You want to keep yourself safe and visible to other boats that may be night fishing at the same time. Bass fish do not have great vision, so they will rely on their sense of smell during the night. Your objective is to create a smell of food or wounded prey. A popular method during night fishing is to create a chum line. Both models can be jigged manually to attract fish or can be affixed in the snow or on a rack so that you don t have to provide hands-on attention. Fishing lines are not a big expense and lower-end models cost less than $10 each. Flags and gimmicks of higher-end models don t really affect results. The last few accessories are very cheap (less than $10 each) and easy to obtain. Ice thickness should be no less than six inches and should be determined in more than one area, as ice thickness can vary. The ice fisherman s rule of thumb is Thick and blue, tried and true. Thin and crispy, way too risky! . Always go out on foot before driving a vehicle on any ice surface, probing with an ice chisel in front you as you walk. You do not necessarily need to cast out very far because the fish are usually swimming just at the break line feasting on dead and decaying matter. If you can find them, sand crabs will be your best bait for surf fishing. If you are surfing in the summer, you can find the deep holes that they have dug into the sand and fish them out. Keep an extra spool in your box for just-in-case purposes. Sinkers are important for helping your bait to catch fish below the surface of the water. In order to get your line to the bottom you are going to need split-shot sinkers. Sinkers are made from different materials, but the safest are the ones that are made from steel, tin, and non-toxic metals. After they know these terms, help your children learn the best way to safely drive a fishing boat or cast a fishing line. Always be an observant teacher. The combination of boating and fishing allows for an enormous amount of learning. This type of hands-on learning lasts a long time. Your children will benefit in many ways.