12. Don't pout -- Actually, you should! Eelpout are tasty, feisty and solid winter biters. With the nickname "pout," this critter is ugly, but hey, ice-anglers aren't usually very pretty either.

13. Smoking 'bees -- Smoked tulibees are delicious. If you know somebody with a smoker, see if they'll let you smoke your catch of tulibees.

"They aren't my favorite species, but you can catch some huge tulibees in the winter using perch and walleye tactics," Sathre said. "They put up a good fight too."

14. Bug out -- "Walleyes eat a lot of bugs in the winter, so use lures that mimic bugs," said Steve Ladany of Northland Tackle. Tip with a wax worm, wiggler or spike to add to the effect.

15. Cut back on the layers -- Actually that should say cut back on layers that get in the way by getting an insulated ice-fishing suit. The field of snowsuits to choose from today is larger than a few years ago, and in most cases, you get what you pay for. Whichever brand you select, look at weatherproofing, wrist adjustments, a hood, matching pants with reinforcement on the knees and seat, and volume of pockets for depth and seal.

"Try it on and see how it moves with your body," said Noel Vick, ice-fishing expert. "If the zippers bind and the suit doesn't quite fit right in the store, it's sure to be a disaster on the ice."

16. Match your hooks -- This doesn't mean color coordinate them to your clothing; it means make sure your hook is the right gap for your bait.

"It seems like a simple concept, but a lot of anglers in the winter go small with their jig and fill the entire gap with their bait," Terry Tuma said. "There needs to be space around the bait for the hook to have leverage when you set it."

17. Use your electronics -- Don't just drill a hole and hope for fish. Check for action below and only fish spots where the fish are located. It might take a while to find them, but it beats fishing where there aren't any.

18. Try plastics -- Plastic baits work great in the summer, so why doesn't anybody use them in the winter? "You can change colors, presentations and when the fish are biting you don't have to lose fishing time rebaiting your hook," said expert ice-angler John House. His favorite is a 1/16-ounce mushroom or gumball head jig tipped with a 2-inch Yum vibra-king tube, a 1 1/2-inch Wooly Curlytail or Wooly Beavertail.

19. Run and gun -- Anglers who are willing to move can catch more fish if they move to the right locations. Sounds obvious, but most anglers aren't willing to put in the work it takes to follow the hot bite. "It's not easy to do it, but the payout is huge because you can target active fish over a large area in a short period of time," Roach said.

20. Go soft -- Not on attitude but with baits. Soft baits are different from plastics in that they are made of natural substances. Companies like Berkley Gulp! and FoodSource make soft baits that most ice-anglers have yet to use. Tuma said he loves using Gulp! fish fry, minnows, minnow grubs, spikes, waxies and wigglers because of their scent dispersal and flexibility.