How to Attach Fishing Line to Tip-Ups

Instructions

1

Purchase a spool of 30- to 40-pound test braided ice-fishing line from your local tackle shop. These types of lines come coated or braided to be much thicker, more visible and easier to handle than the typical monofilament lines. Choose a colored line that you will be able to see easily as you look through the hole drilled in the ice. Tan is one of the more visible colors and a good option for beginning ice anglers. You will be able to look at it as it comes off your tip-up's reel and tell if a fish took the bait.

2

Hold the tip-up reel spool so that it cannot spin or move and tie the end of your ice-fishing line around the spool with an arbor knot. Clip back the end of the knot with a pair of nail clippers.

3

Place the spool of new ice-fishing line at your feet between your legs and sit down in a chair. Hold the tip-up's reel spool with your thumb tightly on the point where the knot meets the surface of the spool. This will permit you to wrap some line around the spool without the knot or the line spinning around the smooth spool's surface. Make about five or six wraps with the line before releasing your grip on where the knot meets the spool.

4

Grip the edge of the tip-up's reel spool with one hand so that the spool cannot spin and begin to wrap the new line around the spool using your other hand. This method will assure that you evenly distribute the line around the spool. Go slowly to avoid the line twisting as it comes off the new spool. Wrap the new line tightly around the tip-ups spool.

5

Wrap the line around until you have at least 25 yards of line on your tip-up's reel spool. You can be exact with this amount by measuring a foot of line when you first begin to wrap it around after the first few wraps. Once you know how much line is in a foot, determine how many wraps it takes to get that one foot around the line. Do the math to figure out how many wraps you will require to put 25 yards of line on the tip-up. For example, if it takes four wraps around to put one foot on the spool, you will need 300 wraps around to put on the 75 feet that makes up the 25 yards.

6

Cut the line when you have enough on your tip-up and tie on any terminal tackle such as leaders, swivels and/or hooks.

Bass Fishing Tips for Michigan

Spring

Spinnerbaits, crankbaits and plastic worms are your best baits during the spring. During this time, bass move into shallower and warmer weather for spawning and for a greater food supply. For bigmouth bass, fishing in murky water or on cloudy days are best, along with using a shallow-water flip technique. For smallmouth bass, gravel points and submerged hump locations will be your best bet for finding a school. Lake Huron, on the east border of Michigan, with more than 23,000 square miles, and is home to bass, walleye, crappie, and many other species of fish.

Summer

During the hot summer months, crankbaits, jigs and plastic worms will be your best baits. Both small and largemouth bass will be in shallow water during the morning, and move into deeper water as the sun rises. Largemouth bass may need to go as deep as 60 feet, depending on the depth of the lake. Smallmouth bass will be drawn to lures that resemble crawfish, as it's their favorite prey during this time of year.

Fall

Largemouth and smallmouth bass will hide in shallow to moderately deep water during mornings and evenings, and during the day move into deep water. Spoons and jigs are the best bait to use in deep water. Lake St. Clair in Northern Michigan is a popular destination for smallmouth bass, with some caught coming in around 6 pounds.

Winter

During colder weather, bass are less active and moving your lure in a slow motion will draw the attention of the fish. Jigs, pork baits and plastic worms are the best baits for large and smallmouth bass. Again, fish will collect in shallow water during mornings and go deeper into the lake as the day continues.

Tips for Using Rubber Worms for Bass Fishing

Select Bio Salt

Like everything else in fishing, technology is constantly evolving the lures. As simple as the rubber worm appears to be, some companies have begun producing rubber worms that are more advanced and therefore more effective in many instances.

Selecting a rubber worm made with "bio-salt" will help you attract more fish and make that wiggling worm irresistible to bass. According to the NGC Sports website, certain rubber worm lures are coated in this substance making them particularly flavorful to the fish. The bio-salt simulates the salty content of baitfish that bass prey on in the water. The fish will be attracted to your lure and be more likely to take it if you choose one of these "scented" or "flavored" versions.

Choosing Colors

If you've been to any bait shop and looked at the artificial lures you have noticed the rainbow of colors that rubber worms and other lures are produced in. This is not a fashion statement. The colors are actually useful for attracting fish in different water conditions, although most people just experiment with them until they find one that catches a fish.

Save the trial and error effort and go straight for the right color. It's a good idea to have several types in your tackle box, but pull out the ones that fit the conditions at that moment.

If the water is clear, go with a green worm, pumpkin seed worm or a black or blue variety of rubber worm, according to Fishin.com. If the water is a bit cloudy and dingy then go for the purple or red worm. If the water is extremely muddy, it is a good idea to choose a worm that will cause some vibration in the water. Try a worm with a fat ribbon tail that will allow the fish to feel the movement even if they can't see it.

Texas Rig In Shallow Water

Tie your worm on with a method known as a Texas rig and fish it in shallow water for best results, according to Family-Outdoors.com.

Make a Texas rig by sliding a small bullet sinker on the line with the wide part facing the end of the line. Tie on an offset worm hook at the end of the line and clip the excess line. Slide the head of the rubber worm onto the hook and ease it over the hook until the head completely covers the hook. The hook will protrude from the worm below the head when it is slid into place. Take the barb of the hook and stick it back into the belly of the worm without letting the hook break the surface on the other side. This rig will keep the lure from hanging in weeds or other objects.

Fish the Texas rig very slowly across the bottom near good cover in depths of two to 10 feet for best results.

Saginaw River Ice Fishing Tips

Use Fishing Lures by Location

The website All About Fishing recommends jigs, spoons and crankbaits, which work well in the deep structure of the river. Walleye prefer Swedish Pimples, Jigging Rapalas, Rocker Minnows and leadhead jigs, which work best from Vets Park to the Tittabawassee and Shiawassee Rivers' confluence.

Know What Time of Day to Fish

The website Travels recommends fishing for walleye after dark or at dusk along the shallow flats near the sides of the river's mouth. The website All About Fishing recommends trying shallow depths in the morning, but as the sun rises, moving into deeper waters, while the website Saginaw Bay finds that fish will bite all day on the Saginaw River, but early morning and late evening are best.

Know What Time of Year to Fish

Ice fishing for walleye and other fish on the Saginaw River is best in early- to mid-January, but it can be at any time of the year that occurs after several weeks of subfreezing temperatures, according to the Michigan Sportsman magazine website. Some walleyes enter the Saginaw River from the Saginaw Bay in the fall and spend the winter in the river, while others travel to the river throughout the winter. The website Saginaw Bay recommends late December through mid- to late February, as long as weather conditions are right.

Know Where to Drop Your Line

When ice fishing on the Saginaw, one of the safest bets is Wicks Park, which is near the Shiawassee and Tittabawassee Rivers' confluence. According to the website Saginaw Bay, areas near other ice fishermen are usually the safest to fish. Other popular access areas include Vets Park in Bay City and the Department of Natural Resources ramp at the mouth of the river.

Avoid the Bay City Power Company

The Bay City Power Company area of the Saginaw River should be avoided during ice fishing season, according to the website Travels, which reports that the power company discharges warm water into the river up to five miles east of the city, which warms the water and makes ice fishing difficult.

Keep Your Lure Near the River's Bottom

The website Travels recommends staying close to the bottom of the Saginaw River and Bay when ice fishing, with six inches or less from the bottom a good rule of thumb.

How to Make Homemade Ice Fishing Tip-Ups

Instructions

1

Make a cross. Place the center of the thick dowel across the thin dowel at a point approximately 4 inches from the end.

2

Wrap the fishing line around the dowel and then tie a knot to keep the dowels together.

3

Tie the strip of cloth to the long end of the 1/4-inch dowel with fishing line.

4

Attach the line to the short end of the 1/4-inch dowel.

5

Tug the line to make sure the dowel tips up and raises the flag.

Making Ice Fishing Tip-Ups

Definition and Uses

An ice fishing tip-up is a simple tool that allows you to see when a fish is biting your line. Most fishermen use them in areas where they can set up more than one pole. The device signals a bite by raising a colorful flag that is easy to see against ice and snow. You can purchase ice fishing tip-ups at any sporting goods store, but you also can make one easily with inexpensive materials.

To make your own, get a 1/4-inch thick wooden dowel between 18 to 24 inches long, a second dowel of the same length but slightly thicker (about 1/2- or 3/4-inch thick), a piece of brightly colored cloth, like a strip torn from a bright red shirt, some heavy braided twine and fishing line.

Attaching the Dowels

Take the thinner, lighter dowel and attach the cloth, flag or even brightly colored strip of tape to the end of it. Attach it by nailing it in, securing it to the end of a flexible wire (as shown above) or with a strong adhesive.

Then, use the twine to bind the dowels together at right angles to form an uneven cross. The lighter dowel should contain most of the length, meaning the thicker dowel only extends a bit past the thinner dowel. This allows the thinner dowel to raise the flag into the air when a fish bites the line.

You can add a second thicker dowel to form an "X" that will be a little more secure over the ice hole, as shown in the picture.

Placement

Attach your fishing line to the non-flag end of the thin dowel; on the shorter side. You can use screws or nails to do this. Place the ice tip-up over the hole, with each end of the thicker dowel(s) resting on the ice on either side of the hole. Let your fishing line fall into the hole. When a fish bites the line, it will pull on the line and on the short end of the dowel, raising the flag on the longer end into the air and letting the fisherman easily spot which line has a fish on it.

Note that some areas do not allow ice fishermen to set up more than one hole.

Tips for Salmon Fishing in Sacramento

When to Fish

Salmon are migratory fish, which travel upstream from the coasts to spawn. Because Sacramento is approximately 100 miles from the coastline, it is important to plan your fishing trip for a time when the salmon will be upstream in bountiful supply. According to Trails.com, the high season for salmon action in Sacramento starts around mid-July or the beginning of August and peaks during October and November.

Where to Fish

The city of Sacramento lies predominately on the eastern shore of the Sacramento River, known colloquially as the Sac. The 384-mile-long river should be your primary location when fishing for salmon in the area. According to Bay Area Fishing, the mouths of small tributaries or streams that branch off of bigger rivers, like the Sacramento, are prime locations for salmon fishing. Try finding spots like this in and around the city. Ideally, you will want to fish in water that is between three and eight feet deep.

Equipment

When fishing on the Sacramento River, you will want to use durable equipment, as the current can be strong and salmon can be heavy. For a fishing rod, use a variety that is at least 6 feet long. You will also want it to be flexible, to cope with the weight of your catch. Spin-cast and bait-cast reels are both good options. While the former has a spinning metal top, and allows you to cast further distances, the latter has a button release and is better for aiming your casts.

Drift Fishing

One of the best techniques for salmon fishing on Californian rivers is drift fishing.
The technique requires that you cast your lure or bait upstream and then allow it to drift naturally with the current back downstream and past your location. The natural movement helps trick fish into thinking your bait is a live prey item, caught in the current. A variation on the technique, which also works well for catching salmon, is to attach a bobber above your bait, and then cast it out. This will allow you to more easily track your bait, as the bobber floats downstream on top of the water's surface.