Ice-fishing Friday: Your complete guide to catching big northern pike with tip-ups

ICE LIVEWELLS

When fishing for pike with tip-ups, the chances are good you’ll catch some true lunkers. These are prime, breeding-class fish, so you need to look after them when they come topside, then safely release them to spawn. One way to help ensure each fish remains healthy is to create an on-ice livewell, which lets you keep the fish in water as you remove the hooks, measure it and get your camera ready. On particularly cold days, this also helps prevents the pike’s eyes and skin from freezing, and eliminates injuries from rolling on the ice.

Once the hooks are removed and you measure the fish, you simply lift it from the livewell, snap a couple of pictures, then release it. For the quickest release possible, keep your tools, measuring devices and camera nearby (below).

To make an on-ice livewell, drill five or six overlapping holes about 18 inches deep without breaking right through. Drill the last hole until it breaks through, however, so the livewell fills up with water. Once you clear out the ice chips and slush, it’s ready to use. Just be sure to place the fish in the livewell with its head facing away from the deeper hole.

Since these on-ice livewells are relatively shallow, they’ll typically freeze shut overnight. If you think it might not freeze over, however, mark it with some sticks, branches or flagging tape so no one drives over it, or breaks an ankle.

For more on ice livewells, see www.outdoorcanada.ca/icelivewell.