1. Safe ice and a fishing license
2. Chisel or “spud” as some call them. Serves 2 purposes, one to check ice thickness as you walk out and two, to actually chop your hole.
Nowadays fishermen are using expensive augers both gas and battery. The chisel does what an expensive auger can’t do; walk out and check ice as you go.
2. Bait bucket and live bait (smelt or shiners or even small suckers)
3. Ice fishing traps or “tip ups” as some call them. You can also sit by a hole and jig with a small jigging device with a lure and cut bait, NO JIGGING WITH LIVE BAIT IN NH.
4. WARM, Waterproof clothing. Nowadays you can spend big dollars on ice fishing clothing but a good wind breaking coat will do. Wool or synthetic.
5. Keep the kids from getting bored by targeting species like sunfish and bass which readily take bait through the ice. The salmonids like lake trout and rainbows are more finicky. NO TAKING OF SALMON THROUGH THE ICE in NH
6. Stop by AJ’s in Meredith and he will set you up with the basics or cruise craigslist, if you don’t mind “jumping the shark” as there is usually lots of used stuff for ice fishing for sale.
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