I had a G2, which I believe was more of a chipper blade and would tend to catch on the bottom of the ice. The Alpha bit is night and day difference. I can’t tell I break through with the Alpha bit until I see water.
Pike fishing is my favorite form of ice fishing, and I have fished in my Ice Castle for pike and using underwater cameras to watch reactions and strikes. I have also fished lakes in WI with cribs and watch fish all day, including panfish, pike, walleye, bass and muskies. I have learned a lot, one is, many fish do not bite, and are dependent on time of day, pressure and time of the year.
Since I used to make flouro leaders for soft water musky fishing, I used to make flouro leaders for ice fishing. I started with the 80lb, then went to 40lb. I don’t know what it is, but I started getting less pike to grab and run with the minnow. You would be surprised at the number of pike that strike from underneath, then drop the minnow, and the rattle reel never spins or tipup never trips. I think they can feel flouro leaders, so they drop the bait, but I also get less hits, especially with the 80lb. So, I switched to 40lb and had a northern bite me off when I went to set the hook and there was very little pressure applied. Also, the smaller pike have sharper teeth, so it doesn’t take much for them to bite you off.
I have since gone to AFW 7-strand (26lb) for pike and my bite3 rate has gone up. I pre-tie my leaders with a small swivel and hook/lure of choice ahead of time. If I get one that ends up kinked really bad, I just switch to another one. I like this leader material since you can use a figure eight knot, or some others and doesn’t require crimping sleeves.
Lastly, avoid buying those pre-made leaders with hooks on them. IMO, the hooks are way too large, especially since most shiners and suckers in bait stores nowadays are the small to medium sized. It’s up to you if you want to make quick strike rigs or not, but I’ve also gone back to using a single hook or treble hook in the back. IMO, the minnow doesn’t hang or swim as natural with having two hooks in it. The metal leader material also provides weight, whereas the flouro leaders are more buoyant, so a good sized minnow can swim up and get tangled with the main line at times.
Now, this is just a theory, but a single hook in the back of the minnow allows the hook to maneuver in a horizontal position while the minnow is the fishes mouth, so they likely don’t feel it, whereas a large treble hook they can. This is why the smaller pike tend to drop the bait, e.g. false flags, and the bigger ones tend to hang onto it. So, you have to take into consideration the size of pike you’re targeting, as well as the size of bait you’re using. If you want to increase your hooking chances for medium to large pike, then use a treble, but if you want to increase your rate of smaller fish still holding onto the bait by the time you get to your tip-up, then use a single hook. If you happen to be fishing when the pike are hot, then it doesn’t seem to matter what you use.
I bought a two-sided wash tub for my basement for minnows. I like it because it has legs. I put a PVC valve on the bottom drains, and I also use a plug for each on the inside. This way I can drain water from underneath if I have to. Also, I don’t fill the tubs completely, more like half full each. I also run an aerator with dual outputs that supplies a sponge filter on each side. I keep the aerator going year-round to keep the biological filtration in check, but dumping a bunch of minnows in will typically cause a mass die-off with ammonia shock, but I usually have some that survive and the rest of the season I’m good. Last thing, shiners will eat goldfish flake food, so if they’re kept cold, you’ll likely have some for the spring opener too. Edit –> I meant to quote KP
This is same reason I’m selling my StrikerICE Hardwater suit (2XL), plus, I’ve lost weight and undergrown it. I wasn’t in the market for another float suit, but I tried on the ICEARMOR (Clam) Folds of Honor bibs, and I really liked the soft material and much less bulk. I was then at Scheels and couldn’t pass up the jacket/parka. I haven’t compared the weights, but I would guess the StrikerICE suit weighs twice as much.
Weird, went to their site again, pulled up the item from search and see what was posted in the OP.
It’s coming up as $399 for me on their site.
I have lithium ion batteries for other things, and they always recommend storing them at 70-80% for extended periods of time, which is why I don’t keep them at 100%.
Yeah, I’ll try charging it fully. To be honest, I only charged it before my first excursion a month ago. I’ve only been out four times and just drill a few to several holes each time out.
Also, a smaller house you’ll use less propane. I can go most of the season on one tank. Them big houses are overrated, if used primarily for fishing.
We have the Little Jigger as well as Ryan stated it is perfect for us we only camp 1 or 2 weekends a year. When we started looking Ryan’s posts were the only ones we found about a small house. We have been very happy with it. Buy the way thanks for the advice Ryan
I camped in mine too for the first time last year, and loved it. Little Jigger owners unite!
Sounds like it would primarily be used by you. I like my Little Jigger, 6.5′ x 8′ plus V. I like the layout, with the holes on one side and typically park it so the holes are facing South, offsetting my shadow. My buddy had a 8′ x 17′ RV edition, we took our houses to a metro lake and he struggled pulling it on unpacked snow with his Titan, because it was just too heavy. I have a Tacoma and had no issues. You go with a big one and you may be hesitant driving on unplowed or unpacked roads. There are people in ICOG that like small houses for exactly what you intend to use one for.
I have more storage space in my little house than houses twice its size. Has six overhead cabinets, and the only model that I know of that has storage on each end of the sofa, which I call my junk drawers. I can keep all my ice fishing rods, tackle boxes, tip-ups, pillow, blanket, Keurig coffee maker, small air fryer, utensils, etc.
I went to a lake last weekend, thinking the snow was too deep, it wasn’t bad, ran home, hooked up the house, threw my auger and generator in the truck, grabbed some snacks, drinks and minnows, and was fishing in no time. Would’ve taken longer than grabbing a popup and all the other crap to go with it.
I get the mythical animal, just never heard it in reference to a fish. I had googled it and top result was this post.
Yeah, I couldn’t get my spool off either, even though their video makes it look easy peasy. I had to use a bit of enginuity to spool the line.
WTH is a unicorn?
Not going to say the ‘W’ word, but uncooked hot dogs will also work, and the cheaper the better.
Even a noticable difference from the Gen2, which you’d have to lift up periodically to disperse the slush, as well as a bit of bite when breaking through the bottom. I’m digging the Alpha.
The ICX Frost is an awesome reel.
None, however it amazes me they’re more expensive than steel, as if the mark-up is purely for being more lightweight.
Odd that you would get 2 bad batteries. Maybe the charger is the cause. If you know someone with an Alpha or gen1 charger, I’d try them on theirs. These Apha chargers don’t look to be as good of quality as the Gen2 charger.
buddy had a nice castle, left the ice at 11pm, came back the next day at 7;30 am, it was gone, never did recover it.
I have a locking receiver pin/bolt that I put through the front dealio while my house is down so it can’t be cranked up. I assume people that steal castles are bringing their own pins.
Depends on the area and lake. I’d never do it on a metro lake. I have however, left mine overnight on some lakes in Wisconsin and I lock it.
Found them, Walmart online has them, well, one. Likely a discontinued product.
Cabelas? I’m looking for them.
Yeah, but it was several years ago. I don’t even remember who made them.
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I think steros with USB ports only read music files.
I saw an underwater diving crew use them to lift out the large chunk of ice they cut, by running a rod through the eyes on the screws. I was looking for them several years ago, but couldn’t decide on a length. But I ran across some similar ones at Cabela’s and bought them. They were cheaper, and likely not as good, since the metal may be thicker, but they do work much better than the lag type ones.
50 years ago we would bring a coleman camp stove out to cook on. My friend forgot the fry pan one time so we cooked the burgers on an ice scoop!!
30 years ago, a buddy and I cooked hotdogs over a Mr Heater sunflower with an ice scoop. Guess we weren’t the first.
I have a couple gen 1s, along with the range extender unit. Are you saying the newer ones won’t work with the old extender?
I have a Berg system for my Powerhorse. It took some sleuthing to find someone who carried the Yamaha cap to fit it. It does work for my generator, and I don’t have a bulb. Mine needs to be gravity fed as well. I liked the Berg hose because of the quick connect, but when it’s cold the spring doesn’t always engage, unless I warm it up in my hand. Also, you may be able to find the old gas caps for the external tank that has a vent knob on Amazon.
I really like my IC Little Jigger, and for a wheelhouse that size, has plenty of storage and is comfortable for 1-2 people. I had to get a bit creative to put a small table in it, that pivots, so the table top can be positioned over the center of the sofa. Luckily, I got it in 2019 when it was just over 10k new. Had 3 of us and a dog last weekend – we just fished two holes in the house, with a Quad cam in the middle. If action was hotter, we would’ve put tip-ups out.
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I tried Googling it to find out when they were made, or who made them. Nobody from the family reached out to me when he passed away and I was the only one who ice fished with him. He had a lot of neat old stuff and he made a rattle wheel long before someone else mass produced them.
