In this post I will describe how this sport of ice fishing is done. Ice fishing in Wisconsin can be fantastic! Many people spend countless hours on the ice waiting to hear the scream "FLAG," meaning a tip-up has been triggered and a fish has swallowed their bait. As they race to grab the line before the fish lets go, all the while thinking, maybe it the monster fish I've been dreaming of!!

Monster Northern Pike

As you can see in the photo the reward can be fantastic. The whopper of a fish was caught by my good friend Rick. He pulled this huge Northern Pike through a 9" hole in the ice.

Here in Wisconsin the bitter cold temperatures causes the ice on many lakes and rivers to get thick enough to drive cars out on the ice. Here you can see we used a 4 wheeler to take our gear out to a good fishing location on the frozen lake. The ice on this particular lake on this day was 20" thick.

Once you find your desired location you unload your equipment. Using a gas powered ice auger, you drill through the ice into the water. Often we will pre-drill many holes at locations near where we are parked. We can then move from hole to hole if we aren't getting any action.

After you have the holes drilled, you clean the ice chunks from the hole and set your bait, for large fish you use a tip-up. Tip-ups are spring loaded so that if a fish grabs your bait, a flag raises up.

When we see a flag up, you run to the hole and feel the line for the fish. Once you know the fish still has your bait, you tighten the line, and pull hard setting the hook. Now you have to battle the fish and pull the line as you bring the fish in. You must be careful near the hole, don't want to get the fish caught sideways.

Huge Northern's like this are a blast to catch thru the ice.

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