Comfortable temperature marks for ice fishing

[spinN'flyfish]

Hey would like to ask what would be the minimum temperature to ice fish the river or the lake to have comfort and sufficient warmth without a shack (when ice fishing a lake)? I don't have a shack yet and I also plan to fish rivers with my fly rod for the first time this year. Hope this thread will eventually help others too.

[WayneChristie]

depends on if you are wearing a birthday suit or an insulated ice fishing suit. if the former please post your lake so the rest of us can go somewhere else! :scared0018: if you are ice fishing the river with a flyrod you better be very proficient with getting your little bait in a hole from a distance

[Flieguy]

bear in mind that below 0 your guides will freeze up on a fly rod, I go out anyways.

my minimum for fly fishing is about -10

my minimum for ice fishing in my unheated shack is about -30

and for ice fishing outside it's more of the wind than the cold that bothers me....

[Pikebreath]

bear in mind that below 0 your guides will freeze up on a fly rod, I go out anyways.



Guides will still freeze a few degrees above zero,,, waving the rod back and forth creates a wind chill effect. You need temps in the +3 to +5C range to avoid icing.

[Redfrog]

It is fairly simple to set up a sled for icefishing with no shelter. A pop up windbreak and a small heater makes a big difference.

[Kim473]

No tent, no wind = -15 sun shining.
No tent, windy = -10 or warmer with the sun shining. No sun = -5 or warmer.

These are just guids for myself.

Just go out side with your gear on and sit on a plastic pail for an hr or two and see for your self. Read a book or something.

Get your self a tent = very happy in most, if not all weather.
Wind chill will kill your day.

[spinN'flyfish]

No tent, no wind = -15 sun shining.
No tent, windy = -10 or warmer with the sun shining. No sun = -5 or warmer.

These are just guids for myself.

Just go out side with your gear on and sit on a plastic pail for an hr or two and see for your self. Read a book or something.

Get your self a tent = very happy in most, if not all weather.
Wind chill will kill your day.

bear in mind that below 0 your guides will freeze up on a fly rod, I go out anyways.

my minimum for fly fishing is about -10

my minimum for ice fishing in my unheated shack is about -30

and for ice fishing outside it's more of the wind than the cold that bothers me....



Great info.... Thanks! don't plan to get a heater this year but hope a simple ice shack I can consider purchasing soon will give me comfort from the wind and -30 or -20 temps. -10 doesn't sound to bad, plus backcasting is a good workout. Just the freezing. And -15 sounds cold but with a decent jacket should be good. Thanks for the advice folks, as I'm a fly fishing newb. Hope the weather isn't too bad in the next few weeks, I'm just waiting for a tight line! :sHa_shakeshout: