Ebay has been a good source the last couple of years for many things ice fishing. Enter those two words into your search and the results are too many to sort through, but you can narrow it down a bit. Get specific, type in the brand and model you want, and depending on the season and availability, you might be rewarded with a decent buy. I like the decent priced “buy it now” option, waiting out a bid can take too long, and often I forget to go back and check to see how the process is going.
My favorite ice fishing reel has been the Daiwa Caprice, since discontinued by Daiwa. During their run they once sold for $45.00. Looking through a search, I didn’t see my favorite size (the 1000), but the 1500 and 2000 would be good choices for some of my longer rods, and also for ultra light and jigging open water rods. Prices starting at $22 is a lot less what I paid for most of mine.
I have been debating on getting the Lowrance H2Oc model GPS unit for quite some time now. Prices are slowly coming down in the stores, but on Ebay, its a lot less. This a color unit which helps distinguish your marks in daylight, and you can change the colors of your tracks so they don’t just look like a bunch of black squiggly lines through the places you have been. There are also map cards available to get you to your fav spot, much like the bigger units available for boats.
Now, I have more St. Croix ice fishing rods than any other brand, and even though I didn’t see any of the 32″ models I like for walleye fishing, there are some to be had. The thing is to do a little research on the products you are interested in, look before you leap type of thing. Some of the bidding is fast approaching what the items might cost in a store brand new. Throw in the shipping and it might be more than what you would pay with taxes (sales in MI). Shop smart.
This is my favorite ice item, and I always look it up when shopping around on Ebay. Its the Green Hornet ice rod used by Walter Mattheau in the movie, “Grumpy Old Men”. I always think how cool would that look over the mantle in a cabin.
There is a ton of stuff to look up, good luck lol
