Favorite Piece of Gear You Used This Ice Season?

Easy choice. My striker predator suit was hands down the best buy for the season. Following that was probably the VMC fly and bull fly jigs. Slayed pannies with them.

I’ve liked my striker predator suit as well. So much so that I felt the need to melt one of the bib pant legs on my second outing The FW was none too pleased, but the suit overall is good.

I’d like to try those hammered tungstens. They look real tasty.

I agree this is a great thread topic. We should do more of this on IDO. You know, discuss fishing and whatnot…

I found an almost new Strikemaster Lithium on the ice. After many FB posts, I finally tracked down the rightful owner. Interestingly, in the meantime I had the opportunity to use a friends SM Lithium out on the ice. That was by far the coolest piece of equipment I used this year…I want one REAL BAD!
Unfortunately, my pragmatic midwestern peasant upbringing won’t let me replace a perfectly good working 3 yr old gas auger-yet. Someday….

My little 3inch AquaVu underwater camera. I was asked a few times this winter: “Is that a camera? Is that a Smartphone? Is that a camera hooked up to a Smartphone???” It’s small and fits in my hand so I look kinda sneaky hole hoppin LOL! 😆

I finally got into the drill auger set up. I finally got used to using the drill. Drilling holes is so easy now.

I did get the Rigid Octane when it was on deal.

Also really like how my new Thorne Bros Panfish rod set up with bait casting gear performed. It’s my new favorite now.

slipperybob wrote:

Also really like how my new Thorne Bros Panfish rod set up with bait casting gear performed. It’s my new favorite now.

Ok I need to hear more about this. Baitcasting gear on a panfish rod? Not judging, just would like to hear the reasoning?

By far the garmin 93svplus livescope ice bundle set up from Reeds sporting goods. Along with everyone’s help off this site, a shout out to Justin from reeds for all of the great advise. The wife loves it in the otter and I get to hole hop with the helix 7. Great times in ID.

moustachesteve wrote:

I’ve liked my striker predator suit as well. So much so that I felt the need to melt one of the bib pant legs on my second outing The FW was none too pleased, but the suit overall is good.

I’d like to try those hammered tungstens. They look real tasty.

I agree this is a great thread topic. We should do more of this on IDO. You know, discuss fishing and whatnot…

Yeah, don’tcha know…after the last week I almost forgot too.

Looking at the other comments it seems I’m just as typical.

Finally got the Strikemaster 40V near the end of the season after dreaming about the last couple years. Saved $130 off the list price and had it in 2 days…time enough to get it out and win the auger race we have defeating my nemesis a Solo gas lazer also in the 8″ class. That is a slick hole opener for me.

Other typical stuff, finally new Striker bibs on sale to marry with my coat.

And lastly the Precision Noodle I acquired last fall at the TUCR open house sale. It was fun I suppose to bring those all together and have my concentre of new toys.

K drill and TUCR bullwhip.

Jawjackers/automatic fisherman and Haat rods for me. Crazy fun setup that I cannot wait to try with for multiple species next year

mahtofire14 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>slipperybob wrote:</div>
Also really like how my new Thorne Bros Panfish rod set up with bait casting gear performed. It’s my new favorite now.

Ok I need to hear more about this. Baitcasting gear on a <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>panfish rod? Not judging, just would like to hear the reasoning?

If you look at my avatar, it’s a picture of basically a prototype that I got set up around, I forgotten maybe 2005. Nothing wrong with a medium power Walleye Sweetheart rod. Just a preference for a lighter rod set up for pan fish. Part of the reason is that I was never fond of the rod tip bounce on spinning gear. Also partially jigging on finicky fish and having jig spin work against it. Shimano Chronarch 50Mg is a 6 oz bait casting reel at that time is way lighter than any ultralight spinning reel available. Running 2# test on a bait casting drag is easily so much more smoother than most spinning reels. I don’t always fish that light. I prefer 4# lines.

Since then I’ve also collected two

Nothing big this time, last season was a Helix7 and K-drill. I’m usually fishing small tungsten jigs on 2 lb test. With aging eyes and especially when I’m unsheltered fighting wind and cold hands this fly fishing tool has helped keep frustrations down. Gets me back in the game quicker after a break off and I am more willing to change up my presentation more often. Worked on every jig I’ve thrown at them so far.
Got this first.
https://www.amazon.com/20-Magnetic-Tippet-Threader/dp/B002Q0A4BC/ref=sr_1_13?dchild=1&keywords=line+threader&qid=1585575238&sr=8-13

Thought I lost it and tried these almost identical ones.
https://www.amazon.com/TOPIND-Fishing-Magnetic-Threader-Assortment/dp/B075LFT74T/ref=sr_1_29?dchild=1&keywords=line+threader&qid=1585575694&sr=8-29

Eskimo pistol bit and Milwaukee 2803. So easy, light, and instantly ready to drill. I really love it but it’s not perfect. See my other thread about thermal cut outs. It’s so easy and light I don’t get tired drilling so I can drill more.

Helix 7 goes into the meh pile for me so far. Got one for open water and have used it on the ice. Found myself going back to the Vex more often than not. Battery, battery, battery is the deal. I’ll get a lithium for next season so the jury is still out.

slipperybob wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>mahtofire14 wrote:</div>

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>slipperybob wrote:</div>
Also really like how my new Thorne Bros Panfish rod set up with bait casting gear performed. It’s my new favorite now.

Ok I need to hear more about this. Baitcasting gear on a <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>panfish rod? Not judging, just would like to hear the reasoning?

If you look at my avatar, it’s a picture of basically a prototype that I got set up around, I forgotten maybe 2005. Nothing wrong with a medium power Walleye Sweetheart rod. Just a preference for a lighter rod set up for pan fish. Part of the reason is that I was never fond of the rod tip bounce on spinning gear. Also partially jigging on finicky fish and having jig spin work against it. Shimano Chronarch 50Mg is a 6 oz bait casting reel at that time is way lighter than any ultralight spinning reel available. Running 2# test on a bait casting drag is easily so much more smoother than most spinning reels. I don’t always fish that light. I prefer 4# lines.

Since then I’ve also collected two

Interesting. Also could be another way to decrease jig spinning without having to use inline reels.

mahtofire14 wrote:

Interesting. Also could be another way to decrease jig spinning without having to use inline reels.

Most of the time I don’t need to prevent jig spin. Overall I just like the smoothness of winching in a fish. I have near identical set up in spinning reel set up as well. So for me to make a comparison on near identical set up has a lot of empirical data comparison for differences.

I ran fly reels for years before the inline reels took over. Palming a cold metal reel gets really cold really fast. So I sort of gave that up.

Slippery, I’m intrigued. Curious about ice-up tendencies in very cold conditions. It’s not uncommon for me to be hole hopping when it’s -20 in northern Minnesota. My open water bait casting outfits wouldn’t last long in those temperatures, especially the level wind. Are you using this mostly in a heated shack or on warmer days?

ION G2 love that auger . also TUCR fusion for walleye . ill be out later today using both!

Two things for me stood out for this past ice season…
My Lite Flight Strikemaster 6″ bit paired with the Milwaukee 18V Fuel…
Years back I had set myself up for failure running a non brushless drill and a hand auger bit… smoked the drill and got very few holes per battery..

Not the case anymore !!! Super Pumped on this new item !!!

Second was the addition of the Helix Ice … In shallow water of 3 feet up to depths in the 20’s I had this sucker dialed in to where I could tell if my horizontal bait has slipped to a more vertical profile.. and if I was using a spike or waxie and it was taken off I could tell…. I absolutely fell in love with the A-Scope feature… Super easy to read the fish’s mood !!!

9 more months till ice fishing again !!!

mine was for sure an LX-6 with the lithium shuttle. was really nice having much more customization than my lx-3.

FLX-20 is/was awesome this ice season. Had my Bird 55 crap out, and decided to go back to Vexilar. Super happy that I made the switch!

BrianF wrote:

Slippery, I’m intrigued. Curious about ice-up tendencies in very cold conditions. It’s not uncommon for me to be hole hopping when it’s -20 in northern Minnesota. My open water bait casting outfits wouldn’t last long in those temperatures, especially the level wind. Are you using this mostly in a heated shack or on warmer days?

I did a lot of hole hopping in them earlier years. The last few years, I mostly sit inside the shack.

The rods have spinning rod guides, they are smaller than bait casting line guides. As for preventing ice freeze into the spool and through the levelwind line guide. Just reel up slower and let the water freeze off the line. When I actually prepare to move off the hole, while hole hopping, I always pinch the line to prevent water freeze onto even the rod tip line guide.

I don’t last much more then 10 minutes in -20 F temps outside.

Dave Koonce wrote:

Second was the addition of the Helix Ice … In shallow water of 3 feet up to depths in the 20’s I had this sucker dialed in to where I could tell if my horizontal bait has slipped to a more vertical profile.. and if I was using a spike or waxie and it was taken off I could tell…. I absolutely fell in love with the A-Scope feature… Super easy to read the fish’s mood !!!

9 more months till ice fishing again !!!

Wow I wish I could get mine dialed into that level of accuracy! I can get mine dialed in fairly well but not like what you’re describing. I guess if I can clearly see the bottom, my bait and fish I’m happy!

Maybe we could make some videos on how we set up our Helix Ice Units for our local areas… Like for me… 3-8 fow is real common .. .where others may be in the 10-20 and others different than that….

I myself use solely the flasher mode… do not use graf or zoom at anything like that….

Dave Koonce wrote:

Maybe we could make some videos on how we set up our Helix Ice Units for our local areas… Like for me… 3-8 fow is real common .. .where others may be in the 10-20 and others different than that….

I myself use solely the flasher mode… do not use graf or zoom at anything like that….

Great idea Dave! This year I fished everything from 8 to 32 feet I guess. I fished 47 feet out in Devils lake but was using a provided FL-28 which I did not like. I’ve been trying to get Marine General in Duluth to bring in a rep from Humminbird for a day and go over open water and ice settings. He says he’s going to look into it. I see Russ quite often so I keep putting the bug in his ear.

Seeing as how IDO is temporarily grounded this may be a good project to keep the production crew busy!

Ty Kennedy wrote:

Jawjackers/automatic fisherman and Haat rods for me. Crazy fun setup that I cannot wait to try with for multiple species next year

I picked up a Haat rod early this year as well. Initially I was disappointed because it didn’t look as nice/custom as the pictures. However, it handled big bass, walleyes, and northerns beautifully. I had it paired with an Okuma bait feeder, and Sullivan tip down.

Gotta day the Eskimo grizzly was by far the best purchase this year love the shelter for the cold days! Picked up a helix at the end of season so can’t wait to get that rolling next year

For me it was three things. The Strikemaster 40 volt, the Big Dipper ice scoop. This thing is heavy duty. After scooping the holes I drag the slush away and bank the portable with it. But most of all new clutching for my fishin rig. Way more low end gearing. There’s been way more modifications to this beast than I care to mention but this is one of the best.

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