What Do You Need to Safely Fish in Arctic Weather?

When it comes to fishing, there are many ways to experience it. You can relax by a lake with your rod, try some fly fishing by the stream, or even some ocean fishing on a boat. Then there are some of the more unique types of fishing, such as ice fishing. Ice fishing is unique in the sense that you’re essentially walking in the middle of a body of water to fish. It may seem dangerous at a glance, but if you’re prepared enough for the trip, it’s quite fun.

You must, however, never underestimate mother nature. Things can go south very quickly, and you’ll need to be prepared in the event that the worst happens. With these tips, you can safely ice fish in Arctic weather. 

WHAT YOU NEED WHEN FISHING IN THE ARCTIC

Hand auger

To actually fish beneath the ice, you’ll need to make a hole to pass a line through. Of course, hacking away at the ice is incredibly dangerous, as you may end up cracking far more ice than you wanted. To safely make a hole in the ice, you’ll need a special drill tool known as a hand auger. As the name suggests, you use your own manpower to drill a hole in the ice. It’s a pretty tiresome process, but it’s very safe and easy to do as long as you have the energy to do it.

At least one person in your group should bring a hand auger for your ice fishing trip. You should also leave the act of using the auger to either the most experienced or the most physically-able person in the group.

Ice fishing sled

Sleds are pretty useful when it comes to traversing icy areas, and this is especially true when traveling over frozen lakes and other bodies of water. Ice fishing sleds let you carry all your essentials in one neat location. You can either drag the sled yourselves or with the help of some sled dogs. 

Ice fishing sleds are specially designed for ice fishing. In the event that the ice cracks, the sled won’t sink — it’s designed to disperse its weight evenly enough that it will stay afloat as long as no water enters the hull of the sled. Aside from this, ice fishing sleds can easily move across the frozen surface of lakes and other bodies of water.

Smartphone, transceiver, and batteries

Finally, you’ll want to make sure that you can maintain communication with the outside world in the event that something happens. As mentioned earlier, things can go wrong very quickly, and if you’re not lucky you may end up trapped or stranded somewhere. To make sure you can get out safely, you’ll want to call for support as soon as possible. Keep your smartphone charged and bring extra power banks to keep it at full capacity when necessary. If you don’t think you’ll get good reception where you’re headed, then you may want to bring a transceiver or walkie-talkie instead. Just be sure you have some way of contacting others so that you won’t be left on your own when the worst comes to worst.