Well...I took the ice fishing plunge today.

A new Vexilar FL-18 Pro Pack with the dual transducers.

A new Thorne Bros. custom 36" Pro Glass ice rod (peer pressure from Neil/CO)

Several new jigs and lures etc. etc.

Five bills plus later and I am wanting stock options in Thorne Bros. I don't care to figure out what my fish through the ice will cost per pound this year. Now...how to hide that credit card bill from wifey.

Anybody else care to fess up on what they spend on ice fishing "stuff"? Misery loves company ;)

I did the same thing last year. Went into Thorne Bros. and picked up a new fish house, a heater, a sweetheart rod, a reel and a zillion jigs.

It's usually every other year, spring or fall I go in and blow a mess of money.

You will like the rod! Where out there do you ice fish and for what species?

Easy year for me this year WAeyes. Found some of the old hardwood tip-ups at a garage sale that I bought for 10.00 for 8 of them complete with runner flags. Parts to tune up auger. And paint for the shanty. Got out cheap this year. Last year was a different story. :)

Rich Ferguson

I think about the only thing I need this year is some WD40 and a few rags to dust the stuff off from a few lean ice years!:-( My equipment hasnt seen much use.

I will get a new battery for the Vexilar, though.

every year its about $1000.00 for me

all i do is fish

i feel like "Norm" at thornebros

i might try the lx3 this year

Waeyes.
Recalling how much I've spent already this year, not to mention my ice-fishing mega-buy from Franks last year, would spoil any of my chances for the Christmas spirit. But in case any of you guys need yet another excuse to spend your kids college money. Bass Pro shops started their Holiday Outfitters sale on the 28th, and it runs to December 8th. I Just have to have 2 more Extreme reels for the great price of $29.00 each, in case the 6 I have already gets scratched.

We usually get a thin layer of ice on some reservoirs out in Central WA. So far, I have just targeted walleye. Other than that, I take a couple trips back to the midwest to ice fish...I mean visit family ;) every year.

LOL! :7

your first mistake was buying that kind of gear at thorne brothers! you're on the internet, ever heard of ebay? i have a list of internet wholesalers bookmarked just for those occasions. i have a tough time paying 15-20% more at thorne brothers.

when i met my wife i weighed in at 160lb many years later i,m now at 260lbs so i shy from the ice around here, i used to ice fish every year man i could,nt wait for the ice, my big spend this year was another dept finder the new fisheasy, and a new trolling motor a minn kota backtroller both of which i neglected to tell the wife about, thank god they shipped to my work, some day in a few years i,ll say something but for now its hush hush

Hi Folks- Let`s just put it tis way. Wednesdays are payday, and the employes of Gander Mountain start calling the house at 5:00 pm if they have`nt seen Me yet, making sure I`m OK:). You know Ya got it bad, when the GM workers say, " Go ask Him, if We have it He`ll know."LOL. Bob WC#253.

Shadowman.

You mean you don't clear every piece of fishing equipment you purchase with the wife? And then tell her exactly what everything cost?:-).
My biggest fear is that I'll die of a quick heart attack, and one of my best friends will come over, buy all my boats and every piece of fishing equipment I own for about 3 grand. That being about what the wife thinks I paid for it all.

Well Mr Chepo It's all well and good to buy off the internet but what are you going to do when lets say its the night before a big trip and you discover that you have forgotten something and you run down to your favorite small tackle store only to find it closed for lack of business or the local mom and pop diner down the street is closing because a Micky D's breakfast is cheaper or now you have to run to Home Depot for a bag of 8 penny's because the local hardware had to close for lack of business I suppose you may save a couple bucks now but how about later and also what are you going to do when the teamsters strike big brown and your purchase are delayed getting to you or they arrive not as described or worse yet broken and than you get to deal with the bureaucracy of your shipper yea go rite ahead shop till you drop me I think I'll hop in the truck and head up 47 and spend some in the store

Well mrcheapo I would agree Ebay can have some good prices on stuff. But looking right now, there is one FL-18 for sale at $370 unless someone bids it higher. So you add in the $15 shipping and $5 to insure it and now you are up to $390. Then you take into consideration the fact you are sending someone you have never dealt with $400 with no guarantee of getting your product and if you do and there is a problem, will they back there product...probably not. This exact product is selling for $399 at Thorne Bros. Is it really worth saving the $10 by buying it through Ebay? Oh...and what if someone bumps your bid by 2 bucks right before the auction closes? It is not like they are advertising a supply of these things. Sometimes it is best to go through a reputable company that I have had good experiences with just for the peace of mind. Thanks for your opinion though and Merry Xmas.

WAeyes, If you fish during Jan and Feb for eyes where do you go? Thanks guys for being honest I just spent three bills and wife was shocked. Showed her this now she thinks she got off cheap. Thanks again, Brian

Last year was the costly one for ice fishing on me. New portable ice house, a power auger I picked up on clearance I'm yet to fire up, flasher at end of season. Just waiting for safe ice.

Waterwolf, WAeyes well said!! support the local shops and they will be here to support us.
dutchboy

Still gonna get a new fl-18 ($400). Started to drop the hints about a shack and will see if I can have the little woman talked into that by the time they go on clearance in the spring (much nicer fishing for the little ones too!). Also stopped at the local tackle shop going out of business yesterday and at 50% of bought about $30 worth of assorted hard and soft water items... always been given him all the business I could - hated to see him go out of business because the other bait shop in town is never open when you need bait. Fiddlesticks! Hope your bait shop fairs better! Chuckles

...and it's not even a local shop for me. But I do reward past good service and a great selection of quality gear with my continued business.

If you would have went to fleet farm and taken free advice on what to buy from WC, your bill would have been a lot less. "Thorn" brothers is over rated. I've got friends that used to work there that can't fish to save their hide. Kinda like the so-called professional that work at Gander Mtn.

For us out here in Colorado Thorne Brothers has been a blessing, I gladly gave them $411 of my disposable income for a rigged Fl-18, a bunch of glow rocker minnows, some flyers and a tazer, you guys up north are spoiled, we cannot get that stuff down in the South West, ( the mounting job they did on my vex to a Blue box did leave allot to be desired, 1/2" dry wall screws!)

Bob, can you imagine what that package would cost here locally if you could find it?

Got an e-mail this morning from Lou(EXNJ) that said there is already huts out on the coves at 11-Mile? Thats really pushin it?

Hey fishguy,
I don't know about the Gander Mountain by you, but the one by me is staffed with good, helpful people who do know what they're talking about. I'm not a professional fisherman, I don't pretend to know it all, and almost everytime I'm in there with a question, they explain it in as much detail as I need.
Getting back to this thread, it seems like these days, you need to spend about $200 to start with for ice fishing equipment, just so you can go sit on a bucket and fish :-)
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Don't need much this year just some new line and a bunch of new treble hooks for my baits. I did spend over 5000 bucks for a new sled last year but whos counting the end result is all that matters. Oh did I forget to mention the 9 dollars I spent on paint for my dogsled?

Flying fish ,
You're lucky then, It's so bad around here I've considered taking a job at gander just to help them out.
Ice fishing can be cheap i.e. Old Eagle flasher and cycle battery -$90., flasher box-plywood scrapes from a construction site, Used Mora auger $15, Bucket-free from dumpster, rod -$10 or tip section of a summer rod, last summers reel and ,line. Old cross style Tip -up $8, live bait rigs/bobbers etc- $5, Used Portable shack $50. Ice scoop strainer-free from kitchen, a few jigs from tackle box, 3 rocker minnows & 6 panfish jigs-$12. A dozen wax worms and a dozen minnows $3.50. People need to remember how to keep fishing simple. The walleyes do not care how much you spend or where it's spent. For most anglers I know, their ego costs them more money than the actual sport.
Something is fishy around here.