Jeff Kelm, a.k.a. Hardwater-Angler , is a member of the USA Ice Team which will be competing for the World Championship of Ice Fishing in Kazakhstan February 6-12.  Here is a guest blog by Jeff in which he reveals one of his secrets for success.

If you have ever sat directly over your ice hole in shallow clear water (sight fished) and noticed how your lure and bait is presented to the fish then chances are you have noticed your lure will spin as you stop it or maybe even jig it. It causes a very negative reaction from the fish, more often if it is a very tough bite situation.

The occurrence of line twist is frequently in users of spinning reels, which
revolutionized ice fishing over a decade ago, but some experts are questioning
if they are a good choice for use while fishing for panfish.

The reason for the twist is simple to explain, as the line is wound around the
spool by the bail, it twists it as to avoid a reversed coil on the spool. The
problem then is the coil is much more pronounced as the line is released, and
it must work itself out, starting at the end of the line, your bait. Much hype
is give to fishing line that hold less memory, due to the fact that many
anglers use these spinning reels and these coil create large problems.

Anglers have gone to interesting lengths to avoid line twist at the bait, the
most common technique is adding a swivel to the line 18-24” up from the bait.
For very obvious reasons this does not seem like the greatest idea when fishing
with small jigs for panfish. The addition of the swivels is two-fold problem.
It is two extra knots between you and the fish and a significant weight between
the rod tip and your bait. This causes the action of your jig to be
dramatically reduced. When you jig with a swivel on the line your jigging the
swivel much more then you jig the lure.

Other ways anglers have attempted to reduce line twist is to “pre-stretch” the
fishing line. It works to an extent, if you’re using Monofilament. With the
introduction of Fluorocarbon, and other polymer line, the “pre stretch” method
is much less affective due to the fact that these lines have virtually no
stretch. It in fact can have the opposite effect on some lines by expanding the
molecules and making it curl up causing all kinds of tangles.

The easiest way to avoid line twist is to use a reel that allows the line to
roll on and off the spool straight. Many fishermen today have begun to use Fly
Fishing reels on their ice rods to allow themselves to have a drag system and
take advantage of the straight on and off action of the line. The styles of fly
reels are virtually never ending but ones I enjoy using are the Okuma SLVs in
4/5 weight. The weight sometimes is an issue, and you will have to learn to
grip the rod differently than you would an ice rod with a spinning reel.

The best way I have found to avoid line twist, keep the weight on the combo
down and still give me the versatility of fishing water 5-40’ is using the old
standard ice reels. Yup, those old plastic ones found on ice fishing rods for
the last 60 years. Simple, cheap and highly affective. In fact many of the top
anglers on the North American Ice Fishing Circuit use these ice reels. The ice
reels are easy to use, light weight and readily available, any box store with
even a limited selection of fishing equipment will have them for sale.

Nearly all my rods are set-up with the HT Enterprises ice reels, modified to
fit the way I would like to fish. I modify them slightly to allow me to reel in
more line per turn. I start with a standard ice reel, wrap 3/16” wide closed
cell foam (weather stripping) around the reel 5-7 times, filling it nearly to
the top. Then I take a good electrical tape, you don’t want “Cheap” stuff for
this, and begin to wrap the foam with the electrical tape, applying quite a bit
of pressure so that I have a solid base for my line to rest on. When completed
I end up getting 8-9.5” of line spooled onto the reel every turn. That’s as
good as a spinning reel with a 5:1 ratio and I don’t worry about line twist.

There are ice fishing reels available that are specifically designed to have a
large arbor, wrapping as much line as you can to allow you to fish fast and in
deeper water comfortably. There are also manufactures offering combos that are
equipped with a small fly reel specifically designed for ice fishing.


Get rid of the spinning reel, certainly get rid of the darn swivel and go back
to basics. Line twist hurts your presentation and hurts your fishing. Let’s
UN-do the twist!

The commercially available ice shelters provide great functionality at very affordable prices but they can’t match the uniqueness in design or color schemes of homemade ice shelters.  

Homemade or modified shelters are equipped with whatever the maker decided they wanted. A door, windows, a table, a heat source and even beds can be found inside them. There are even companies who have taken the home made shelter to a new level and offer commercially made shelters that are like hard sided trailer/campers you see in campgrounds.

If you are looking to make ice fishing at little bit easier and more comfortable, you might consider an ice shelter either store bought or home made. To see a variety of ice shanties check out the ice shanty photo album on the AmericanFishingContests.com Facebook page. Comment about your favorites or post pictures of others that you have seen. AmericanFishingContests.com, find one to attend.  

Every year at this time we hear about people making a New Year’s resolution. More often than not the resolution is to begin some activity that is commendable but hard to follow through on. People say they will quit smoking, or lose weight, or save more money. Many people try, but most fail in their efforts. I think the reason for failure is that the process of quitting smoking or losing weight is not fun. If you’re looking for a New Year’s resolution that is fun and easy to achieve, make fishing your New Year’s resolution.

Fishing is fun for so many reasons. From the anticipation of the outing, to taking a road trip to a favorite spot or to a place you may have never been, to breathing fresh air, to seeing natures landscape, to feeling a fish on the end of your line, to landing a fish and seeing what kind it is and how big it is. Fishing is also easy to do. It doesn’t require a lot of expensive equipment and places to fish are numerous. 

This time of year in northern states ice fishing is a popular and growing activity. I’ve found it a great excuse to get out of the house and enjoy the outdoors during winter. If you’re looking to see what ice fishing is all about, the North American Ice Fishing Circuit (NAIFC) holds events in seven different states. They have seminars that anyone can attend. You’ll learn about equipment, techniques how to target and catch different fish and even get a chance to fish. Parents can also take their children to a kid’s seminar where tutorials are given, kids get a chance to fish and they receive products that can be used on future outings.

If you’ve never gone fishing or haven’t for some time, a quick way to get started is to contact a local fishing club, bait store or your states department of natural resources.   Any one of these can help you determine where to go and what you may need to get started.  AmericanFishingContests.com has links to many organizations. To find one near you, simply go to the “Find Contests” tab, click on your state and then click on several of the fishing contest links until you find one that suits you.

You may think that you need a boat to go fishing but, that is not the case. Many parks have fishing piers or just find a comfortable spot along a river or lake and fish from shore.  Surf or shore fishing along the east and west coasts and the Gulf of Mexico is another form of fishing where a boat is not needed.

 If you’d like to fish from a boat ask a friend or neighbor who has one to help introduce you to fishing. Another option would be to hire a fishing guide. All you have to do is show up since guides typically provide everything you need to catch fish. By asking them questions you’ll learn more and find out tips that help make them successful.

Fishing can also help you achieve other New Year’s resolutions you may have made like helping the environment. Visit the Recycled Fish web site and find out how they are helping to protect our valuable natural resources and how you can help.