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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ice fishing is the sport of catching fish with lines and hooks or spears through an opening in the ice on a frozen body of water. Fisherman may sit on the stool on the open expanse of a frozen lake or sit in a heated cabin on the ice, some with bunks and amenities.
Locations
It is a popular pastime in Canada, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Russia, and Germany.
In the United States, people from Alaska, the states around the Great Lakes, and other areas with lakes and long, cold winters enjoy the activity. Except for Lake Erie, the Great Lakes seldom freeze over entirely, but bays of the Great Lakes do freeze and are popular ice fishing spots, with northern pike and yellow perch being the most common catches[citation needed].
Shelters
Many fisherman fish with no protective structure, merely heavy coats and gloves and other winter wear. Longer fishing expeditions can be mounted with simple structures. Larger, heated structures can make multi-day fishing trips possible, but these are often eschewed by seasoned fishers, many of whom do not use these larger shelters.
A structure with various local names, but often called an ice shanty, ice shack, fish house, bobhouse, or ice hut, is sometimes used. These are dragged or trailered onto the lake using a vehicle such as a snowmobile, ATV or truck. Some fish houses are elaborate, and can be equipped with lights, heat, bunks, cooking facilities, and the like. At the opposite extreme are portable, tent-like structures designed to be easily moved.
In North America, ice fishing is often a social activity. Not infrequently, the consumption of alcohol is involved. Some resorts have fish houses that are rented out by the day (called ice huts); often, shuttle service via snowmobile is provided, eliminating any need for sobriety on the part of the participants.
In Finland, solitary and contemplative isolation is often the object of the pastime. In Finland, fishhouses are a rare occurrence, but wearing a sealed and insulated drysuit designed out of space-age fabric technology for emergency rescue teams is not.
In North America, lines of fishhouses often develop over underwater ridges or other areas where fish are particularly plentiful.
Fishing equipment
Icefishing gear is highly specialized. First, an ice spade, saw or auger is required to cut a circular hole or larger rectangular hole in the ice. Power augers are sometimes used. A strainer is sometimes required to remove new ice as it forms.
Three main types of fishing occurs. Small, light fishing rods with small, brightly colored lures, or bait such as waxworms or mousies , may be used in jigging for fish. 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 stands over the hole while holding a large spear attached to a line. This method is often used for lake sturgeon fishing.
Becoming increasingly popular is the use of a flasher, or fish finder. This is a sonar system that provides depth information, as well as indicates the presence of fish or other objects. Underwater cameras are also now available which allow the user to view the fish and watch how they react to your lure presentation.
Dangers
Ice needs to freeze to at least four inches in depth to support walking humans, and a foot to support vehicles. However, care must be taken, because sometimes ice will break and move with currents, leaving open areas which refreeze with much thinner ice. On the Great Lakes, off-shore winds can break off miles-wide pans of ice stranding large numbers of fishermen. 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” and is exceedingly dangerous. Some ice-fishermen will continue to fish, but will carry a pole horizontally to hold them, if they fall through. Fisherman may carry a self-rescue device made of two spiked handles connected by a string to help pull themselves back onto the ice out of the water.
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 the temperatures associated.
Contests
Participants of large Finnish ice fishing competition Miljoonapilkki in 2005.Ice fishing contests offer prizes for the largest fish caught within a limited time period. Some people take their ice fishing very seriously. 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 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. And organizers have awarded the prizes to stooges, not really even participating in the competition, to avoid paying prize monies, which often rise to very high sums.
Social implications
Ice fishing has long been considered a “quasi-sport”, in that some people claim that very little skill is really involved and that success is dependent upon just good fortune. This has led many other sportspersons to consider ice fishing to be merely a pastime.
Research by the AIFA (American Ice Fishing Association) has shown that ice fishing can have very calming and relaxing effects for the fishermen/fisherwomen. The AIFA also concluded that icefishing not only helps manage the fish species population, but also contributes to both community economic growth and to the emotional well-being of the participants
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Ice fishing tents make an excellent accessory while fishing on the Ice.
Ice fishing really is fishing in all weathers so to keep warm and more comfortable, some anglers bring an Ice fishing Tent
You need to have a tent where you can go and sit for a while to get away from the elements, because the weather conditions are often too much even for the most hardened ice fishermen.
They are very similar to normal tents but will usually have quite a hard floor that sits on the ice. The size that you should choose really depends on how often you go fishing with more than just yourself. If you always go on your own then there is no real reason to buy one that allows 2 or 3 people to sleep. It just means you will have more weight to carry around with you and will most likely be more difficult to set up than a smaller one man tent.
Its often a good idea to apply some lubricant on the supporting joints to reduce wear and tear so your tent lasts longer. If you notice any manufacturer?s defects upon buying the tent, make sure you return it on time and get a proper one.
The best way to choose ice fishing tents is to visit your local fishing tackle store, where they should have a selection that you can choose from. This is the best way to look at their size to make sure it suits your needs and you can also check the weight of them first-hand to make sure they are not too heavy for you to carry. If you do not have access to a local tackle shop that stocks ice fishing tents, then you can always have a look on the internet to see what’s available. The best thing about looking online is that you can easily compare the prices and styles available between the different websites, so that you can get the best deal.
Having a stable quality Ice fighing tent is a really good idea when ice fishing and they have even been known to save lives. A tent is usually the only place where you can hide from the cold and the all important wind chill.
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Tips on finding the fish when ice fishing
The subject of finding fish while on the ice is very important and comes with experience and sometimes luck.
Here are some tips which may help you get a good start:
* Go where you see other ice fisherman fishing - Local knowledge always wins when it comes to ice fishing, if you see fisherman in one location, you can be sure thats where fish are. Try and politely find out the baits and techniques they are using to get a huge head start to landing fish.
* I know alot of ice fisherman use depth finders to get the depth of the water they are fishing in. Although this is not going to have fish jumping on your line, it can give information on what type of fish to go for and locate. It can also idetify deeper sections of the water where fish may lie.
* A lake/reservour map can also be useful in finding areas of different depths which may attract different types of fish
* Local Tackle shop staff are usually keen to give free information on what areas and techniques have been succesfull in producing good catches.
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As we all know walking on an iced up body of water can be very dangerous. It is impossible to properly judge the thickness of Ice in many conditions so there is no perfect way to judge wether the ice is safe to be on.
The following will give you some tips before you make the decision to head out on the Ice.
* Am i sure the ice is thick enough? - Any doubt, abort the idea, dont think twice. Ice fishing is a day well spent, but not if your life could be in any danger.
* Visual examination of the ice - Ice sometimes gives away indicators of wether it is unsuitable to be walking or driving on. look out for organic growth such as weeds or water plants. Sometimes the ice has small holes in its conisistency which can also spell weakness.
* Two’s company! - Theres more chance one person will fall through ice or have an accident, than both of you. Going ice fishing with someone lowers the danger risks. If you fall through the ice you still most definately have a very serious problem but if your partner(s) has good basic safety equipment, you might just get away with having a very cold bath.
* Weather - If your going ice fishing its likely to be or has been very cold, thats a given. But other factors of weather can effect the quality of ice. A Winter of consistent heavy snow may actually thin or reduce the ices build up. Snow does a great job of insulating ice from colder external temperatures. If it has been a unusual season with unusual variations in termperature the ice quality may also have been compromised, so a thought about the last few weeks weather condition may also be relevent.
* Local Advice - If you are ice fishing in a new area ask a local fishing tackle shop if theres any know dangerous areas where thin ice might be a problem. Local knowledge is priceless.
* Clothing - This is a very cold sport, wrap up and dress with plenty of layers to maintain your body temperature. Remember most of body heat is lost through the feet, head and hands..
* Safety equipment - Something as simple as a couple of very small ice picks / Screwdrivers might be all you need to get enough leverage to pull yourself out of a bad situation.
- Take a compass so you always know roughly where you are and what direction you are heading in.
- A small basic first aid kit in your tackle box/bag can aloo get you out of a multitude of problems while out on the ice.
- If a phone reception is available carry a cell/mobile phone so you can contact someone if you get lost, injure yourself or get in any difficulties.
Hopefully the above tips will just make you pause for a second before deciding to go out on the ice. It’s not designed to put you off, just to think ahead and understand Ice fishing is not without its risks and a little safety preperation can make your time on the ice more enjoyable.
Tight Lines.
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