Ice fishing tips for Beginners
How to make ice fishing for the first time successful and memorable.
As a guide, I am familiar with taking and experiencing a lot of firsts on the water with people of all ages, and it’s always special. Sometimes it’s a child’s first fish, or a life-long angler’s first trout, but it’s something I always take pride in.
When I get the opportunity to introduce someone to something new on the water, there are some steps I always take to make sure it goes smoothly, and so everyone has fun.
Ice fishing is no different in this way, but it requires some additional planning on the gear and safety side to make sure it’s a hit. After all, the purpose shouldn’t be to deter someone from going again.
The Facts
Ice fishing is inherently different than open water fishing for a few reasons, the main being the temperature. Ice fishing has a reputation for being a cold adventure, although I would argue it should be warmer than trout fishing if you have a hut.
Ice fishing can also be more dangerous as a result of ice conditions. If you are new to ice fishing and unfamiliar with ice formation or how to check ice conditions, I highly recommend you go with a guide or outfitter first to learn.
It is not recommended to go on ice that is less than 4 inches thick on foot, and it is important to remember that ice often forms inconsistently depending on currents, underwater springs, or snow load.
Three years ago, I was ice fishing on a backlake near Apsley on 7 to 8 inches of ice. It had been a mild winter after an early season flash freeze, so a lot of water and wet snow accumulated on the ice, making it weak.
While exploring the lake to find a new fishing spot, I felt the ice break under my feet and before I knew it, I was in the water.
I always wear my Mustang Float suit, and it saved me that day - making my legs very bouyant, and easy to exit the water onto the ice.
It was a scary occurrence, but something I was prepared for.
Since then, I always brief ice fishing newbies fully with safety steps and precautions before we hit the hardwater.
Failing to prepare is preparing to fail!
The First Time
Recently, I took my girlfriend for her first ice fishing trip. The trip had been in the works for a few years - between work schedules and ice conditions, finding the right time finally happened this past month, resulting in something we will both remember forever.
Having made countless trips around Southern Ontario’s most popular ice fishing spots - Lake Simcoe, Lake Nipissing, Rice Lake, Bay of Quinte, Lake Couchiching, I wanted to keep things really simple to start out.
The farther from home you go for your first ice fishing experience (even your first trip of the season), the more pressure there can be to get it just right.
When taking my girlfriend fishing, there were four key ingredients I knew would be important to having a successful day - hut, heat, seats and snacks.
Regardless of the fishing action, spending a day on the ice is similar to day camping, and is made comfortable and enjoyable by being warm and well - fed.
For the reasons stated above, I chose to hit the Grand River on foot (no atv) with my 2 man hub-style hut for panfish.
This allowed me to keep the gear we needed to a minimum, and staying close enough to home that in case something went wrong, we wouldn’t be too far away.
Fishing for panfish is a great introduction to ice fishing because it is more likely to produce fish catches, thus improving the experience throughout the day.
We had a great day catching panfish and using the electronics to watch fish interact (underwater cameras are great too), and we stayed warm and safe too.
Having a great fishing experience doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. The key is to focus on doing the important things properly, and it’s hard to have a bad day after that.
For more tips on how to catch more panfish through the ice, check out this blog I wrote: Tips on catching more panfish
