Don S:

When ever I try a new form of fishing or a new place to fish I initially hire a guide to see how the regulars do it. I ask a lot of questions and pay close attention. I read magazines, I watch tv shows. I attend sportsmans shows. I am generally successful in my fishing endeavors because of information I get from these places. The guide will help the most if he is good. He wants return business so they usually try their best to make sure you catch fish.

Fisher_King:

Here are some quick tips to help you catch some fish:

#1. Find the LIVE weed-line/weed-bed- Live weeds give off O2, (O2 is usually low in abundance during the Winter months).

#2. The easiest and most abundant fish you will usually catch under the Ice is Bluegill and Perch. If you target Bluegill & Perch you will almost always have SOME action. If you target Northern you will have less action; Walleye- even less; Bass almost nothing…..

The point? If your looking for a fun day of “catching” VS a fun day of “fishing” target Panfish.
In general, Panfish will be the easiest fish to catch under the Ice. Look for Bluegill around popular Summer-time weed-beds in 8 – 14FT of water.

#3. You need to be fishing with light line. Anything over 6LB is WAY to big. Try down-sizing your line OR spooling up some low diameter Power Pro 2/10, (looks like 2lb has the strength of 10LB). You can also try using a 6LB Fluorocarbon leader.- http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_44282____SearchResults

#4. There are two approaches to finding a good place to Ice fish- Go with the “herd” OR find your own spot. Fishing near a bunch of other permanent houses or “towns” can be productive. Fish move up and down off shelfs, flats, rock/rubble reefs, Etc and people with permanent houses will generally place their house on the best possible spot available. However, the fish can get acclimated to seeing lures & bait in the water and shy away from these areas.

Finding your own spot can be difficult, (esp if you don’t have a Flasher unit or a GPS unit), but generally MUCH more productive than fishing where everybody else is. If you don’t own a Vexilar OR a waterproof Map of the area lakes you plan to fish then finding a good place to drop a line will be tough. They sell used Vexilars on Ebay regularly- if you plan to become a successful Ice fisherman you will need a Flasher and a map- http://cgi.ebay.com/Vexilar-FL-8-Ice-Fishing-Sonar-Depth-Finder-Very-Nice_W0QQitemZ270518187501QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3efc23f5ed

Here is a “basic” list of Ice fishing equipment you NEED to be a successful Ice fisherman:

An auger to drill through the ice (a 6 inch one is fine)
A scoop to get slush out of the hole.
A rod and reel
Bait or lure
Bucket to sit on and carry gear
Warm Clothes
Good boots
Vexilar unit to mark fish and give you accurate depth readings, (A Vexilar unit can even shoot THROUGH the ice letting you know the depth BEFORE drilling a hole.- To flash through Ice simply place the transducer in a bit of liquid water on top of the ice.)

(Thanks Curtis! lol)

If you do these things you will catch fish regularly.

Jason:

I’m a huge fan of http://www.fishfreakonline.com and they actually have a blog where they share tips and suggestions across fishing and it just so happens that they have a post up now about Ice Fishing, http://blog.fishfreakonline.com/2010/01/ice-fishing-tip-light-line-makes-for.html It may be worth you checking out. If you have the time to check out their online store you really should. I can’t believe their selection and their great prices. They are now my go-to site when I’m on the market for new fishing supplies. Hope this helps!