There are some anglers who still want to fish during the winter, even under the cold and icy waters. It is true that less fish overall are active, thanks to the temperature drop causing them to be more lethargic, but that doesn’t automatically discourage the anglers who are determined to get a good catch.
Luckily, ice fishing is relatively easy to get into, whether you have held a rod in your hands before or not. It may be a specialized form of fishing, but at the end of the day, it is still fishing. Regular fishing and ice fishing share quite a lot in common, but ice fishing has a lot of distinct factors that make it stand out, nonetheless.
Some anglers may be curious about whether or not a regular fishing rod works for ice fishing. Believe it or not, ice fishing uses its own specialized rod as well. Specialized equipment for a specialized sport. This increases the effectiveness of catching fish, of course. But how will regular fishing rods fare in this regard?
How does a regular rod differ from an ice rod?
There are a lot of factors, surprisingly. While they look identical and function similar enough, they have a good number of differences to differentiate the two.
For instance, as ice fishing has the angler drop the line down a hole instead of “throwing” it like they would with a regular rod, this means that the length of ice rods overall will be much shorter than that of a regular one. Then there are the materials. Ice lines are more flexible and loose under icy water, which is perfect for the environment of ice fishing. However, it will stiffen up on any other body of water without ice, making them fit for a very specific niche.
To sum it all up, ice rods differ from regular rods by being specific and going hard on their niche. While regular rods are more catch-all and can be used in different fishing areas, ice rods are restricted to being used only in ice fishing, due to its nature. However, as a result, this makes them much more effective at their job in catching fish under the ice in comparison to a regular fishing rod.
Can you fish with a regular fishing rod on the ice?
Simply put, yes. As mentioned earlier, regular rods are flexible in terms of usage, and ice fishing is something that these rods can handle. It may be a little difficult to get used to, however, due to the differences that a regular rod has with an ice rod, such as length, but still.
Here are a couple of important pointers that you can and should take note of that will help you greatly while ice fishing with a regular rod:
- Use your shortest rod with a light line. As mentioned earlier, ice rods are much shorter than regular rods. It is likely that even your shortest rod will still be much longer than the longest ice rod, but you can make do with it. Your biggest enemy here will be the edge of the ice hole. While fishing in other aspects encourage you to let the fish move wherever, ice fishing does not have the same luxury, as the edge of the hole is jagged and sharp from the ice. If the fish is allowed to drag your line there, it is in danger of snapping. This is why you want to have a short rod. The longer your fishing rod, the more difficult it will be to control the fish, especially if you are at a distance.
- Make sure the rod is sensitive as well. You need every bit of help as there are a lot of factors that make it much more difficult to detect fish movement and bites through icy water. The cold temperature can distract you and your body on the surface. Meanwhile, the fish underwater are more docile and less likely to bite, and even if they do, they are unlikely to latch on for long, all without you even noticing that they were there.
- Use a deadstick rod if you can. Since ice fishing involves a lot of vertical fishing (owing to the fact that you drop the lure on the water instead of “throwing” it like you would in other forms of fishing), you will want your approach to be more subtle to get the lethargic fish’s attention. Using live bait will help here, as you will be able to keep the rod stationary while also have the ability to see fish that may bite better.
If you have a regular rod and aim to get into ice fishing, it is highly encouraged to try out ice fishing with it first, as it would help give you a good idea on how ice fishing works and what to expect when you do so. You might even be able to get a good catch with it, and if you think that ice fishing might be a good fit for you, you can then invest on an ice rod.