The Bare Minimum for Ice Fishing

When it comes to ice fishing you can have loads and loads of gear and toys or the just bare minimum and still catch lots of fish. It’s great to have power augers, portable ice huts, heaters, tip-ups, ice rods, fish finders, underwater cameras and all sorts of other ice fishing luxuries, but don’t limit yourself to needing these things. Most of the time when I go out ice fishing I have many of these luxuries, but I’m not dependant on any of them. During the winter months I like to keep the few things I need to fish in my jacket pocket so that at the spur of the moment I’m ready to go.

It’s February again and almost time for our annual trip to the Temagami area. We generally encounter the full spectrum of species available when we fish this region, but the two species that seem to go hand in hand are whitefish and lake trout. Targeting either of these fish will usually result in a few of the other. Over the years I’ve tried different methods to efficiently target both whities and lake trout with one line. Here’s a simple rig that has always worked well for me and can also be used in shallower water for pike and pickerel (walleye).