Help. First Timer

[33dadyo]

I have been reading all of the topics on this board and have convinced myself to give this ice fishing a try. I am going out with a buddy that hasn't ice fished either. I am very familiar with the lake we are going out on as I fish it all summer long. It has alot of variety of fish mostly crappie and walleye. I found a place where I can rent a ice tent pretty cheap. I need to know what kind of equipment I need to pick up. I have the ice poles and the beer but what kind bait, lures, and ect. do I need to bring??? And how deep water should I fish in 12ft? 25? 50ft? Please give me some advice on what to do. Thanks a million!

[Smitty71]

Ok, first let me say that I don't like coming on a site and telling people to go to another but I've been watching this board and the information is lacking! Go to iceshanty.com and sign up. You'll actually get replys to your posts on the iowa board and learn a ton from the other forums. And I will say that I in no way am anything but a member of iceshanty. I just want fisherman to get the best information as fast as possible!

As for your question I'll do the best I can. First make sure you dress the part. If you wind up being cold out there it will ruin your trip. Next you said you already have jigging rods so we'll talk bait. Wax worms and minnows are a good place to start for both crappie and walleye. Tie a moon glow jig, genz bug or fatboy on the end of your line and tip it with a waxy or minnow. Think small too. When you're ice fishing a lot of the time less is more, so try to keep your bait small at least for the crappies. The walleye may want something bigger. As for depth try to find drop offs, weed edges, rock piles..... you get where I'm going. This time of year during the day I would fish a little deeper say 20-30 foot of water for crappies with one exception. If you fish the night bite the fish will rise up and move shallow to feed. If you don't have electronics just drop to the bottom and reel up about a foot. Jig for a while. If nothing then reel up some more and jig. By doing this you can find out what depth the fish are suspending at, if they are at all. Hope this helps. Oh yeah, if you fish the night bite remember to bring a lantern and a heater!

Smitty