What kind of gear and bait would I need to do some ice fishing in the BWCA? I have small gear for farm pond bluegill and crappie around Iowa, but would tip ups be better? How do you keep minnows from freezing overnight? How deep should I look for lakers this time of year?
You’d be better off with frozen minnows as opposed to trying to lug around a full minnow bucket. Panfish gear won’t work for lake trout. You can get away with walleye rods for most inland lakers. Frozen smelt on a tip up is the standard lake trout rig. I rarely use bait for lake trout. Soft plastics, namely tube baits and twister tails are popular. Jigging rapalas and rattle traps are good as well.
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