I assume you’re talking about the Sturgeon Lake ramp? There’s no definite timeline for the project, but I would expect it to remain closed through the spring time.

Late to the party but if you want to stick with conventional reels take a look at the Penn Fathom. The smaller sizes (12 ad 15) without the levelwind are very comparable in size to the 6000 series abus but with better line capacity, #25 to #30 drag and a power handle. Absolute winch compared to most freshwater reels and can be had for about $200.

There are other reels out there of that same style (star drag casting reels with or without a levelwind) but I went with the Fathom because it’s one of the cheaper ones that will get to that #25 advertised drag mark. You can get a cheaper one with less drag or spend $500 on a Trinidad too if that’s more your speed.

There are also premium saltwater spinning reels out there that can get to that #25 drag mark, I just don’t have any personal experience with them.

I’ve heard of guys flipping line around too. Seems like a bit of a pain unless you have one reel empty already but if you do all you would need to do is wind line from one reel on to another. Makes sense in that the inside half of a spool sees no abrasion in most cases.

Haven’t tried it myself just thought I’d throw it out there.

Thanks for posting this. I’ve never targeted flatheads before, the idea of fishing live bait and mostly at night has always been a bit more than I have time for. Went out and tried this in a few spots Wednesday and caught 2. Neither were very big by flathead standards, but much bigger than the 5lb ones that you chance in to while sturgeon fishing. They were also the first two I’ve caught while targeting them. No doubt I’ll try that again.

The only embarrassing thing is how long it took me to catch the sheep….

One thing I dont think gets talked about enough with hooks is the relationship between bait size and hook size. With circle hooks I think you need to pick your hook based on what you want to put on it for bait more than on what you hope to catch. For a circle hook to work right most of the gap needs to be open more open than with a j hook and this somewhat limits what you can reasonably hang off a given size hook.

For this reason I think saying you use any given size hook means squat unless you say what you’re putting on it. Crawlers are more forgiving than many baits, and 3 whole crawlers on a 3/0 hook is a nice match. Now try fishing with the head of a medium to large sucker on that same hook and your hookups may suffer.

Not to say anybody else on this thread is right or wrong, I just think we are leaving a key piece out of the discussion.

Another thing I would add is that mono or even flouro leader seem to reduce fouling around the swivel, even if the sturgeon doesnt care that you bothered to use it. I sometimes crimp connections in 50# or heavier mono because I find it easier than knots in the heavy lines.

Really like rschmidty’s point about drag pressure. Drag pressure and cranking power are what bring a fish in. I would add one thing though. Give me medium action rod that can be bent all the way to the reel seat and I can land a fish with drag pressure alone. What you lose is control of the fish, especially boatside. A rod that is bent all the way is a wet noodle when your fish goes for the prop or anchor line. A 7′ rod that is only bent half way down still gives you a a 3 or 4 foot stick to help control the fish with.

Another consideration. Do you use circle hooks? Some guys that use them exclusively seem to gravitate towards rods with slower actions. Having a deeper bond in the rod seems to help keep the line tight, and you don’t need a long backbone to set the hook with.

This is the problem I have. Seem to go through fuel line parts faster than the actual tanks themselves. Looks like jiffy came out with a fuel line update kit for those of us on gen 1 or 2 augers, so I’ll take a look at that.

But on the actual topic, I feel like I’m the only one here who has no issues with these things in the cold. I store tanks at something of a warm temp when I’m off the ice so by the time my fuel supply is -20 my auger is warmer and it seems to handle it well.

Compared to the Mora, the Lazer is a completely different animal. One thing to keep in mind is that I believe the synthetic lazer takes a different blade, and I don’t see them around very much. For me that’s a deal breaker because blade availability is the main reason I use a lazer instead of a Nils. If that doesn’t concern you it might be worth a try.

I fish half braid half mono on the ice. It behaves a bit differently than mono and is much thinner at a given pound test. You either love it or you hate it, only way to know is to try some.

I would recommend looking in to some of the fused or coated braids, whether it’s fireline crystal or a braid designed for ice fishing. This will limit the ice up issue a bit.

Because the stuff acts a bit different, I run the same # test braid as I would mono, or one notch heavier. This year my heavier walleye rods have 8# mono and 10# braid. Some of the braids just see stiff with the light lures we fish through the ice.

Looks like you got some great advice here. The one thing I would add is pay attention to cone angle. I run 8 degree cones in weeds or wood where I don’t want to pick up a cone full of crap, but on a shallow flat with no cover its better to run a 20. Just stuff to keep in mind, consider getting a unit with an adjustable cone angle if you can.

The lazer is a good auger for the money. I have a 5″ that I use for panfishing and drilling transducer holes, and an 8″ for everything else. They start holes a lot easier than the Mora, but are similarly touchy when it comes to bad or off pitch blades.

Word to the wise that was explained to me here a while ago- Ever time you increase the diameter of am ice hole there is a larger increase in area. An 8″ hole is a ton more ice to cut than a 7″ hole is, and a 7″ may be plenty of space for what you need. In other words, buy the smallest size that you can, you’ll work a lot less

Generally you will want to buy a power auger with the bit designed specifically for it. Hand augers and power augers look and work very differently. The blade on my Jiffy is not something I would want to try and turn by hand, but with a gas head man can that sucker cut some ice.

On the flip side, my lazer hand auger cuts fairly well under my power, but would not take full advantage of the speed and torque available with a power auger. The one exception I know of is Nils, they make a bit that swings both ways. Some guys here may have more info to offer on that setup.

A lot depends on HOW you use a truck, not just what you use it for. My dad had a full cap on all his trucks and my first one has a tonneau.

Yes, you can keep more ice gear out of the elements with a full cap. Many flip over shacks won’t fit under a tonneau. That said, you pay for that space with added difficulty in reaching things in certain parts of the bed.

My shack fits under a tonneau, and I like the ability to roll it back and have a normal pickup. Still, a lot of people will never give up a full cap. Your call.

Shimano makes a great reel, I have a number of their models and they perform well. That said, there is one particular, higher end model that both me and my dad have had a ton of problems with. Shimano did nothing to earn my dad’s loyalty back, so mine went with his. Now I buy all Phlueger. couldn’t be happier.

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I don’t mean to sound rude, but in my opinion this kind of thinking is plain dangerous.

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Please tell that to my very cautious retired neighbor who was slowly driving his ATV off the lake just after dark only to hit a fresh crack flipping him over the handle bars. By the way there was over 14″ of ice when this happened.

This is only my opinion (although physics is strongly on my side) but I feel a snowmobile will allow you to safely cross these sporadic cracks that appear out of no where.

I need to stress that in no way am I saying a snowmobile is safer on thin ice than an ATV. I’m strictly referring to stress cracks on thick ice. The fact is snowmobiles glide over cracks and ATV’s will drop in cracks if they are not avoided. I like to explore new areas throughout the winter so I inevitably come across fresh cracks. I can’t count the times I’ve crossed a crack and thought wow I’m glad I didn’t have an ATV.

For those of you that ice fish with an ATV, that’s 100% your decision I just thought with all of the ATV’s that fall in every year it was worth talking about. Main thing is just be careful. Take care

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I hope your neighbor was OK. I’m not bothered by the assertion that a sled can safely cross small stress cracks more easily than a quad. The fact that these vehicles have 4 small points of contact with the ice makes them a bit dicey in any number of situations, no doubt. What scares me is that for some people, running a sled on the assumption that it is safer in this way can create a dangerous false sense of security.

In my opinion, you take your life into your own hands when you take any vehicle on to any amount of ice. Period. The fact that I will or will not drop into a small stress crack doesn’t mean I can go any faster or feel any safer because there are still many other hazards. To me, this is what justifies running whatever you want. Still not gonna say that a sled wouldn’t be the ideal dedicated ice vehicle, I’m just too cheap

Not overheating is a good piece of advice. If you are prone to sweating, take off a few layers to drill holes, set up the shack, etc. In my experience, sweat is the easiest way to get really cold except for maybe frozen fingers from that darn minnow bucket.

I don’t mean to sound rude, but in my opinion this kind of thinking is plain dangerous. Getting a sled because you can likely sneak over small obstacles safely gives a guy a false sense of security that could prove extremely dangerous, especially if it causes you to miss other obstacles that a sled can’t handle.

Unless you get an amphibious assault vehicle, hovercraft, airboat, etc (and even if you do) there is no substitute for having common sense and know how to read ice. I’ll spend my thousand bucks on a helmet or goggles to help me see the cracks better and pocket the extra. Just my opinion.

I think a big hub would be a great way to take kids fishing because you could keep everybody warm without having to give up the ability to head to the best fishing spots. That way you can keep the little rascals happy and stand a good chance at putting them on great fishing at the same time.

Both the mono and braid have their issues. I personally don’t fish flouro except as a leader. There is no right answer. I like to keep rods with each so I can adjust to conditions. If you fish outside a lot, then I would think the stretch would be easier to live with than frozen guides and the like, but on the flip side of you fish mostly deep from a shack, the braid is where it’s at.

This time of year I always feel like a minority in the fact that I’m comfortable going out by myself. I just adjust my standards to 4″ or better and obsessively check the ice. Gets me a lot of extra ice time for all the reasons mentioned.

Depends where I’m going. If I can drive or know that I will be relatively close to my access point then its the Pro 4 all the way. On the flip side, I do a fair bit of walking. If I’m going more than a half mile and I’m alone (fairly often) then I will use the hand auger regardless of ice thickness. All the power auger does is slow me down at that point.

Thanks for all the replies. Looks like I will go with the Genz pack idea. I loved it when I did it to my lx6 so I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me. Beats paying lowrance for a bunch of stuff I don’t need.

Nice to hear all the positive reviews on the phone apps. I’m just opposed to it on principle. Nothing against the guys that do use them, but I’m glued to the darn thing all the time and I like being able to keep it in my pocket for emergencies only when I hit the ice. Besides, it would find its way down a hole before the first of the year with my luck…

My last year of college I started ice fishing ‘eyes in a small river in Iowa. Live bait was not readily available locally so I stocked up on the preserved shiners and flatheads when I could and used them to tip jigging lures. They did better than no bait and when we did get fresh bait I didn’t notice a difference between preserved or fresh heads. Keep in mind though, those Iowa ‘eyes didn’t get much pressure through the ice…

What really strikes me is that some lakes I fish get even more use in the summer. I look at the amount of crap on the ice and assume it’s worse during open water season, which is even sadder.

I mean we all make mistakes, I’ve lost wrappers across the ice I was too lazy to chase. But that pile of a dozen cig butts- even when I smoked I had a compartment in my tackle box for that crap. Bait containers…. really people?

I’d have to agree with almost everything said so far on this thing. I LOVE my lx-6, but if I were only to have one flasher this would not be it. The capability you have with a digital like this is out of this world. Still, for getting beat around hole hopping in the shallows it’s tough to beat the two dials on an old fashioned analog and I think it always will be.

I had this issue also. Isn’t it possible to just turn off the digital readout? That may be my choice if possible since the flasher dial works flawlessly. Haven’t messes with it since it started though.

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If it’s for a buddy, I recommend this one…

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I fish alone enough as it is…..

Assuming we are talking the same thing here (it’s like a 12$ gig if that helps) then I don’t have a pic. I got mine at Gander, tihey may show them online. It is just the rubber cylinder with the notch in it that slips over the rod tip, like many spring bobbers use. I find it works best with smaller tips, but will work all around. I simply set on the rod just below the tip guide epoxy and it grabs real good. From this the spring bobber itself comes out and sticks out in front of the tip guide. Your line runs through a loop at the end.

I got one. So far I love it. It is one of the more sensitive ones I’ve used. What’s even better is that it stows back on to the rod so it doesn’t get bent, and the big eye reduces problems with ice. Overall a spendy but solid spring bobber.

The thing with current is that in one spot you can have 6 inches of solid clear ice, but you step two feet over and put your foot through an inch of ice where the current necks down or wells up. It pays to know a bit about the water in terms of current, springs, and other things that vary the ice thickness, but the bottom line is you have to be careful. Current, especially in areas you may not know very well can make the ice very inconsistent. This doesn’t mean it won’t form, it just makes a lot of thin spots, areas of open water, etc. Carry a spud to test the ice in front of you and get a pair of ice picks in case you go through. Good luck and be safe out there.