Sneaky Duck

Thanks Bluewater.  I am a very proud dad.

Um... we parked in the marina parking lot and went out... almost to the end of the docks.  We were the closest ones to shore.  Probably 3-400 yards off shore and 50-75 yards off the docks.

Went out for about 2 hours for our first ice fishing of the year (3rd time ever for me and 1st time for my daughter Sammie).  We had a bucket full of minnows and were good to go.  Ice was nice and thick probably a good 9 inches and even though the wind picked up a bit at times the sun was nice and warm.  Best part for me was how much fun my daughter was having.  It started off on a great note when a crayfish snuck into the bait shops scoop and made his way into our bucket.  A friend named nipper now lives in our basement (well... for the next day or so at least).  The fishing was super slow so after about 5 minutes of jigging she gave up and proceeded to build a snow fort with her aunt while I fished.  I didn't try moving around much at all, and only had 3 holes to jig and 1 for a tip-up but we didn't get any bites.  As I sat jigging I over heard a guy who was leaving say that he had a camera and saw a bunch of fish in there but couldn't get any of them interested.  Of all the people we watched unless the guys in the flip-overs were getting bites were were all getting skunked.  Oh well.  I would almost put money on the fact that no one out there was having as much fun as Sammie and that makes me VERY happy.  We'll see how it goes tomorrow.  Hopefully some of my minnows are still alive.

I've actually been thinking about sharpening.  I was given a nice set of knives of alaska fillet knives for christmas (best wife ever) and need to sharpen them up.  The only sharpener I have is the Spyderco sharpmaker set I got for my hunting knives. (http://spiderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=77)  Will this work on Fillet's too?  The bevel is totally different on fillet knives right?  Something like 15 degrees?

What about cameras?  I can't afford one so this is pure curiosity, but when would you want a camera vs. a flasher?

do any of the marcums have gps?

So, I'm sure everyone is getting irritated with me starting new topics  So, I'll add this silly question here.  Has anyone tried using ice climbing screws to secure your shelter instead of those big t screws they sell specifically for ice fishing?  I'm curious how they'd work.  They sure screw in easy and quick.  I was going to buy a set so i could have 1 to anchor my dog's lead and have her out with me without worrying about her taking off.

Good call on the LCD thing.  Didn't think about that.  So, you'd stay away from the Marcum LX6, 7, and 9 then too?  I'll check out that Genz if it's still available when I go to buy.

so, I get that I need one there's no question there.  Are they species specific though in that if I want to go after perch and walleye's I should be looking for specific features?  I've honestly NEVER used one or fished with anyone who has one.  Since I don't have any electronics at all, I was kind of interested in the Humminbird Ice 597ci HD combo.  Looks to me like a standard 597 fish finder/gps but with the case and ice transducer which would be pretty neat were I to be able to put it on a boat come spring and just plug in a different transducer.  Marcum sure has the marketing on their side though.  Everyone I see seams to be using them.

Hey, so I found a BUNCH more stuff to sell then I thought I had and may end up with more fishing money then i had originally thought  I'm starting to look at flashers and I have some questions.

1. Is there a difference between a flasher and a sonar/fish finder?

2. Are there differences between them making 1 better suited for fishing a specific species?

3. What should i be looking for when picking one?

I think that's a good start with my questions

Thanks!

Frick, I tried to go buy it today and... the wife won't let me buy anything till i get rid of some stuff first.  Does anyone want a wood lathe, router table, or set of china?    PM me and I'll send you the craigslist listing.  HAHAHAHA

Thanks Sk8man, you know... I'm even more torn now.  I haven't bought anything yet, but I think after the experience we just had that I'm going to go with a Thermal Clam BigMouth or it's equivalent.  At 50lbs, it's pretty light, has a comfy seat, a bunch of fishable area, and even though it's a 1 man, with the tent expanded if she were to bring a little lawn chair we'd have plenty of room.  Really, I'm not that worried about the fishable room because she looses interest pretty quick.  I'm starting to have a hard time justifying buying something that's good for the 2 of us when 90% of the time it'll just be me.  She also really seamed to like the small ones compared to the big ones.  It was her fort  I can see however as time goes on, why the Hubs would be the way to go as the shelters get bigger.  They had a Yukon and while it was GREAT, I can't see pulling that by hand.  It's built like a TANK.

Hmm... 85lbs.  I'll be good as long as I can get it moving... till i stop and try to get it started again. HAHA   Maybe I should get my dog to pull it.  She's an 80lb siberian husky and lives for that stuff.    Thanks for the info.  I'm bringing the kid and going to go look again.  Love these weeks off from work.

What about the bigger 2 man flip overs?  Are they just to heavy to pull?  I don't know why... but the flip overs have always struck me as real cool.   Also, is thermal really worth it?  I was looking at a few Clams at Gander today and standing inside and looking around it, you can clearly see where the thermal welds are they let so much light through the thin spots.  If it were a sleeping bag I'd NEVER buy something like that.

I'm kicking around the idea of getting an ice shelter.  Since my daughter wants to go out with me I don't want to completely ruin any future fishing chances with her by having no way to get out of the wind/snow.  Plus it'd be kind of fun to have a spot to hunker down and play cards while we wait for the tip-ups to pop.  She's 5 though so she won't really be any help setting up.  Are the hub shelters easy enough to set up by yourself?  We don't have a snowmobile or ATV so we'll be walking/pulling what ever we get.  My other thought was something similar to the Otter 650 cottage with it's bench seat.  Even though it's a 1 man, i think the bench would give us enough room and the small shelter would be nice and warm and better for pulling and loading into the truck by myself.  Any advice?  I for sure can get a much bigger shelter going with a hub tent instead of the flip-over especially keeping $ in mind.

Thanks bigblue!  I'd think that's probably plenty for my needs!

I had a gift card for Gander Mountain and got one of the little half gallon insulated clam bait buckets.  I needed something to hold a few minnows for my tip-up (it's embarrassing saying that since i only have the 1.  HAHA)  and also for using minnow heads to tip my jigs.  I'm curious how many minnows though I can feasibly fit in it though without them immediately dying from lack of oxygen.  I haven't been using live bait so I apologize for the rookie question.  I don't plan on keeping them more then the 1 outing and really rarely fish more then 3-4 hours.  I'm going after walleye so I'm thinking 2-3 inch minnows would be about right unless you have a better idea.

Thanks!

Poke and Hope... I think I'm going to write that on my auger.

Sk8man: I like the idea of the print screen.  I know the web version is free.  I like the idea of how the phone app works with the phones gps too.  I think I'll use both.  like i said... gift card

Thanks guys!

Oh sorry.  Yeah, Irondequoit bay, Braddock bay and the ponds in greece (long pond, round pond....).  Thanks for the info on Navionics.  I got a $10 itunes gift card for christmas and I think I know what I'm blowing it on now.

Hi guys, I'm brand new to ice fishing.  Went out 2 times last year and I'm planning to go out a bunch this season. Sorry for the newby question.  I don't have any fishing electronics.  Is there a resource out there to help me find unterwater structure and topography to help me pick a location?  Maps, software... anything to help me.

Thanks!

Hmm, advise from a bears fan.  Not sure I trust your judgement  Thanks for the tip on going with an ice braid.  Honestly... I thought it was just marketing.  I've always been a spiderwire guy and they don't have an ice braid.  I have a partial spool of 20lb p-line floroclear.  Would that make a good tip-up leader?  Are there ice specific floro lines?

for future reference, if I have a question about Ice fishing tackle set-up for walleye do I put that in this forum, the tackle forum or the ice fishing forum?  

My mother-in-law gave me a green/yellow beaver dam tip-up with the cheese head hole cover (GO PACK GO!) and I want to rig it for walleye.  My google and youtube searches lead me to believe that a good way to set this thing up is with 20lb braid with a small ball bearing swivel and an 8-10lb floro leader running to a small treble hook.  The consensus seams to be using a 2.5-3 inch shiner set 18 inches off the bottom.  Does this sound about right?

I'm also curious about rigging the tip-up with a couple 2-3 hooks spread a foot or so apart on the leader as if I were drop-shotting.  Then tip them with some small minnows and set the bottom one 6 inches or so from the bottom.  That'd give me more bait at different heights in the water column.

I only have the 1 tip-up for now so I can't really experiment as much as I'd like to see if 1 thing is a better technique then the other.

Thanks guys!

Flybuster, great fish.  Love seeing a kid holding it.  I fish with my 5 year old daughter all the time.  I'll likely reach out to you in the spring to head out.

BSmaster, thanks for the advice!  That's one of my big fears.  Paying the $300 for a guided charter and getting skunked.  Like my buddy would say though... that's why they call it fishing and not catching.  I guess my struggle now is that there is a difference between street smarts and book smarts.  I'm more then willing to read everything i can, watch videos, read forums... but that doesn't mean much if I go out and can't apply it properly.  I don't really want to pay someone though to give me the basic knowledge I'd prefer them help me perfect my technique and impart some real world wisdom.  That being said... I'm in sales, I'd rather hire someone who's got no preconceived notions and work with a clean slate.  So I guess I'm not sure which is best.

Speaking of reading up... if I was to grab a few books on the topic has anyone come across any that are worth while?  Are the Critical Concepts books any good?   Looks like they have 5 of them in the series and sell them on Amazon and Bass Pro.

Hmm, so they're not very common?  I'm not turned off by a fish that's hard to catch, but if they're aren't many in here that's a bit of a bummer.  The NY DEC site says that they're around in all the major watersheds as well as 140 other waterbodies around the state.  That was one reason I was interested in learning to fish them.

With regards to a charter... I've actually thought about that.  Never done one before.  Thanks for the tip of who to look up.  I wouldn't know the first place to find a good charter captain and I'm sure that who you go with really can be the difference between a good experience and a waste of money.