St, Paul, Minn. ? Ice angling, like open-water fishing, has changed dramatically over the years. Technology has brought depth finders, underwater video cameras, portable ice fishing houses – even fancy mobile homes on ice. And gizmos.

Every year, it seems, someone develops another must-have ice fishing thingamajig or doohickey. Here are a few:

Fatal attraction

Fake weeds?

Yes, some people laugh when they first see the four-foot string of Reel Weeds that Bill Lorimer of Andover, Minn., is peddling. The plastic weeds come with a weight, cord and float. Drop them down your ice hole and presto: an instant weed bed.

“My buddies were skeptical too,” Lorimer said. “But then they tried them. It’s structure, and fish relate to structure. As soon as fish see it, they start coming to it.”

It all started, Lorimer said, when he and his three partners tried to camouflage an underwater TV camera cable. They noticed fish seemed to be attracted to the faux weeds, and Structure on a String was born. (The company, LaDredge Outdoors, also makes a fake weed device specifically for underwater camera cables.)

Lorimer swears the weeds work, but he and his partners haven’t quit their day jobs just yet.

Price: A two-pack totaling 8 feet of weeds runs about $30.

More information: See www.reelweeds.com.

Combo rod and holder

Jim Gasaway is a retired firefighter from Indiana who liked the Cobra Ice Rod so much he bought the company and now makes the product himself. It’s a one-piece rod and holder. “You can replace the rod tips depending on the species of fish you are fishing for,” he said. The rods pop in and out of the handle – light-action rods for panfish, stiffer rods for walleyes or northerns.

Price: $30 for rod-holder combination.

More information: Contact Gasaway at 219-696-0124.

Shedding some light

James Slack can see the light. And it’s right on the bill of his cap. Slack, of Chanhassen, sells the Brim Light, a lightweight (1.4 ounces) foam light with five tiny LED lights that clips to the brim of a hat. Powered by four thin watch batteries, the device offers anglers and hunters a light while still leaving both hands free. And it floats.

Price: $19.99

More information: www.visionsalesonline.com.

Making ’em bite

Rainbow-colored ice fishing jigs that glow aren’t new, but Dave Mochinski, owner of Maynards LLC, says his Nite Lite lures glow for eight hours and his Super Glows glow for 20 hours. “Do they catch fish? They must because people keep coming back,” he said with a laugh.

Price: $1.20 for a Fish-N-Eye Nite Lite Super Glow jig.

More information: www.maynardstackle.com

Sublte illumination

Dave Handeland took the glow-in-the-dark technology one step further: He has produced plastic ice fishing hole sleeves that anglers slip into their ice holes.

“It’ll light up an ice house, and when you wake up at night you won’t fall into your hole,” said the manager at Milaca Unclaimed Freight, which also sells Ice Castle Ice Fishing Houses. Handeland also makes plastic glowing ice hole covers and glowing rattle reels that signal when a fish is on.

Price: $16 for the glowing sleeve.

More information: 1-888-478-3633