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Ice
Fishing as a Hobby is Very Cool
For
those that want to try ice fishing as a hobby, a
‘cooler’ sports-activity could not have been
selected! Ice fishing obviously requires ice and
water and hopefully fish as well! All these are
certainly available in northern States of the
United States such as Minnesota and North
Dakota. One of the best states for ice fishing
is Minnesota, hands-down. Yet any lake will do
as long as it is frozen over to the point of
being able to support the weight of both angler
and supplies. Winter time is the season for ice
fishing and the popularity of the ice fishing
hobby has never been more impressive. What
started out as a necessary hunter-gatherer
activity has turned into one of the hottest
hobbies in North America! Ice fishing, although
not really expensive, does require a couple
specialized tools to start off with.
Tools
for Ice Fishing
Ice
fishing requires all the same tools that normal
non-iced fishing requires such as a rod and
reel, tackle, bait, and a will to stick it out
and most importantly, be patient. That’s a
requirement for any form of fishing especially
ice fishing. As a hobby, ice fishing is really
exciting and can be easy to get hooked on! There
are some interesting facets of ice fishing which
include the surprising fact that the fish really
do not become lethargic or slowed as us mammals
do! Cold-blooded has its advantages and that’s
exactly what fish are. Many had the species that
are targeted for ice fishing hobby enthusiasts
are pike and walleye. All of these fish, of
course are freshwater, as it would take a heck
of a storm and -50 60° for months straight if
then, to allow salt-water to freeze. Ice fishing
is a great hobby in which to try. The tools that
are required for a novice ice fisherman or
fisherwoman are listed below.
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5
Foot Stout Fishing Rod
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Reel (Spin-Caster or Level-Wind)
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Line or Test 10-15 Pound
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Terminal Tackle (Hooks, Beads, Weights,
File, Tackle Box)
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Bait (Live Minnows, Leeches, Worms)
Artificial Lures
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Ice
House or Wind Break
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Ice
Auger
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Permit or License
Locating Lakes
In
order to locate the best frozen lakes of fish on
it is important that the locations include lakes
in the northeastern region of the United States
and Canada. Ice fishing, as the name implies,
takes ice and combines fishing to create one of
the most fantastic outdoor hobbies available on
earth! What’s surprising about ice fishing is
that the fish are largely very active even when
the temperature is below freezing on the lake.
Since all fish are cold-blooded, the ex-carrier
water temperatures have little effect on their
metabolisms. Most ice fishing occurs during the
winter months of November through February and
as late as March in some areas. As with any form
of fishing, safety must be taken into accord
especially when standing on a lake that has a
thin layer of ice. Many ice fishermen return to
the exact same lake each and every year since
they know this lake well and that it freezes
over safely.
Ice
Fishing
Ice
fishing is the activity of catching fish with
lines and fish hooks or spears through an
opening in the ice on a frozen body of water.
Ice anglers may sit on the stool in the open on
a frozen lake, or in a heated cabin on the ice,
some with bunks and amenities.
Contents
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1
Locations
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2
Shelters
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3
Fishing equipment
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4
Modern ice fishing
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5
Dangers
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6
Contests
Locations
It is a
popular pastime in Canada, Finland, Estonia,
Latvia, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden, Ukraine
and Germany In the United States, people from
North Dakota, South Dakota, Alaska, Colorado,
Idaho, Utah, Montana, Minnesota, Wisconsin,
Iowa, Michigan and New York, New Jersey, and the
states of New England, and other areas with
lakes and long, cold winters enjoy the activity.
Shelters - Ice Shanty
Longer
fishing expeditions can be mounted with simple
structures. Larger, heated structures can make
multi-day fishing trips possible. A structure
with various local names, but often called an
ice shanty, ice shack, fish house, shack, bob
house, or ice hut, is sometimes used. These are
dragged or trailered onto the lake using a
vehicle such as a snowmobile, ATV or truck. The
two most commonly used types are portable and
permanent. The portable houses are often made of
a heavy material that is usually water tight.
The two most common types of portable houses are
when your shelter flips behind the user when not
needed, or a pop up shelter so the only means
out is through a door. The permanent shelters
are made of wood or metal and usually have
wheels for easy transport. They can be as basic
as a bunk heater and holes or having satellite
TV, bathrooms, stoves, full size beds and may
appear to be more like a mobile home than a
fishing house.
In
North America, ice fishing is often a social
activity. Sometimes, the consumption of alcohol
is involved. Some resorts have fish houses that
are rented out by the day, often, shuttle
service via Snow Track or other vehicles
modified to drive on ice is provided.
In
Finland, solitary and contemplative isolation is
often the object of the pastime. In Finland,
fish houses are a rare occurrence, but wearing a
sealed and insulated dry suit designed of
space-age fabric is not. In North America,
portable houses appear to create a city at
locations where fishing is best.
Fishing Equipment
Mora
Hand Auger
Ice
fishing gear is highly specialized. First, an
ice saw or auger or chisel is required to cut a
circular hole or larger rectangular hole in the
ice. Power augers are sometimes used. A skimmer
is used to remove new ice as it forms and to
clear slush left from making the hole. During
colder periods most ice anglers choose to carry
a heater of some type. The heater is for warmth
and it also keeps an anglers fishing hole from
freezing. When temperatures reach -20 °F or
colder it becomes very hard to keep a fishing
hole open.
Three
main types of fishing occur. Small, light
fishing rod with small, brightly colored lures
or jigs with bait such as wax worms, fat heads
or crappie minnows. Tip-ups, which carry a line
attached to a flag that "tips up" when a strike
occurs, allow unattended or less-intensive
fishing. The line is dragged in by hand with no
reel. In spear fishing a large hole is cut in
the ice and fish decoys may be deployed. The
fisherman sits in a dark ice shanty called a
dark house. The fisherman then peers into the
water while holding a large spear attached to a
line waiting for fish to appear. This method is
often used for lake sturgeon fishing. In the
United States many states allow only rough fish
to be taken while spear fishing.
Becoming increasingly popular is the use of a
flasher, similar to its summer cousin the fish
finder. This is a sonar system that provides
depth information, as well as indicates the
presence of fish or other objects. These
flashers, unlike most typical fish finders,
display the movement of fish and other objects
almost instantaneously. The bait being used can
often be seen as a mark on the flasher, enabling
the angler to position the bait right in front
of the fish. Underwater cameras are also now
available which allow the user to view the fish
and observe their reaction to the lure
presentation.
Modern
Ice Fishing
Ice
fishing methods have changed drastically over
the past 20 years. The name of the game is
mobility, for today’s modern ice fishermen. The
days of drilling one hole and hoping a fish will
swim by, are starting to fade. With sonar and
fast augers many fisherman will drill upwards of
110 holes in a single day, in the search for
fish. When the fish stop biting, fishermen will
move to the next whole check it with their
sonar, and if there are no fish they keep moving
till more fish are found. Mobility increases the
catch of any ice fishermen because you move to
where the fish are. This is the same concept
practiced by summer fishermen.
Dangers
Many
fishermen will go out with 2.5 inches of good
ice for walking, but the recommended is 4
inches, 5–6 inches for Sleds (Snow Machines,
Snowmobiles) 7–12 for light cars and 14–16
inches for full sized trucks. Care must be
taken, because sometimes ice will not form in
areas with swift currents, leaving open areas
which freeze with much thinner ice. On the Great
Lakes, off-shore winds can break off miles-wide
pans of ice stranding large numbers of
fishermen. Just such a circumstance occurred in
Lake Erie in February '09, with 100 fishermen
having to be rescued by helicopters, local
authorities and the Coast Guard, and one man
who'd fallen into the water dying on the rescue
flight.
Late-winter warm spells can destroy the texture
of the ice, which, while still of the required
thickness, will not adequately support weight.
It is called "rotten ice" or soft ice and is
exceedingly dangerous. Some ice-fishermen will
continue to fish, since even with the bad ice
normally 8 inches is more than enough. Fisherman
may carry a self-rescue device made of two
spiked handles connected by a string to pull
them out of the water and onto the ice.
Many
cars, trucks, SUVs, snowmobiles, and fish houses
fall through the ice each year. Current
environmental regulations require the speedy
recovery of the vehicle or structure in this
situation. Divers must be hired, and when the
trouble occurs far from shore, helicopters may
be employed for hoisting.
Other
risks associated with ice fishing include carbon
monoxide poisoning from fish house heaters and
frostbite due to prolonged exposure to wind and
low temperatures, although most new houses are
fitted with air exchange systems that allow air
flow preventing poisoning.
Contests
Ice
fishing contests offer prizes for the largest
fish caught within a limited time period, many
offer a prize for the biggest fish caught as
well. In Michigan, USA, "Tip-Up Town, USA" can
bring 40,000 people out onto Houghton Lake for
festivities which include ice fishing,
snowmobiling, snow sculpting and fireworks. In
Wisconsin the Bass Lake Ice Fishing Contest is
an annual ice fishing contest held each February
with a prize payout of over $50,000 and 100% of
the proceeds are donated to charity.
Forest
Lake, MN is host to a contest which was once
regarded as the largest ice fishing contest in
the world. In its heyday, 12,000 anglers would
compete for trucks, boats and at one point even
$100,000 cash prize. In 2008 Forest Lake's
newest contest called Fishapalooza, paid out
over $185,000 in cash and prizes and raised over
$30,000 for local charities. The current world's
largest contest is held on Gull Lake, north of
Brainerd, MN, in January of each year. The
contest has over 15,000 anglers and drills over
20,000 holes for the contest. In Finland, ice
fishing contests have been marred by repeated
scandals, where both contestants and organizers
have been caught cheating. Contestants have
smuggled previously caught and frozen fish with
them. Organizers have awarded the prizes to
shills, not really participating in the
competition, to avoid paying prizes.
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through the ice over a lake and fish are
caught using a specialized fishing rod. It
is taken up mainly by people who because of
the weather are more exposed to Ice Fishing.
many tips
and checklists for the sport.
