you love to do. If you are worried about your secret fishing spot, next to the secret inlet, just past the secret bush, then be a little more general, like “the west side of the lake”.

So take a minute or two, go to the link above, and add a few of your favorites. You just might find that others are doing the same and this will help you broaden your hunting or fishing locations and you may discover a new favorite spot.

Add A Campground Rating

December 2, 2015 / galen / Camping, Outdoors

Did you know you can add your opinion to the Campground ratings section and help other campers? On our provincial camping pages we include a campground rating and comments area.

Did you like your campsite? Were the facilities clean and modern? Was the firewood dry? How was the playground? Is the fishing good at the nearby lake or river?

Your opinions and comments will help future families and other campers pick the campground that is best suited to what they want from their outdoors adventure camping experience.

New Whitetail Outfitter Website

November 30, 2015 / galen / Deer Hunting, Hunting

Announcing the newest in websites hosted and managed by PrairieOutdoors.com.

www.bluehazehuntclub.com

Blue Haze hunt Club is a Manitoba whitetail deer hunting outfitter operating in the western area of the province, near Riding Mountain National Park. This location, spanning the forest fringe and agricultural land, is a hot spot for whitetail deer, offering optimum growing conditions for big-bodied deer.

After being in contact with Blue Haze, we discussed their online marketing needs and then we built them a website to focus attention on their whitetail outfitter business.

Proven Deer Hunting Tips

October 19, 2015 / galen / Deer Hunting, Hunting

Proven Deer Hunting Tips by Luke Harris

Preseason Scouting: An essential step to preparing for the deer hunting season is by scouting before it starts. Keep your visibility low on these outings by crouching down or even laying on your stomach. Watch for feeding patterns and the routes deer choose, this will show you where to position yourself when the season comes.

Tree Stands and Safety: Tree stands provide a good vantage point for getting your shot. You’ll also be above the deer’s normal viewing area helping to disguise you even more. Remember that most accidents in the tree stand come from falling asleep or when getting on or off your stand. The best way to prevent an accident is by purchasing a tree stand harness and using it.

Bait the Area In Which You Want the Deer to Be: Bait the area you want the deer to be with chopped up apples. Deer have trouble resisting the smell of apples and if it’s up wind they’ll certainly be compelled to find the tasty treat. This means you’ll have the deer right where you want him-in your scope.

Choose Good Clothing: There’s nothing worse than a cold rainy day when you’re wearing cotton. Choose jackets and clothing that are waterproof and windproof. Products with Gore-Tex and Wind Stopper are ideal but pricey. You can usually find Camo gear with the same functions for half the price. Do your research and shop around.

Using Deer Calls: You should allow 20-30 minutes between using your deer call. Anything more will sound unnatural to the deer. Make sure that you vary the intensity of the call. If the deer is close tone it down, if the deer is further away make sure he can hear it. Tie a string around your deer call so you can keep it around your neck, this way you won’t drop it or have any trouble finding it when you’re ready to use it again.

Wait Awhile Before Tracking Your Wounded Deer: It’s best to wait 20-30 minutes before you track down a wounded deer. Believe me this can seem like an eternity but it’s worth the wait. If you set out tracking immediately you’ll get the deer’s adrenaline racing and he’ll cover more distance in half an hour than you could in half a day. Let his wound run its course and soon your deer will be overcome with fatigue and weakness. Now you won’t have to track him so far. Happy Hunting.

Spotting for Duck Hunting

August 26, 2015 / galen / Duck Hunting, Hunting

The key to success in waterfowl hunting, especially in unfamiliar territory, is often in the preparation before the hunt. In duck hunting, this means locating the right spot. Sure, you need the right gear, decoys, calls, camo, guns and ammo, but all of that is useless if you don’t have the bird numbers to put a bead on. Follow these 3 steps for more duck hunting success.

1 scouting = driving (windshield time)
2 checking = get your feet dirty
3 permission = door knocking

Scouting helps you know the fields and water around you. Where are the ducks feeding? What is their flight path? What other water is around? Is this a roost pond or a day use pond? Sometimes you just don’t need to spot as much. If you know the lay of the land extremely well, and the number of local birds is high, then your regular spots are likely good to go. Spend some windshield time driving the area. Try to follow the routine of the ducks from water to field to water.

Check the spot you want hunt at the same time of day you want to hunt. Get out and take a walk around where you want to hunt. Do you have cover for all wind directions? Take note of the species of birds that frequent the spot. If you want to shoot mallards, and you see plenty in your spotting runs, then be prepared to wait for the mallard to show. If you have picked a good spot and you are set up with a good decoy spread, give the mallard’s time. Don’t fire off a volley of shots at the first flock of pintails or teal to buzz your decoys. The mallards may not be far behind and a few shotgun blasts can be enough to send them searching for a new pothole. If you are not particular about species (know your limits) then be selective about the flocks that are in the air and what’s over your decoys. If you have a flock of 50 ducks approaching, you might want to let the three in range pass through.

Gaining access to land is usually an easy task, as long as you politely ask for permission. My experience has been that most landowners will grant you permission as long as you respect their land, their crops, their livestock.

Spotting gives you a better opportunity for a better hunt. Once you have done your preparation, then it’s time for your shooting skills to take over.

Sunset Trout – Advice on Trout Fishing

August 11, 2015 / galen / Fishing, Fly Fishing

Fly fishing for trout is a roller coaster experience. When you find the right time and the right tackle, it’s pure adrenaline. Acrobatic splashes, long runs, and a beautiful fish on the end of the line. When the bite is off, the bite is off. Trout tend to be very finicky, so if you find something that works, stick to it. I have found the combination that has worked wonders for the past two weeks.

While fly fishing my favorite trout pond, I try to experiment and see what happens with a different pattern of fly, fished on the bottom, pulled just below the surface, fast and slow, drifting, changing colors and sizes of the same or different flies, and changing location of my casts. While the old adage, “match the hatch” is certainly true, I’ve stumbled across a magic combination for catching trout at sunset in the middle of August. The key to the whole matter may be the time of day, but here’s what’s worked for me.

I started fly fishing that evening at about 7:00 pm, casting and switching flies frequently, hoping to catch a few nice rainbows before it got dark. There was a lot of action near the surface, but little for bugs on the top of the water. My guess was they were feeding just below the surface. So I changed tactics, tied on a dry and went for a fast retrieve just below. The result, a few nibbles, even a couple of little ‘bows too small to really count as a fish. So I changed flies, larger and smaller. Retrieved faster and slower and deeper and left and right, and the same results, occasional nibbles. The sun was quickly dropping behind the hill over my right shoulder, and the top water action was starting to die down. Disappointed, I gathered in my line and began the short walk from the far end of the pond to where I had parked my truck.

It was 8:30 now and would soon be getting difficult to see. In the 2 or 3 minutes it took to walk the length of the pond, the action suddenly increased, and the rises appeared larger than before! I paused! I thought! I took my rod back out of the case and cast my fly about 30 feet out. Fish on! A quick release and another cast. Fish on! That was two fish (and these could legitimately be called fish) in 1-1/2 minutes when I had caught next to nothing in the past 1-1/2 hours. So I continued casting and catching, as the sun disappeared and I could no longer see my line, but I kept catching trout, and they seemed to be increasing with size as it got darker. So I thought to myself, I’m staying here until I tangle or I lose my fly. By the time I finally did tangle, it was 9:45 pm and the stars were shining bright. I was the last to leave the pond that night. Most others had left as the sun was setting and missed all the real activity.

Not sure if this was a one time phenomenon, I was determined to test my theory the next night as well, as all good scientists will do. An experiment which can be replicated has no validity. Therefore, in the interests of science (trout fishing research), I was duty bound to return, Tuesday, Thursday, the following Monday, Tuesday and again Thursday. Each night, the results were the same. A few nibbles, a few trout landed, then just after sunset, success every second or third cast. My belief is that the trout were not so much going after a particular pattern of fly but more on the movement of the fly. The first three nights I tried not to vary the experiment too much, sticking with a pheasant tail nymph each night and using a rapid retrieve just below the surface. Most of the hits came within the first couple of pulls on the line, some the instant the fly hit the water. I did move around the pond, trying shallow and deeper waters, close to and directly away from shore. It didn’t seem to matter, the bite was on everywhere!

This past Monday I decided to try a different pond, one I know holds larger fish. The results were very similar. These last two days I varied the pattern, switching from the pheasant tail nymph to a zug bug to an imitation shrimp. All three patterns about equal in size but varying in color. It didn’t seem to matter. All flies were equally successful. I’ll be returning tomorrow night, well prepared, and experimenting again with a few different fly patterns.

Here’s my advice for fly fishing when the light is starting to diminish. First of all, bring a small flash light. The light will come in handy when you snag your cast, when you tangle your line, when you want to tie on a different fly, and especially when releasing a fish which has taken the fly deep in it’s mouth. As always, it’s easier to release the fish with a barbless hook, or with the hook pinched down. Shorten up your line. You won’t need a lot of line, the fish are as active 10 feet off shore as they are 50 feet off shore. A shorter line leaves less chance of tangling in the dark. A side benefit of casting in the dark is you really learn to cast by feel and get into the rhythm of the cast. The only senses you have are touch, taste, sound, and smell, and three of those don’t help much.

Website Restored – Bear Creek Hunting

August 4, 2015 / galen / Bear Hunting, Hunting

We have just finished helping a Manitoba Bear Hunting Outfitter restore their website. Bear Creek Hunting (www.dnrbearhunting.com) was without a website for several months as their previous website developer has exited the business. With a couple of quick email exchanges, beginning on a Saturday, we were able to act quickly and get their website back up and live, complete, by the following Monday.

In addition to having their website back up and running, as a hosted website customer of ours, they also qualify for the free Premium Listing, free Featured Outfitter banner displays and the exclusive TripFinder service.

See more information on Outfitter Websites by PrairieOutdoors.com.

New Website Launched – Head Hunter Outfitters

July 28, 2015 / galen / Bear Hunting, Deer Hunting, Hunting

We have just finished building a new website for Head Hunter Outfitters. You can see the site at: www.headhunteroutfitters.com. This outfitter operates a Whitetail Deer and Black Bear hunting camp in northern Saskatchewan. The website features this outfitters hunt information, a custom contact form, plus custom image galleries for their bear hunting, whitetail hunting, and also trophy fishing on the nearby lakes.

See more information on Outfitter Websites by PrairieOutdoors.com.

Outdoors Songs

July 28, 2015 / galen / Fishing, Hunting, Outdoors

Of all the topics in the world to write songs about, the great outdoors seems to have been mostly overlooked. It’s just plain difficult to find a song, let alone a good song, about hunting or fishing. Yes, there are a few “joke songs” out there, songs that rank up there with “Snoopy and the Red Baron”, and hunting or fishing show opening songs, but actual songs by actual brand name artists are hard to come by. It’s not hard to find songs about girls, songs about boys, songs about cars, and summer, and parties, and all other popular topics. So, we have scoured the internet and our own personal music libraries, to give you a list of songs for hunting and fishing. Some of these are great, some are crap (personal opinions), but you know what they are about by the titles. Some of my personal favorites come from Ted Nugent, who can quite regularly be found on outdoor shows having a great time shooting black bear in Saskatchewan with his “Wackmaster” bow or shooting ducks off his back porch in Michigan. If you want a great album, pick up “Spirit of the Wild” which includes many of the songs listed. A few of these songs take the light hearted approach, such as Brad Paisley’s “I’m Gonna Miss Her”. We have a second list of songs that might be considered, but aren’t really, about hunting or fishing, but mention animals, or lakes, or forest, or such.

Fred Bear – Ted Nugent
I Just Wanna Go Hunting – Ted Nugent
Gone Fishing – Downchild Blue Band
My Bow and Arrow – Ted Nugent
Spirit of the Wild – Ted Nugent
I Shoot Back – Ted Nugent
Tooth Fang and Claw – Ted Nugent
I’m Gonna Miss Her – Brad Paisley
Mossy Oak Song (Pass It On) – Tracy Byrd
One Damn Deer – from the Bob and Tom radio show
Mighty Manly Hunting Men – Da Yoopers
Thirty Point Buck – Da Yoopers
2nd Week of Deer Camp (part 1) – Da Yoopers
2nd Week of Deer Camp (part 2) – Da Yoopers
Deer Hunter’s Widow – Da Yoopers
Gone Fishing – Brad Paisley
Fish Fight Song – Da Yoopers
40 Pound Crappie – Da Yoopers
Too Drunk To Fish – Ray Stevens
Fishing On T.V. – Brian Regan
Mama’s Got The Catfish Blues – Tom T. Hall
Hunting The Duck – Buddy Wasisname and The Other Fellers

The songs that didn’t quite make the list:

Take Me to the River – Al Green
Catfish Blues – Jimi Hendrix
Of Wolf and Man – Metallica
Sweet home Alabama – Lynyrd Skynyrd
The Trees – Rush
Bullfrog Blues – Dave Hole
The Spanish Archer – Deep Purple
The Hunter – Free
John the Fisherman – Primus
Barracuda – Heart
Great White Buffalo – Ted Nugent
Hibernation – Ted Nugent

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