I always leave my Eskimo gas tank down I did have a little leak when I used to leave it gas tank up just fyi

I use them all of the time perch and crappies love them the bigger ones also work great for lake trout a lot of new great colors these are my best colors

if a college education meant you got a decent job i’d be there as well!

on a hook for pike and i cut the heads off cut down the belly and scoop out all the junk throw them in some drakes mix and fry those babies up. it seems weird but my favorite part is the tail it gets crispy and salty.

i think thats a little crazy having to put your name on a portable. i get pissed here in michigan when they make you write your name on tip ups

best rod for the price i would have to say is either a frabil or a fenwick elite ice. be careful when picking out a frabil some of there rods are not worth a hoot. the fenwick elite ice rods will not disappoint. now there not tucr but they are well built and are very consistent. my biggest problem with the frabils is that some of their rods the eyelets are not aligned correctly. its just irritating to have two of the exact same rod one with good eyelets and another with misaligned eyelets. like said before the fenwick elite ice rods are solid and a medium action rod at any length should do you just fine they run in the 25 to 35 dollar range depending where you buy. i own 4 of these rods and im very happy with them.

the fireline fused crystal ice line is the best braid ive used for ice fishing. it does freeze up a little more than mono but the stuff will not break i had two lb test tied to my couch and tried to break it by pulling it as hard as i could and couldn’t break it. its tough line with a thin diameter but it comes with its issues. if your really concerned about memory switch to an inline reel that should take care of most of your problems. also i use the palomar knot to tie the fireline. just like said before i use both braid and mono they both have their time and place. the mono i use is the trilene cold weather seems to do the trick for me

i fished similar type lakes in illinois when i was in college… like said before the weed edges which are most often found near the shore line will be your best option. when looking at new water always eliminate the shallow water first as it is the easiest to eliminate.

those babies look sweet how did you come across them

i love shimano’s in the summer but in the winter they get super rough. i have three shimanos on ice rods right now 2 siennas and one sedona. they are decent but nothing compared to the pflueger. that being said im not fishing in a shack. i love the drag on the shimanos way better. but when i get a big fish a back reel anyway. just one mans opinion

if your looking for a spinning reel i would recommend the pfleuger trion ultralight works great and is smooth even in the cold. as for inline reels i would like to hear what the guys have to say

heavy is safer X2 don’t try to skimp on safety equipment. 20 dollars more is worth the peace of mind in knowing you can walk safely on the ice. costs a lot more for a casket than a good spud!!!!

thanks looks like im leaning towards the 261 thanks guys

i would go with the Rocky Men’s Sport Utility Ten Inch Brown Hunting Boot in the mossy oak pattern they are water proof plus 1000 grams of thinsulate ive had mine for 5 years and havent had a problem warm enough when im sitting and not to warm when i walk in them. they were waterproof untill i put my auger blade through the toe of them but a little shoe goo fish that right up

My buddy just bought the eskimo for 35$ it works great super sharp went through 4″ of ice with one chop it freaked me out to be honest. i drilled a hole with my auger just to make sure we were safe and measured 4″ with my skimmer

sounds like its gunna be an awesome show this week can’t wait. is it going to be a crappie and perch show or just the crappies?

proline is the company i found them at reeds the icepro superfly

are the prolines any good

the eagle claws look nice but they are eagle claws…. makes me nervous and the frabil 261 and 241 look nice anyone used either of these two? also are there any other small market inlines anyone has used?

anyone use the frabils at all?

with out a doubt strikemaster makes the best power augers…..however as i mentioned before i drill alot of holes with my eskimo stingray and the thing is light just as light as my dads lazer pro just a little less on the power end of things. personally i like buying new not used so if it was me i would get the best auger for the new price. used equipment often times will have some personality. just to clarify the lazer pro is 26 lbs and the stingray is 28 lbs i dont notice the 2 lb difference

what line do you fish with? somtimes if i fish with fireline i have similar problems

the smaller lake has a pulpy peat bottom and weeds are present in the 8 ft and unde i fished that water only to find extremely small perch and gills had to move out to the basin to find the “bigger fish” i have no idea on the larger one just wondering what area most guys would target on the larger lake. im leaning towards fishing the deeper water looking for walleyes and crappies just unsure if the crappies will be shallow still. it was a fairly cold fall so i would assume they would be in the deepest water available any thoughts

Im not sure what heads adapt to what. i would just suggest getting the whole thing. i dont even know if the just sell heads. i would suggest an eskimo……..i thats a bit of a taboo here but, i love mine. i have the eskimo stingray and its nice its a solid auger for a lower price. plenty powerful for me and i cut alot of holes probably 75 to 100 in a day. i love the lazer pros my dad has one but for the money i am absolutely satisfied with the eskimo

I use the fl8 and have never had a problem with it my unit has the genz pack and takes a beating it is simple and works great. if you have never had a sonar unit before this will work great for you. all of the features are nice however they are not required for fish catching. i would check out the humming bird ice 35 its a great unit. its basic the one thing i like about the humming bird is it runs on a different frequency so it doesn’t get interfered with by other units. shallow water though it wont make a difference because there isn’t enough water for your signal to get interfered with by other units

Loved the show as always james, just would have liked to see the struggles on day one. its nice to see a lot of nice eyes iced. just would have liked to see how you went about on the ice on a bad day.I understand you have to catch fish to make a show. just from a learning perspective would have been nice to see how you dealt with the bad conditions. Again loved it great show keep em coming

It seems logical that a clear line would be less visible, hands down. however i have found that in different bodies of water different line produces better than others. Just to give an example I have all different lines rigged on my jig rods in one particular lake when the fish were extremly finicky i would use red line the lake was stained red and it would hands down make a difference in the amount of bites i had. other lakes stained darker fireline would work better and in clear bodies of water clear mono or fluoro would work better. Im not saying thats always the case just what I have experienced. All i know is that you should never try and argue with the fish find what they like on your bodies of water and use it. there is no magic line for every body of water or for even every type of fish. the same can be said for types and colors of lures. either way find what works for you and run with it. just because doug stange, Al linder or james holst use it doesn’t mean it will work for you. alot of those articles are written with sponsers in mind, which is very important to take into account. Good luck out there and let us know what you find out.

gotta love good ol jery

It really depends on what your after I will bring five or six rods depending on the day all rigged with something different tell us what your after and im sure plenty of guys would be willinh to share some trademarks

I absolutely love my stingray. Im fishing with my dad tomorrow and he has a lazer and his auger isnt coming off the stand… That being said ive only had it for three weeks and im a pretty big guy and spend alot of time in the wieght room the extra 3 lbs wasnt even noticeable…..plus the eskimo starts on the first or seccond pull everytime without fail… In the end price is about the same get whatwill do what u want it too I just feel that after using both sm and eskimo I trust the eskimo more …..and the plastic handlea are a joke make somthing thay will last the stingray is quality for a low price and theres just somthing about pulling somthing out of a box rathaer than dusting somthinh off