By Tony Boshold

As a touring tournament ice fisherman and guide, Tony Boshold demands the best from his gear and the manufacturers he aligns himself with. It has taken him over ten years to find the right combination of companies, and getting them to develop what ice anglers need and can ask for.

It’s freezing out and many anglers have put the boats away and pulled out their bows and rifles. Some of the best fishing of the year is in November. While folks are blasting birds overhead I’m usually smacking walleyes that are fattening up for the winter. Early ice is an ideal time to me. No pleasure boaters or jet skiers to curse at, and many are likely home watching the game or battling tent cities in a mall parking lot all night long to save $50 bucks on flat screen. I couldn’t give away my 35” tube TV so until it dies and I can dismantle it, it’s not getting replaced anytime soon. It takes three of us to move it….. I’ll ice fish instead.

Maybe you can’t wait for the ice to form, or like some of my buddies, you are already switching gears to ice-fishing and maybe some of you are just ice-curious and thinking of giving it a try this season. You might be in the market for some new gear or maybe you’re the type who likes to have the best stuff, the first time, and not waste money on the “learning curve” like many of us have!  Your ice rods have been given the once over and strung up with some new ice line.  The ice shack has been checked for critters and any signs of damage to the tent they may have caused; your manufacturer likely sells patch kits to fix the tent or a replacement tent is an option.  Any loose bolts have been tightened up. Your electronics are charged up, connections inspected for wear, transducer checked for clicking. Ice auger blades inspected for loose bolts and nicks are tightened, sharpened or replaced. If it’s a power auger then filling it with some fresh fuel and firing it up as well as checking the plug and replacing it. Taking care of these purchases and maintenance items before needed minimizes downtime out in the tundra for a more comfortable, enjoyable experience every time you head out this hard water season.

As a touring, tournament ice fisherman and guide I demand the best from my gear and the manufacturers I align myself with. It has taken over ten years to get the right combination of companies that offer that and listen to us fisherman to develop what we need with our input as well as stand behind their products and back those with some of the finest warranty’s and customer service a sportsman can ask for. Some of the gear I use is time tested and can’t be beat despite the competition’s inferior imitations attempting to displace the originals. Some have proven to achieve meteoric rise to the top of the heap with innovations that have the manufacturers of the “originals” running scared.

ICE SHACKS & SLEDS

The sled is your tool box and if you opt for a tented one, maybe your home for the day.  You fill it with your gear for the outing and pull it by hand or machine across jagged, unforgiving terrain in some of the harshest conditions known. Not all huts are created equal. Like everything, you really get what you pay for! While they didn’t invent the idea, they certainly have innovated and taken the lead as the “tougher, stronger, smarter” product line. Otter outdoors is the cream that has risen to the top of the mobile ICE FORCE market when it comes to Sled and shack choices due to the “4 S’s” – Sled – Seating – Structure and Shell.

SLED: Otter’s “Roto-Molded” sleds provide a tough, uniform, one piece construction for extreme cold weather performance that can take the abuse I dish out for days on end. The competitions “blow molded” sleds have developed cracks and even torn gaping holes into the tub in my experience. With a perfect attack angle the Otter tub design eliminates the “snow plowing” effect you’ll curse about while trying to drag many of the competitions shacks.  Don’t forget the hyfax “skis” to provide a wear layer to extend the life of your tub regardless of manufacturer you choose.

SEATING: Options that match your style and level of comfort should be the norm, not the exception. With their choice of the lightweight, aluminum, “Cross Lock Seating System” with multi directional deluxe padded, swivel, bucket seats or the flip up, padded, bench seating, Otter has you sitting pretty. Fire up the Coleman heater/cooker in the corner, turn off the phone and add a footrest and they might have to send a search team to find you.

STRUCTURE: It sound’s simple enough yet Otter’s oversized square tube aluminum frame tent pole systems offer unmatched strength in the lightest, most sensible material available making huddling up inside a breeze-less endeavor. The take down is equally as efficient with the Otters. If it’s easy to move, you will be mobile and find active fish quicker; if your gear is more like an anchor you might live and die on a spot.

SHELL: The shell or tent is your enclosure that eliminates the wind chill factor and also heats right up if there is any sun out. You will literally be more comfortable in an Otter on ice than on open water exposed to the spring and fall elements with no place to hide. Otter has no match when it comes to this “S” as well with their “Industry Best” fully sewn and quilted, full thermal shacks boasting a 1200 denier shell utilizing a 3 layer system comprised with a tough 900 denier outer,  a warm high loft insulation layer and a 300 denier inner shell liner. Their innovative Thermal Top Shelter line with the industry first “Dual Layer” 650 denier shell provides maximum heat retention and reduces condensation from the roof as a more affordable option.

OK so now you have the tool box right for you to get the gear out on the ice safely. The next question is what goes in it?

AUGERS

The main difference between open water and ice fishing is the drill which makes the holes to get to the fish. This is a much smaller investment than that fancy boat you just winterized and put away in storage.

The industry standard and never resting on their laurels leader in this category, Strikemaster Ice Augers, has been my one and only choice going on 9 seasons. Offering the lightest, fastest, most reliable, dependable and efficient hole burning machines for generations. Strikemaster remains tops with their latest editions of the Honda 35CC LITE four strokes on the power auger side and the Lazer Synthetic Ultra-Lite hand augers available in 4” and 6” Models, have both lightened the load and increased economy of energy, both fueled or armstrong with these innovations. Coupled with the finest Swedish steel blades and American made components their innovations continue to maintain their position as the leader in the category. A cordless power drill with an auger adapter attached to the Lazer Synthetic UL  bits are one of the hottest setups for early and late ice or all season long for “Southerners of the ice belt” like myself here in Chicagoland. This is where a good season might see around 15” of ice in the middle of the season if we are lucky. One of the main reasons I run the 4 stroke is there is “NO SMOKE with the four stroke!” I drill hundreds of holes as I “fan cast” and “prowl” or “troll” on the ice some days and the last thing I want is to breathe in all those fumes as I pre-fish a tournament. The fuel efficiency for a gas auger is unmatched on the Honda costing around $0.65 to fill up at around $4 gal. If you are burning a tank of gas a day with the Honda you are a “prowler” and covering some serious ice. One of my favorite reasons to use the “Lazer” blades for my hand and power auger is the ability to cut open old holes. Remember which one you marked so you could find it next week? You can pop it right open and check to see if anybody is home quite easily with the Lazers.  One gas can does it all for my Polaris snowmobile, Strikemaster Honda auger and if you know me, for the truck… how convenient.

ICE RODS

Let’s face the facts, fish are cold blooded meaning their body temperature aligns with their surroundings. They are suffering brain freeze at levels you never want to. The water temps are generally in the high 30’s at best. How would you feel? Accepting the fact that there will be an abundance of light biting fishes nibbles to be detected we seek sensitivity and efficiency in this area as well. I strongly recommend some sort of “bite detection” system being employed to increase the number of bites you “SEE” because you might not feel them due to your likely less than warm hands. I am an advocate of the American-made St.Croix line of ice rods and particularly the Legend Ice Rods with the “spring bobber” or strike indicator developed by my friend and mentor Greg “the Prowler” Wylczinski. Over the course of 20 years he developed and finally patented what some claim is the most revolutionary, precise, sensitive and adjustable strike indicator system on the ice. Adjusting it to match any jig and lure weight and tipping the hand of nippers with the most sensitive and trouble free, permanently mounted strike indicator with incredibly strong solid carbon blanks have paved the way in the “Spring bobber” market.

Greg licensed St.Croix to produce them for the ’05 season. They are now available in numerous lengths from 17” all the way to 48” “long rods” for an aggressive standup style of fishing.  Long rods excel in shallow water without the need to reel, just dip the bait from hole to hole prowling for the most active biters with a set amount of line out. Shorter models in 24” and 30” are great for inside the shack and the 17” model offers elbow room for you sight fisherman.  Offering Gold or Silver editions depending on how much skin you want in the game with varying spring strengths, blank strengths, lengths, guide choices and handles that are like nothing on the market it’s best to feel them or see them in action to decide what works best for you. Winning the National championship in ’05, the Legend’s first season on the market was the best way for Mike McNett and I to repay our mentor for teaching us the “prowler” way. Taking home Gold Medals with the USA Ice team in 2010 at the World Ice Fishing Championships only proved that “the Best Rods on Earth” really are St.Croix Legend Ice Rods.

Bite detection is responsible for making good anglers look great.

Maybe you don’t want a spring… (I’m not sure why not, “springs” are the norm as I have fished in Europe, Asia and more and more here in North America among the “best anglers in the country and the world”) then it’s going to be tough to beat some “Tight Lining”, straight lining, or whatever some trendy company trying to grab the spotlight of this technique can be called. It utilizes a High vis line like the Suffix Ice Magic in 1-4# test paired up with the incredible sensitivity of the St.Croix Premier line of ice rods as the best alternative to a spring from what I have seen all across the ice belt. Pair it up with your choice of reels styles from some sort of “line twist minimizing”, level wind trend like the fly reels, “ice specific” newbies or the good old, hard to beat standby, the plastic Schooley reels at under $5 are enlisted by a cult like following and growing out of Michiganders according to legend. I’m a big fan of the Schooley because frankly, plastic doesn’t ice up and freeze when you drop the rod in the slush near a hole as you re-bait or land and unhook a fish. Metal reels are pretty much done for the day once slushed unless you’re in your Otter with a heater and can thaw them out.

Don’t spend all that money on the finest ice rods on the planet and then throw them in a bucket, left for dead… get a good rod bag like the St.Croix Ice Rod bag or checkout the new bags from Rapala’s ICE FORCE.

Presentations

Now it’s time to put on a show for the fish that peeks their carnivorous emotions to strike and tie on some lures. Confidence in what works is a major factor for every fisher every day on the water.

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery… Essentially the most often imitated and duplicated lures to ice more pan-fish in winters are never able to duplicate the originals unique actions, scent’s and fish attracting appeal. There are good reasons it’s hard to beat them aside from industry firsts and standards there is a combination of jigs and plastics that has completely changed the ice fishing market and the competition has again allowed the cream to continue to rise.

TUNGSTEN (wolfram) JIGS AND SOFT PLASTICS – Why? Tungsten weights 1.7 times heavier than traditional lead lures, providing a smaller package IF necessary OR more likely, a faster drop in a similar size package that gets you back down to the school of slabs much quicker than lead. Tungsten significantly maximizes efficiency of the “prowler” and icing more and bigger fish is a no brainer. A Fiskas jig paired with a Little-Atom plastic is the most killer, money winningest combo on the ice circuit here in the states and has the biggest companies entering the market the last few years with some inferior imitations. The truth is the price is long forgotten after the paint wears off your Fiskas jig. A unique alignment between Fiskas Wolfram lures of Sweden and Little-Atom’s Super Soft Scented Plastics coming together to win numerous North American Ice Fishing Championships since 2004 as well as a slew of other ice tourneys  has been a hard secret to keep. It has even caught the attention of fishers and major manufactures of ice lures across the ice belt. Changing perceptions of the “live Bait” crowd hasn’t been easy and more will convert, but as more companies enter this arena with knockoffs and more options the finest products always prevail. However, some anglers get turned off by failure of these inferior imitation products and resort back to the old standbys, despite similar, miserable results. The promise of clean eyes and super thin wire, chemically sharpened to a sticky point, Hiabatsu hooks penetrate quickly and effortlessly only to solidify my choice in Fiskas jigs. Check out “hole in the head” tungsten jigs if you want some of the most precise jigging instruments available.

Hand pouring plastic makes some of the softest, supplest baits available it’s no secret. Scenting them up encourages fish to hold on longer and a wide variety of proven, fish catching colors ensures to unlock lips like magic. Little-Atom provides all of that and then some with the finest and most unique baits for pan fish to ever try to be duplicated. The Nuggie tail from L-A is a sperm like tail that has proven to be the go to bait for many since hitting the market in ’04 and winning record setting amounts of money on ice. My latest go to favorite is the Jumbo Wedgee from L-A. It’s square and long tapering shape are easily rigged straight and can be shortened to oblivion as the fish chew it up or the fish tell you a smaller package is in order. When it comes to downsizing some Duppies and Skimpies from L-A are hard to beat as well. If you like custom colors not available anywhere else along with some other amazing outdoorsman products go see my friends at Sportsmen’s Direct. They offer L-A in unique, must have colors and a couple of Worm Bag options to hold all those plastics made just for panfish size worms.

HARD PLASTICS- In one bluegill tournament, on a shallow water weed bed bite, almost the entire top ten was using a lure unchanged since the ‘50’s; The Original Purist jig from Little-Atom. I heard a rumor and tied one on just in case I needed to “resort” to such measures despite never using one. Then I overheard some nearby competitors arguing over the “Purist” and while one spanked them the other broke off his last and wanted his buddies “spare”. It wasn’t happening, but I decided I’d give my Purist a try. I was sight-fishing in my shack all day and as I watched the Purist shimmy down for the first time I witnessed five or six bull gills butting heads fighting over it. That hadn’t happened all day! It was 11 am and we only had a couple hours to go and needed some more of those bulls. We added a few more that we needed on that Purist and we took 10^th to finally qualify for the championship in the last “front door” spot for the year. The Purist won more money in that one tournament than most other jigs combined, ever! The biggest advice I can offer aside from buying quality, proven plastics, hard or soft to gain confidence with them is to buy a selection of colors to switch between. You know your waters and the colors you traditionally like… get those and make sure you have a range of spectrum from natural tones to bright gaudy stuff to glow in the dark lures.  A good half a dozen colors of hard and soft plastics to switch between should be enough of a start to find the right combo that unlocks lips.

ELECTRONICS

While some manufacturers scramble to dress up their tired old tech with flashy flat screens and other bells and whistles to look like something new the fact is its just tired old tech. They too are getting their doors blown off with patented advancements and innovations that are not only pushing the limits of the competition technically and aesthetically but again by listening to anglers and providing alternatives that exceed expectations and leave the “old standards” shaking in their ice box.

MarCum fish finders and underwater cameras have raised the bar ever since entering the ice fishing world. They continue to step up to the plate with some of the most innovative digital designs coupled with their patented interference rejection system that alleviates interference associated with old tech.

While they have something for every budget and requirement I have fallen for the digital LX9 Combo Camera Flasher/Sonar unit that utilizes one screen… I’m not sure about you but I’m no one eyed cat watching two mouse holes. Focus breeds success and being able to have the sonar info layered over the camera image on one screen when you want to use both at once is mind-blowing.  It’s much more efficient, lighter weight and easier to transition from sonar to camera or both at once with the LX9 than anything else on the market. Using both together at once provides a quick study of the underwater terrain and bottom composition as well as fish mood and identification. Confirming what the sonar tells us with the aid of the camera allows us to learn to read the sonar more efficiently and depend on the camera for specific situations.  As an example; we arrive in a tournament town and want to learn what’s going on now as fast as we can. Working in amongst a local hotspot for starters gives us a good clue of the usual morning and evening bite. We can easily find fish by dipping the camera from hole to hole with the transducer down watching for signs of life or cover that deserves further inspection with some choice lures. If there are a lot of sniffers coming across I like to down view with the camera and then we can confirm ID and whether they deserve to be figured out or if it’s time to move along. Once you have learned how to trip their triggers and dialed in how and what they want on camera you can disconnect the cord and the storage bag housing the camera and cable and leave it in the Otter.  Without the camera now you should be able to take what you learn out of the shack and off camera while you “see it” on your MarCum sonar screen.

When it comes to electronics the MarCum sonar is a must have tool, it works in all water clarities and depths and would be the first choice. The most incredible entry level unit on the market would be the MarCum VX-1P at under $300. It offers a crisp real-time 3 color display of what’s below and bottom zoom with a wide angle transducer that can’t be beat when compared to anything else, period! The MarCum camera is more of a serious toy. With units for all price points as well compare side by side and see what you really get… No one else on the market has underwater cameras utilizing the latest Sony HAD II optics providing the most incredible images on the most daylight viewable screens with user friendly adjustments that can dial in the picture in most any waters you fish. MarCum offers Sony HAD units in more affordable information packed units as well, again, compare and it’s really a no brainer, the best bang for the best tech is MarCum tech.

Slip and Fall Safety

Ice is slippery, add some snow to the bottom of your boots, hit a slick spot and nothing is more likely to tragically end what is supposed to be a fun time in the outdoors with a trip to the ER for a tweaked back, broken arm, collar bone or worse.

MICROspikes from Kahtoola are literally the finest ice cleats I have ever used and they don’t do you any good in your truck or at the store. When compared to other similarly priced competitors’ products nothing beats Kahtoola’s patented design. I promise you, try any others and you will not find an equal, I already have done that for you. They stay put and guarantee against losing them for two years! You won’t have snow packing on them creating an even more slippery condition with their unique design. I never hit the ice without my MICROspikes on!

Whether you’re starting out or a veteran nothing is more frustrating than finding out the gear they promised would make fish pop out of holes and into your frying pans only disappointed with less than the promised results. I know I wish someone I trusted told me about ALL of the products on the market and how they compare before I made the wrong purchases, paid my dues and learned my lessons. In fact I have a corner in the basement dedicated to “dead dogs” and other crap I wasted my hard earned money on, just like you I’m sure. Making a minimal investment in a Legend Ice Rod or two and heading out with experienced ice fishers you trust that have the rest of the gear or finding a Guide like myself to take you and your friends out and show you the Prowler way and how all of the gear comes together as a complete system as well as a good time is always the best option for you ice-curious or frustrated with your gear choices types. Fishing is supposed to be fun and not frustrating. Just because the boat is away doesn’t’ mean you have to hibernate and work up a cabin fever waiting for things to thaw. Winter fishing can and should be more comfortable and enjoyable when you get it right. You can fish ALL YEAR!

Company Contacts:

• To book a guide trip or contact Tony- www.tonyboshold.com
• For more on St.Croix Legend Ice Rods – www.stcroixrods.com
• For more on Strikemaster, MarCum, Otter, Suffix and the rest of the Rapala ICE FORCE brands  – www.iceforce.com
• For more on Little-Atom and Fiskas of Sweden – www.yourbobbersdown.com
• For more on MICROspikes cleats and other crampons www.kahtoola.com
• For unique products and custom colors www.sportsmensdirect.com