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

There are several ways to land chunky northern pike during the winter months, but my favourite just may be fishing with tip-ups. Why? These simple devices are effective, inexpensive and easy to use, plus they allow for a really fun day on the ice with other anglers. Here’s a closer look at ice fishing for big toothy critters with tip-ups, including where, when and how to use them.

TIP-UP TUTORIAL

If you’re unfamiliar with the tip-up, it’s a simple mechanical device that does two things: suspend a bait under the ice, then signal when a fish takes that bait. Tip-ups come in a variety of shapes and styles, from those with simple wooden or plastic frames (above left), to circular models shaped to keep the ice hole from freezing over (above right). Whatever the case, they’re all designed to sit over top of an ice-fishing hole without falling through. They also have a spring-loaded flag that pops up, or sometimes a bell, to signal a bite.

Some tip-ups have a spool of fishing line built into them, which typically hangs down the hole and into the water, where it won’t freeze. This set-up means that when a fish takes the bait, it can swim away and pull out line without feeling any resistance. To land the fish, you pull in the line using the time-honoured hand-over-hand retrieval technique. If battling a fish by hand isn’t for you, there are models such as Clam’s Arctic Warrior (above centre) that work with any ordinary ice rod and reel. And when you have a large pike on the line, that can make for a very fun fight.