Durable do-it-yourself ice scoop for winter fishing. Tackle and equipment for winter fishing: continued Do-it-yourself slotted spoon for winter fishing

If you start listing the elements of equipment for ice fishing in order of necessity, then the scoop is located immediately after the ice auger; you can do without a scoop just as much as you can do without a drill, without specialized clothing, without a box, in other words, you can - but it’s better when you have one. The scoop, despite its primitive design, must have a number of characteristics, namely: not freeze, have sufficient strength to break the edges of the hole and not sink. As a rule, the ice of the drill is also knocked off with a scoop; you can also do this with a mallet, but after some time of fishing I came to the conclusion that it is still more convenient to do this with a scoop. And so, from the moment I started fishing in winter, the modernization of scoops began. The ice on the scoop, which builds up with each dive, should be knocked off every time, but this is not always convenient, and when the scoop is already frozen well, I knock off the ice with one blow on the ice, chair, drill... Not a single store-bought scoop could withstand such a blow, the spoon flew off, the handle broke in half, the handle flew off, bent 360 degrees))) And when the spoon of the scoop once again flew off while fishing at -25 with a wild wind, I decided to make my own scoop that would not freeze up much, was strong and rigid and this one is easy.

The Tonar scoop was used as a basis; the wooden handle, which constantly froze, was replaced with an aluminum handle of suitable length. The attachment to the spoon was made using two screws (so that the spoon would not rotate along the axis of the screw); to avoid loosening, the nuts installed through the screw were additionally sealed. The hole in the tube from the bottom is filled with silicone glue. There is no need for a warm handle on the scoop, you only need a handle so that the metal does not burn your hands, electrical tape also does this well.

The mass of the scoop turned out to be less than titanium with the same dimensions (luminum is almost twice as light as titanium). The low adhesive ability of aluminum almost does not collect water and therefore almost does not freeze; slight icing of the scoop, due to the high hardness of the materials, falls off even with gentle tapping, which cannot be said about scoops with wooden handles. So that the scoop would not be lost, would not drown, and would always be at hand, I attached it to the chair with the help of a retriever (now a very common phrase I hear when fishing is “look, the scoop is tied”)))))).

A crash test of the scoop showed its very high strength: you can hit with all your heart, chop ice in a hole of any thickness, beat off frozen screws, you can clean the hole in mittens without fear of drowning, when you release the scoop, the retriever pulls it strictly under the chair and now you don’t need to look where I last threw the ladle.

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Winter scoop, whose second name is a slotted spoon, is an important fishing tool used by fishermen in most types of ice fishing.

IN fishing There are 3 main types of these products in trade: stamped steel saucer-shaped scoops, mesh scoops made of intertwined steel wires, and plastic ones. Mesh models are the least widespread because they do not “live” for long and soon fail when they knock down ice.

But still, they have admirers among winter fishermen who see mesh skimmers as having their own advantages - high performance during the process of scooping sludge out of holes and, moreover, noiselessness during this process, which is quite important when catching overly cautious fish in shallow water areas. Plus, such a slotted spoon is convenient for “catching” live bait from eland.

Plastic scoops
With each new ice season, plastic skimmers become more and more popular among ice fishing enthusiasts. Such products could well become the main ones, but they also have a significant drawback - they are not very reliable. In severe frosts, the handle of plastic skimmers often breaks.

Such troubles happen even with relatively high-quality Scandinavian models. In addition, such products will not be able to knock ice off the auger knives or clean holes that have been hardened by frost. But they are valued by fishermen for their small weight, which is of no small importance when traveling long distances, and for the reliable material of the spoon itself, which practically does not freeze even in severe frost. If ice still forms, it can be easily and quickly removed by squeezing the spoon itself with your hand.

Metal scoops
Still, the undisputed leader among many winter fishermen is the classic metal slotted spoon. The best-selling products in stores are the most powerful models that have teeth that can easily break the upper edges of the holes and free them from frozen ice.

Such with scoops It’s convenient to chip away ice from the drills, which is quite necessary to do, since if the auger becomes clogged with frozen snow and ice, it drills very poorly. Some fishermen do without teeth; they simply sharpen one edge of the scoop like a knife. Then the frozen holes are broken with such a sharp side.

And the opposite side remains blunt - it is used to carefully tap the ice-covered drill, while trying not to damage the paint layer, so that there are no unnecessary problems later.

Popular scoop shapes
The most popular are round spoons; this type of shape is optimal for working in round holes. But there are also admirers of rectangular skimmers - with such spoons it is often possible to free a catchy jig or a vertical spoon caught with a hook on the lower ice edge.

This can often be done if the slotted spoon has a fairly long handle. Fans of winter fishing often try to take models with long handles with them on the ice, as long as they fit into a fishing box. With such scoops you can easily process the very lower parts of the holes, where slush often hides and interferes with all fishing.

Fans of stake fishing often use a slotted spoon as a shovel. It’s convenient for her to dig holes in the ice with snow so that they don’t freeze too much. They also use a slotted spoon to dig out holes after successful hooking, removing snow or excess ice crust that could interfere with landing the trophy. Otherwise, the predator may receive a strong concussion, hitting the frozen hole hard, get off the hook, and then eat exclusively algae and millet for the rest of its life...

An excellent quality scoop is made from stainless steel, and it is almost eternal, of course, if you don’t forget it on the ice and don’t lose it. It’s not without reason that experienced winter skiers try to paint the handles (made of cork, foam, wood, rubber) of their skimmers in bright colors. In this case, the chances of finding the lost item are much higher.

When purchasing any skimmer, you need to remember that the diameter of its spoon should be slightly less than the diameter of the auger itself. This is necessary in order to avoid situations - it happens that a fisherman buys a hundred square drill, but takes an old, large slotted spoon, and it gets stuck in an already narrow hole, and it is difficult to pull it out...

With everything big fishing respect for the winter skimmer, a considerable number of fishermen have completely excluded this thing from their equipment. Nowadays, you can often find jigs or spinners without any scoops at all, but fishing in shallow areas.

They simply pump some of the sludge with a drill, and leave some in the working holes so that they do not become overexposed. The hole necessary for lowering the bait can be easily made with a suitable size stick.

Some people make a stick in advance from a strong and hard piece of wood (a good option is from the leg of a broken old stool). If only the size allows it to fit in a fishing box. With such a wooden stick it is convenient to knock ice off the auger without worrying about damaging the paint layer.

Do-it-yourself finishing of a slotted spoon
Modern fishing often separates itself from the old classical one. This applies to fishing techniques, gear, equipment. The new often laughs at the good old classics as outdated, uninteresting, elusive. The old often reciprocates, saying that all these modern bells and whistles are just “show-off” that have no practical value. It seems that this confrontation is not worth a damn.

Judge of everything - practice, which puts everything in its place. The simplest example from my fishing is a winter skimmer. I bought a modern plastic scoop, but the frost didn’t care that it was a branded Finnish one, so I took it and broke off the handle. This often happens - this plastic handle is bad. And the skimmer itself is very good - lightweight, does not rust, the ice is easily removed from it - squeeze it, and it’s gone.

Pen it’s very bad, apparently these Finns don’t really understand anything about the handles of skimmers, even though their ice season is longer than ours. And I made the handle myself in the image and likeness of an ancient Slavic ice scoop.

Firstly, it is wooden, it is impossible to break it in any frost, and it does not chill your hand, it is warm almost like foam plastic. Secondly, I made the handle specifically with a knot, which has two main tasks.

The most important thing is that when moving from hole to hole, you don’t need to stuff the handle into your boot or felt boot, it’s inconvenient, unreliable - I’ll just catch the knot on the edge of the boot. In addition, it is convenient to take the handle with the knot by hand when the scoop is on ice, especially snowy, and no matter in what position - with the knot up or down. I connected the handle to the slotted spoon in a simple way, wrapping it tightly with tape.

You can come up with a more aesthetic way. It doesn’t matter to me, adhesive tape will do, the main thing is that the tackle is reliable and functional, and clearly performs its tasks. Although, on the other hand, fishing aesthetes can even see their own special beauty in my “fine-tuning”, a kind of brutal scoop where the modern organically merges with the classic.

Generally picky fisherman- It’s not easy for winter workers to buy a scoop in a store that satisfies one hundred percent. Even branded models are remade, and even more often repaired after breakdowns, which is quite a shame when a considerable amount has been paid for a “brand name”.

And all because, in pursuit of lightness and cheapness, they began to actively use plastic, which does not always withstand harsh operating conditions in severe frost. Although there are good plastics that are as reliable as possible, in the form of a pipe, which is unlikely to break. Let's say, an inexpensive plastic water pipe, from which I made a handle for my homemade scoop.

The scoop, also known as a slotted spoon, used in most types of winter fishing, is also an important element in winter fishing. Therefore, in this article we will talk about this thing, which is difficult to do without. There are three main types of skimmers on sale: saucer-shaped ones made of steel, mesh ones made of steel wire, and plastic ones.

Mesh ones are the least popular - they do not last long, quickly breaking when knocked down by ice. But there are admirers of these skimmers, whose advantages include the highest performance when removing slush from a hole, plus noiselessness during this process, which is essential when catching wary fish in the shallows, and it is very convenient to remove the bait fish with a “net” from the eland.

There are more and more plastic skimmers on the ice every year; they could become the main ones, but reliability fails - in severe frost the handle often breaks, even branded Scandinavian models have such troubles.

In addition, these scoops will not be able to knock ice off the drill or clean out a hole that has been stuck by frost.

Plastic scoops are valued for their light weight, which is important during long journeys, and for the material of the spoon, which almost does not freeze. If the ice does freeze, it can be easily removed by squeezing the spoon with your hand.

The undisputed leader is the classic metal scoop. The best-selling ones are the most powerful, with teeth that make it easy to break the upper edges of the hole from frozen ice. And also to chip it off the drill, which is necessary, because when the auger becomes clogged with ice and frozen snow, it simply stops drilling.

Some people do without teeth, simply sharpen one edge of the spoon like a knife (breaking the hole with this side), the opposite edge is blunt - they carefully tap the drill with it, trying not to damage the paint.

The most popular is the round spoon; this shape is ideal for working in a round hole. There are also fans of rectangular skimmers - with such a spoon it is sometimes possible to free a jig or spoon hooked on the lower edge of the ice. If, of course, the handle is long enough, and often they try to have just such a handle (as long as the scoop fits in the box), so that they can also process the lower part of the hole, where sludge likes to hide, interfering with fishing.

Bettors often use a scoop as a shovel, filling the working holes with snow to prevent them from freezing. And digging after the bite, removing excess snow, ice crust, which can interfere with fishing. Otherwise, the pike may get a concussion when it hits the frozen top of the hole, get off the hook, and then eat only millet and algae for the rest of its life...

A good stainless steel scoop for winter fishing. This tool is practically eternal, unless you lose it. And it’s not without reason that many people paint a handle (foam plastic, cork, wood, rubber) in a bright color, then the chance of detecting a loss is much higher. The diameter of the spoon of any scoop, naturally, should be somewhat smaller than the diameter of the auger, otherwise there was a case - a fisherman bought a hundred-seater drill, and the scoop was old, large and got stuck in a narrow hole, and was slightly torn out...

With all due respect to the winter scoop, quite a few winter skiers have completely excluded it from their equipment. Jigs and spinners without scoops are especially common at shallow depths. Part of the sludge is pumped with a drill, part remains in the hole so that it does not become overexposed.

The hole for passing the bait is made with any suitable stick. Someone makes a special stick from strong, hard wood (alternatively, a leg from an old stool), which fits in a box. The same piece of wood is also handy for knocking ice off a drill without worrying about damaging the paint.

 

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