Ice Fishing With Tip Ups For Late Season Northern Pike (Last Ice Smashfest)

Northern pike are among the first freshwater fish to spawn each spring. The toothy predators begin their mating process shortly after the ice clears or when water temperatures reach above 40 degrees. Near my home waters in central Wisconsin, the gamefish season ends March 1st which means the last few weeks in February is the best time for me to chase prespawn pike through the ice.

Late season ice anglers looking to score should target shallow bays, flats with vegetation, or weed edges, and the easiest way to catch pike through the ice is with a tip-up.

What Is A Tip-Up?

A tip-up is a device that allows anglers to effectively fish from a distance as they deploy natural baits below the ice. Braided line is almost exclusively spooled to tip-ups which is then paired with hooks, swivels, weights, and typically a fluorocarbon or steel leader. You can get more detailed from there, but that's the basics. After rigging a tip-up, anglers add some type of natural bait. The most popular method is rigging a lively minnow and suspending it 1-2 feet off the bottom but anglers also use dead minnows, worms, and cut bait set at various depths. The trap is tripped when a fish strikes the bait, allowing the tip-up flag to swing up and alert onlooking anglers. The spool of the braided fishing line has very little resistance, so the fish can swim freely with the bait until the angler comes and sets the hook.

If You've Got Good Ice, Go Catch Pike

On a warm day in late February, I targeted northern pike from a small Wisconsin river that provides fishable ice only after a very cold and long winter. Since we've dealt with a bitterly harsh winter this year, I had a hunch that this spot might be fishable and decided to check it out. After confirming my suspicion, I texted my brother and locked in our plans for the next day.

Safety First

I checked the ice with the tool known as a spud bar which is a steel pole typically measuring between 4-5 feet with a jagged chisel welded to the end of it. Spud bars are used to check ice thickness by smashing the chisel end into the ice repeatedly. Spud bars are an essential safety tool and should be used whenever dealing with questionable ice conditions. Start from shore and hit the ice hard in the same area multiple times with the chisel end. If the ice doesn't bust through after continuous wacks, you can feel much safer about walking on it. Always, fish with a friend, bring safety gear, and check the ice conditions before venturing out. As they say in the scouts - be prepared.

Double Deadsticks

Anyways, back to fishing - In Wisconsin, you're allowed three lines per person, which meant my brother and I could run six tip-ups in total. But since we forgot two tip-ups at home, we ran four tip-ups and two deadstick rods to round out the six-line limit.

The deadstick rods consisted of two medium-powered spinning rods spooled with ten-pound braided line, a small circle hook, a slip bobber, and a few split shot weights. We set the drag loose on the ice reels so that fish could take the bait easily without resistance, and then we'd tighten up the drag before setting the hook.

Pike-A-Palooza

After setting all six lines and waiting no more than ten minutes, I noticed a bobber on a deadstick rod had completely disappeared, and when I looked up to the rod tip, I could see it slightly bent over. I grabbed the rod, tightened up on the drag, and slowly leaned into the fish with a sweeping hookset. Immediately, it started ripping line while making a strong run directly towards the underwater brush pile set to the side of our hole. I gave the fish "the beans," as they say, and fought it aggressively before bringing it topside and into my hands. Once I landed the pike, we heard the pop of another flag being tripped and then noticed the fourth tip-up flag in the row of six waving in the air.

My brother got up and made his best impression of Usain Bolt as he sprinted across the ice. The fish he landed was smaller, but it had ripped out an impressive amount of line in a short amount of time, a telltale sign of a little pike.

On With The Onslaught

The action continued throughout the day, with fish popping up every few hours. By sundown, we landed seven fish between us, two of which came home and will be shared with family or friends. While keeping safety in mind, late-season pike fishing can be the best big fish action of the ice season. Just remember to please be safe and always fish with a buddy or in my case, a brother.