It only figures that the winter I decide to try my hand at ice fishing, there was virtually no snow – until recently, and most Southern-Interior lakes hadn’t even frozen over.
Not that the thought of walking out onto the ice of a supposedly frozen lake doesn’t make me a bit nervous. That being said, I am determined that this is the year that I’m going to get into ice fishing. Which is a bit odd considering just how much I dislike winter.
A few weeks back I found myself in one of the local fishing tackle stores and happened to overhear a fellow making inquiries as to what kind of gear he would need to get started in ice fishing.
I’ve always been pretty much under the impression that all a person needed was a spinning rod with the tip broken off, a reel, woollen socks, long johns and a five-gallon ice cream bucket to sit on.
Boy, was I wrong.
I was equally surprised to learned just how sophisticated ice fishing gear has become in the past few years.
There are specially designed two-foot-long rods that enable an angler to sit closer and peer down into their hole in the ice as they dangle their line in the water, smaller-sized reels that hold just enough line to reel in a fish and monofilament line that will not turn brittle and break in icy-cold waters.
There are also all sorts of polypropylene long underwear, one and two-piece Gortex snow suits and boots to keep your feet warm minus 50-degree below zero, not to mention portable ice fishing huts with heated, padded seats and special sleighs to pull all your gear that can either be pulled by hand or attached to a quad or snowmobile.
There was no end to the amount of ‘stuff’ available just for ice fishing and no end to the amount of money one could spend. The good part was I discovered that a decent ice fishing rod and reel set up only costs $50 to $75. Having paid more than 10 times that for a single fly rod, it didn’t seem so bad laying out just over $85 for a top of the line Fenwick rod with an Abu Garcia reel filled with Berkley Fireline Micro Ice Fused Crystal fishing line.
Then there’s always the dilemma of whether or not to buy an ice auger. There are a variety of different makes and models to chose from including manual powered, gas powered and even the newest in high-tech battery powered augers. Of course you can also go fishing with someone who already has an auger and save yourself a lot of money. I think I’ll probably opt for the latter option right now until I know for sure that I can really get into the whole ice fishing thing.
I think I’ll also look for some stuff at thrift stores. Summer is always the best time to buy winter clothing. A couple of years back I picked up a good pair of Sorel boots with leather uppers at a garage sale and like I said, I’ll wait and see if I can pick up a Gortex winter coat and maybe a pair of snow pants at a thrift store.
When it comes to gloves versus mitts, I figure whatever keeps your hands warm … and, allows you to hold your rod and wind the handle of your reel.
One thing I know for sure, I want to pick up new is one of those round cushions that you put on top of your five-gallon ice cream bucket to use as a seat. I guess I’ll have to get some sort of warm winter hat too. Maybe one of those red plaid jobs with sheepskin ear flaps, or maybe a bright orange toque. I mean who cares what I look like, right, as long as my head is warm.
At one point I tossed around the idea of using a collapsible lawn chair to sit on while ice fishing, but I figured it simply made more sense to carry all of my gear in the ice cream bucket. I’m always thinking. I guess all I have to do now is go through my tackle box and see what kinds of hooks and small lures I have that I might be able to use for ice fishing.
Me, an ice fisher, who would have thought?
I’ll believe it more though when I’m actually sitting out there on the ice.