When I left my house this morning to go ice fishing, the temperature was -4 degrees Fahrenheit! On my way to the lake, I stopped by Merrimac Sports Bait and Tackle to pick up some lively shiners, worms, and tungsten jigs.
When I got to the lake, I quickly set up my Jack Traps tip ups in a straight line configuration across a dropping bottom structure. Four of the tips up had a tin split shot and shiner rig. One tip up has a custom rig: a shiner at the bottom, followed by a split shot, which was then followed by a drop soft hook dressed with a worm. After 3.75 hours on the ice, which tip up hooked a fish? The one with the the custom rig!
My new tungesten jigs worked amazingly well. The air was so cold that the water literally froze on my line! Good thing I was fishing braid! Jigging out in the open became impossible. A crew from the Plum Island Surfcasters was kind enough to let me jig inside their heated pop-up tent. OMG! I was spoiled: no skin burning wind and no frozen line. Note to self: buy a Mr. Heater!
Today was my windiest and coldest day on the ice. Fishing was very challenging for everyone on the lake. Only a few us frost-bite fearless anglers managed to hook and land fish. I love fishing under challenging conditions because they inspire me to invent novel gear and methods! A new DIY project coming soon!! Subscribe to our newsletter to be in the loop. 😉
