There are some things that are hard to come by from magazines or books.  You just gotta get out there and do it yourself.

That’s why it’s so darned important to consider hiring a guide if you’re about to try a new form of angling.  This is especially true if the fishing spot is in a different part of the world and at a time when you normally hang out by the fireside instead of a lake or river.

There are spots around the country right now cold enough to make a polar bear search for a heating pad.  If you’ve ever hung your ear muffs in a state like Wisconsin you know what I’m talking about.

But does a frozen lake mean you can’t fish?  No way!  Let me introduce you to a veteran Wisconsin guide who can and does put his clients on fish this time of year.  What’s more, he often uses Mack’s Lure products to get the job done.

You have to know what you're doing to handle one like this when you're fishing through the ice.  Veteran Wisconsin guide David Lemke has the skills to do it.

The guide I’m talking about is David Lemke.  David operates the Soaring Eagle Guide Service out of Appleton, Wisconsin.  He’s got 25 years experience fishing trout and 20 years seeking those elusive walleyes.  David’s the kind of guy you want to listen to if you want to learn those neat little tricks it’s so hard to come by on your own.

I’d like to share some of Dave’s ice fishing secrets.  They deal with the techniques he uses for his ice fishing tip-ups.  Dave will tell you that he’s tested his approach by moving a rig of his own design from a spot where he had been catching walleyes to a different spot where he had been fishing without success using a traditional plain hook and minnow.

“After I switched spots with the different set ups,” he says, “I started catching walleyes with my special rigs where I’d been getting skunked using a plain hook and minnow.”  Lemke is fully aware a plain hook and minnow will catch fish.  But like the rest of us, he wants to bend the odds in his favor if he can. 

Dave will tell you that he’s caught just about all of the game fish species available with the special approach he uses for fishing through the ice.  Let’s look first at the way he sets up the rigs he’s talking about.

“I spool my tip-ups with braided ice fishing line,” Dave says, “and I use from 15 to 30-pound test.  The braided line stands up to the sharp edges of ice that can cut monofilament line.  When you catch a bigger fish, you will be pulling on the line to bring the fish in, but then you may have to let the fish have line to avoid breaking your leader.  As you let that line out with a slight tension to tire the fish, the line you just pulled in will be laying on the ice and its sharp edges.  This is where braided line will keep you in the game.”

Lemke got this walleye through the ice while using a Mack's Lure Glo Hook.

This experienced Wisconsin expert also says you need to put a line marker on the braided line.  The marker is used to mark the amount of line you have out to fish at a certain depth.  After a fish is caught, just reel in the line to the marker.  You can resume fishing without having to again check the depth.

“I have used all different type of markers,” Dave says, “but a Mack’s Lure Stop Knot works the best.  You can slide it up and down the line as you fish at different depths.  Leave the tag ends on knot so you can retighten it necessary be.” 

Because braided line is more visible than monofilament it might spook fish.  That’s why Lemke often uses leaders that he has pre-rigged.  “I tie a snap swivel at the end of my braided line,” he says.  “This lets me change leaders quickly when it’s necessary.”

Dave also always attaches a barrel swivel to the end of his pre-rigged leaders.  When he wants to change his leader set ups all he has to do is open the snap at the end of his braided line and snap it into the barrel swivel at the end of his leader.

Dave Lemke uses both Mack’s Lure Glo Hooks and Smile Blades on his special ice fishing rigs.  I’ll detail how he goes about it in my next column.

-To Be Continued-