Top 10 Ice Fishing Gifts

My wife and kids are often at a loss for what to buy me for birthdays, Christmas or any other reason they would by me a gift. I have put together my picks for the top 10 gift ideas for the ice fisherman. The average non-ice fisherperson doesn’t know the difference between the arrays of ice fishing items on the shelf. So I will break down a few things for you here to help you out in your buying decisions. Even if an ice fisherman has all the equipment listed below and has had his gear for more than 4 or 5 years he could certainly use an upgrade to some better more efficient equipment. So, here we go! 1) Gas Powered Ice Auger

The bottom line is that you need to make a hole in the ice before you can fish through it. And after using a manual auger for many years before I got my first power auger I realized how much time and energy I was wasting. If your ice fisherman doesn’t have an auger at all, a manual auger is a great way to start. For a die hard or someone who wants to be on the water a lot, go for the gas auger. They WILL love you for it.

2) Ice Fishing Sounder / Flasher

Most people do not have an ice flasher; I only recently realized what an amazing tool they are. Flashers can easily double your on ice catch rate. There are basic models and advanced models, I have a basic model and it is now one of he most important tools in my ice fishing arsenal. I no longer have many days that I get “skunked”

3) Portable Ice Tent

The ice fishing tents that are out on the market now days are fabulous units. They go up and down in minutes and are extremely lightweight. There are pull behind sled mounted units or ones that are moved in a large bag. An ice tent can take an average cold ice fishing trip and make it great, keeps you out of the wind and elements. The sled mounted units can often hold much of your equipment when traveling on the lake.
4) Underwater Camera

What better way to see what the fish are doing and how your lure is acting and how the fish respond to it than from a fish’s eye view? I didn’t think so! An underwater camera is probably my favorite tool that I take ice fishing. It is a great way to find underwater structure and tell what kind of fish are in it.

5) Propane Heater

A propane heater is the ultimate addition to any ice fishing tent. There are the old sunburst style heaters that many people use but, these units are extremely hot and not safe. There are a lot of new safe tent heaters that do not have any open elements and do not get nearly as hot on the surface, although they may not put out quite as much heat; they sure do a great job at taking the edge off when it is really cold out.
6) Handheld GPS

A GPS can be a real time saver for ice fisherman. A white frozen lake can be a navigational nightmare in a blizzard or at night, a GPS can get you on and OFF the lake safely. They are also very useful as a marker device, set waypoints wherever you find a great fishing spot and be able to get back there all the time, summer or winter.

7) Polarized Sunglasses

Polarized sunglasses are a huge help in bright winter condition, they prevent becoming snow-blind and will make your ice fisherman much more fashionable when out on the lake.

8) Handheld Depth Finder

How deep you are fishing can be critical when ice fishing and a handheld depth finder can really save a lot of time when on the water. Handheld depth finders are a lot like a flash light. You simply press onto the ice surface and click. They will reveal the depth right through the ice, No more drilling 30 holes to find just the right spot. 9) Tip Ups

Tip ups are an integral part of most ice fisherman’s arsenal. Every fisherman loves to get new tip ups. The round style insulated tip ups are getting more and more common all the time. They prevent snow from filling in your holes and also insulate to prevent holes from freezing over as quickly, but any tip up should make that ice fisherman in your life pretty happy.

10) Tackle, Tackle, Tackle

Every fisherman, ice fisherman, open water fisherman, salt water fisherman fly fisherman or other, they all love tackle that suits there fishing style. An ice fisherman will probably like any type of vertical jigs, jigging spoons, soft plastic baits and treble hooks. All are great options for hitting the hard water and catching fish.

Well, that concludes my perfect gift for your perfect fisherman article. Hopefully this helps and happy fishing!

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