[{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/5-essential-ice-fishing-tips\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/5-essential-ice-fishing-tips\/","headline":"5 Essential Ice Fishing Tips","name":"5 Essential Ice Fishing Tips","description":"Like or not, the time has come to step out of the woods and onto the ice.\u00a0 Keep that warm...","datePublished":"2017-02-03","dateModified":"2019-01-14","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/author\/hagosto\/#Person","name":"Hector Agosto","url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/author\/hagosto\/","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7bfedbdc5ef3ed8f8df91eb37e1ffbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7bfedbdc5ef3ed8f8df91eb37e1ffbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Legendary Whitetails","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"http:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/logo-legendary-whitetails.png","url":"http:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/logo-legendary-whitetails.png","width":522,"height":226}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/AdobeStock_133502534-e1486135478926.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/AdobeStock_133502534-e1486135478926.jpeg","height":585,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/5-essential-ice-fishing-tips\/","about":["Fishing"],"wordCount":806,"keywords":["Fishing","Tips"],"articleBody":"Like or not, the time has come to step out of the woods and onto the ice.\u00a0 Keep that warm camo on, but trade that bow and treestand in for a jigging rod and 5-gallon bucket.\u00a0 Yup, you guessed it, it\u2019s ice fishing season!Here are a few tips to help you out-fish your buddies on your next ice fishing adventure.The First DropHere\u2019s a great tip for you ice fisherman who like to outsmart crappies.\u00a0 Let\u2019s say you\u2019ve caught a few fish out of your hole, the fish swim away, and new ones move in.\u00a0 You\u2019re still jigging, but the fish just aren\u2019t biting like they were earlier.\u00a0 Chances are they\u2019ve gotten used to the presentation and got turned off. Time for something new.The Tip: Pull your line out of the water and wait . . . be ready to drop your lure down when your electronics show a fish approaching.\u00a0\u00a0 When you see a blip indicating a fish, drop the lure to their level.\u00a0 Crappies are suckers for the first drop because they like to watch the bait fall to them.\u00a0 As soon as you notice the fish coming to the bait, stop it dead and begin to slowly take it away from them. Chances are they\u2019ll strike.Rigging Tips for Tip-upsAs a seasoned ice angler, you\u2019re probably doing these two things already, but if not, here are two tips to help you to better rig up your tip-ups.Tip 1: Put a snap swivel between your main braided line and leader.\u00a0 This makes it easy to switch from a pike setup to a finesse walleye setup easily.\u00a0 It also adds a bit of weight, which limits the amount of split shots you need.Tip 2: A slip bobber stop is the best line depth marker you can use.\u00a0 It\u2019s nice and bright so you can see it easily and you don\u2019t have to worry about it moving or causing any tangles like you might expect with a marker bobber or button.The HuntGuard line of outerwear and base layers will keep you warm out on the ice.Too Hard and Too HighA lot of anglers can easily fall into bad habits when jigging with minnow profile baits.\u00a0 The most common bad habits are pulling to hard and lifting too high.\u00a0 Why do we rip the bait up so fast? Because we like the feedback . . . the wiggle and vibration at the rod tip feels good.\u00a0 It feels like the bait is working and really swimming down there.\u00a0 In reality, it\u2019s actually causing too much commotion and turning the fish off.The Tip: Rather than ripping it fast and high, slow it down and bring it down.\u00a0 A medium jerk speed with a 10-inch up and down pull followed with a couple soft twitches causes the most attractive action.\u00a0 You\u2019re looking for a nice wobble action, not a buzz.\u00a0 Repeat that cadence and you\u2019ll be landing some walleyes in no time.Study UpIce fishing is similar bowhunting out of a treestand in some ways, like once you are set-up you hope you\u2019re in the right area . . . the right \u201csmall\u201d area for that matter.\u00a0 How do you know? A lot of times it comes to the prep work done before hand.\u00a0 Using topo maps to hone in on hunting or fishing hotspots has put many of fisherman and hunters in the right spot at the right time.Tip: Scout lakes during the summer and mark key structures on your GPS that might hold fish in the winter.\u00a0 Using a boat to scout allows you to cover much more area and get a good feel for the lake. Using a topo map will work great as well.\u00a0 Both tactics will help you drill holes where there are fish. "},{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/#breadcrumbitem","name":"Legendary Whitetail's Blog"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/5-essential-ice-fishing-tips\/#breadcrumbitem","name":"5 Essential Ice Fishing Tips"}}]}]