I'd like to do some ice fishing on our puddle this year and I've never done it before.

What kind of gear should I use?

Where should I look for the fish? Shallow or deep?

I have the best luck in the deepest holes I can find. A simple ice fishing rod works just fine. I believe that the thinner rods work the best on the ponds (very whippy). I landed a 19 inch LMB out of my pond last year and had no problem with the rod. I use one pound test line, simple ice fishing jigs, and mousies for bait. I find that wax worms get pulled off too easily.

My best advice for beginners is not to use an open faced reel while ice fishing. Been there done that and absolutely hated it. Too many tangles will occur in real cold temps. Best reels to use are old bait casting reels or now, all I use are fly fishing reels. Great dependable reels for ice fishing and never any line tangles even for youngsters and novices. Install limp heavier line as backing and the last 40-80 ft is light monofilament 1 - 6 lb with 2 to 4 lb most common.

#1 tool needed. Ice picks for around your neck in case you go thru the ice.

I agree with that one 100% !!!, the rest of it is your choice!

Drowning has to be a bit more awful than being electrocuted!

The inline reels offer another benefit as well.....none of the dreaded line spin. Nothing turns off a wary BG faster than having your bait pirouette. I curently use spinning reels, and while I don't suffer the line issues that Bill spoke of, I do have to contend with a spinning jig...no good.

I think an inline reel will be joining my ice arsenal soon.

As far as fish location, for BG I start with the weeds...if it's early, and the weeds are still upright and green, I will fish the weedline and the outside edge. Later in the season, as the weeds die off I might move on out to deeper flats. You can start simple, but most ice anglers opt for sonar, or an underwater camera...or both.

I wouldn't hit the ice without my sonar. It adds a whole other element to the equation. However, in the early days I used just the basics, no electronics, and caught my dinner. Just by punching holes and hopping around until I found fish.

Once you get a taste of ice fishing, it soon becomes an obsession.

Thanks, guys.

What about lures and bait? I'm targeting my LMB as they still need to be culled.

Jigging Rapalas, 3"-4" Golden Shiners (live)

I'm sure others will have their favorites too.

For LMB, I would be tempted to use live bait on a tip-up.

For LMB try either live or dead (frozen) FHM, with live having a higher catch rate per hour especially with tip ups. Use on either a small ice jig or plain hook or as esshup mentioned on a small ice rapala or ice spoon.

For simple bait rigs, an open water reel will work well. put your bait to depth and attach a bobber. Dont forget to leave the cast button pushed so the hole pole wont go down the hole. some fish will be shallow some wont.

Lots and lots of info on ice fishing out there and many people go way over board.

Boco

For LMB I like setting bobber rigs with FHM in various depths with #6 tru turns. I will then hit several holes with a single rod rigged with 1/16 oz jighead tipped with FHM and hit all depths to try and find active fish, and what presentation they favor that day.

If you are trying to remove LMB, I assume you have a strong population. If that's the case, the fish will come to you, and will likely be very aggressive. In fisheries like that we had to bump down to only one rod/angler and caught dozens each. I lost 2 bobber rigs that day alone - keep your rods within reach or use a rod holder - don't just lay them on the ice - a 12" LMB can easily take it for a ride. They are tought to retrieve without a camera.

If he's targeting LMB, will other fish hit the FHM?

Great, thanks!

And I agree there is a lot of info on ice fishing out there, but a lot of it is for large impoundments. Fishing tips specific for small bodies of water are best found here

Any help on cold open water fishing would be helpful, too. I just spent two days fishing our near-freezing waters and no bites! I fished spoons and dropshots over the deep cover...nothing. I fished shaky head jigs with plastic worms, fingerling LMB or BG patterns in the shallows and got skunked there, too. I switched to a Senko as a last resort and still nothing.

On he other hand, I did see several decent-sized schools of YOY BG in the shallows, which is good news for our fishery. I also spooked a few 6" LMB sunning themselves in 4" of water but no bites.

It's probably time for me to invest in a BG trap and start live-lining them.

Live lining small BG for LMB should produce some results. LMB feed a lot less in 40F water so don't expect nearly the same catch per hour rate as in water above 55-60F. LMB in "winter" are likely most actively feeding during or at the end of a high pressure period of several nice days. Others?

Bill, I've found that following the solunar tables are even more important in winter than summer. Combine that with fishing pre-low front coming thru really increases your success.

Worthy of note here is this...The Massachusetts state record LMB was caught ice fishing in a pond with a golden shiner. And it was 15 lbs 8 oz. Wow. You might not want 4 to 6 lb test on when this one hits.

Try a Swishrod once. They won't fit down most holes depending on your auger size. While they were designed for deep water, they are excellent in shallows as well. Hub type reels are dirt simple and hand over hand fighting is quite fun.

http://www.swishrod.com/

I have plenty of experience ice fishing, but none targeting LMB. Looks like I'll have to stay tuned here and see what I can pick up.

Cold weather and soft bite can make bobber fishing tough. If the fish feel the resistance they'll spit it out. This is where a tip down rig comes in. A finely balanced tip down rig will allow you to cover more ground and give you more time to react to a bite.

A nice compact tip down rig is this one:

http://www.tipdown.com/

These are nice because they allow line to be pulled out if you get a runner. They are self resetting which can be a positive, but I prefer them to go over center and stay there in case you miss the action and the fish strips your bait.