Who is Ice Rigs? That's a great question!
We are people with a passion for fishing and the outdoors.
We are people just like you.
I (Nick Smith) grew up in the country of the great state of Minnesota. At a young age, I started fishing. It has always been a passion of mine. I remember going with my dad to my uncle's cabin on Lake Osakis. The three of us would go out fishing, and I'd have the time of my life. I still frequent that same cabin, and fishing is still a passion in my heart and blood. Just one more hook set, just too see that giant red mark on the screen, to put on a favorite lure, and to tell that story everyone thinks is a stretch but it is not. I fish to watch the sun set on the water with such stunning and breathtaking beauty that it brings tears to my dry wind burned eyes. This is what gives me the passion to do Ice Rigs. I want to make fishing simpler, more fun and help people to more thoroughly enjoy the sport they love as much as I do because I know the love runs deep.
We are people with a passion for fishing and the outdoors.
We are people just like you.
I (Nick Smith) grew up in the country of the great state of Minnesota. At a young age, I started fishing. It has always been a passion of mine. I remember going with my dad to my uncle's cabin on Lake Osakis. The three of us would go out fishing, and I'd have the time of my life. I still frequent that same cabin, and fishing is still a passion in my heart and blood. Just one more hook set, just too see that giant red mark on the screen, to put on a favorite lure, and to tell that story everyone thinks is a stretch but it is not. I fish to watch the sun set on the water with such stunning and breathtaking beauty that it brings tears to my dry wind burned eyes. This is what gives me the passion to do Ice Rigs. I want to make fishing simpler, more fun and help people to more thoroughly enjoy the sport they love as much as I do because I know the love runs deep.
The idea for Ice Rigs Original Mag Tack System was born a few winters back when I was ice fishing walleyes up on a lake in northern Minnesota. Now I won't give you the name to this amazing piece of water, but its initials are Red Lake. As I'm fishing, the fish are coming through in waves. There are lots of fish around, but we were on the back side of a pretty significant winter storm. The skies were high, the wind was howling, and the storm had sucked the frigid air right in behind it. As a result, the fish were extremely tight lipped and hard to figure out. If I did not have the right spoon on, twitch it the right way, and lean on the correct foot all at the same time they would not bite. What was even more shocking, the fish all seemed to have a mind of their own. Like most good ice fishermen, I have a couple ice rods on hand, so I started rifleing through them. However, I soon found the most effective way was to stick with one rod, open the the tackle box, use my favorite lures until one of them hit that trigger, and then the fish would bite. Now let me tell you, I have a few favorite lures and every five minutes or so when it was time to switch it seemed like they all wanted to be the next one I'd tie on. I would try to pluck my fire tiger buck shot, and I would get that lure along with two to twenty-two other lures as well. It seemed as though, I spent more time untangling lures than I did with my line in the water. With that being said, I was still somewhat effective. On my drive home I just could not help but think of how many more fish I would have caught if I wouldn't have had to deal with tangled lures and if I had been able to find the lures I desired more quickly. I started thinking long and hard about how I was going to solve this problem. One day, a while after that when I had given up on coming up with a solution, the idea for using magnets appeared in my head. Know if you believe in God, as I do, then this is the part where you insert him into the story. For the next year and a half, small miracle after small miracle happened to make the Idea for Ice Rigs Mag Tack System a reality. Once I came up with a prototype, I began to see how this idea could actually make sense. It could actually work. I brought my dad into the mix, and we began to work on it together. We found suppliers, worked on concepts, and consistently refined the idea. We were both in an area we had never been before; we were walking on water. We continued to work together through all the challenges that came our way, and what was born is the Ice Rigs Original Mag Tack System.
I (Steve Smith) am a man of few words. I have hunted and fished all my life. I am not a land owner, so I am indebted to the generosity of friends and neighbors across the Midwest that have shared their land and God's bounty with me. I remember that and am thankful. I am also thankful that I have been able to hunt and fish with my son Nick since he was waist high. We have spent countless day’s together fishing and chasing roosters, grouse, geese and ducks. I have enjoyed watching him grow into a solid hunter and fisherman and I have also appreciated how he has always used his gifts to create ways of making hunting and fishing more simple, organized and effective.
Now when it comes to the ice fishing world there are an awesome array of great lures and like most fisherman I have more than my share. That said, when Nick showed me the idea for Mag Tack I thought, great a perfect place to keep my favorite lures visual, vertical and at the ready. Mag Tack is now a permanent fixture in the ice house. I use it day in and day out. I hope you enjoy using it as much as I do.
Best of luck this year and remember, whether you are hunting or fishing, do it with family and friends and be safe.
Now when it comes to the ice fishing world there are an awesome array of great lures and like most fisherman I have more than my share. That said, when Nick showed me the idea for Mag Tack I thought, great a perfect place to keep my favorite lures visual, vertical and at the ready. Mag Tack is now a permanent fixture in the ice house. I use it day in and day out. I hope you enjoy using it as much as I do.
Best of luck this year and remember, whether you are hunting or fishing, do it with family and friends and be safe.