Ice Fishing

In these days of global transportation, ice fishing would no longer be considered a seasonal activity. Although predominantly occurring in countries or regions situated in the northern hemisphere, like Alaska, northern Canada, Finland, Greenland, Norway, Iceland, and the Arctic, ice fishing is conducted in lower areas during winter periods. The Michigan Great Lakes, for example, are popular for pike fishing. A Michigan ice fishing report informs local anglers of areas and times to go ice fishing every year. Northern New York, New England, Maine and Wisconsin also have many areas that promote ice fishing in January and February. Lake Simcoe ice fishing is particularly enjoyable. Ice fishing in Ontario, such as on or near Lake Ontario, attracts those from both Canada and the United States. The entire north on both sides of the world provides a vast landscape for many people to engage in this sport throughout the year.

Norway and Finland are known for their ice fishing competitions. These events draw a lot of people who try to catch as many fish as possible within a certain amount of time. In these countries, such events are equivalent to the world’s fair in more southern-located areas.

Ice anglers typically carry ice fishing equipment and supplies out onto the ice via ice fishing sleds, snow mobiles, or trucks, and build ice fishing houses, or ice fishing shelters, of various sizes and then drill either round or rectangular holes in the ice with the use of a saw, shovel or power-operated auger. Size and shape of the holes depends on whether or not anglers fish alone or in groups. Any ice fishing house may be as small as a shack (an ice fishing shanty) or camper-size, the latter of which can be, and quite often are, pre-designed with ice fishing house plans. The larger structures include other ice fishing gear, as well as furniture, cabinets, kitchen nooks, stoves, and even sleeping cots for anglers who plan on long stays. These houses are also warmed to deter the coldness and keep away snow and rain. Many single ice anglers who go out for a pleasant afternoon merely sit on the ice or on an ice fishing sled, without any ice fishing shelter, and fish in the open.

During ice fishing, lines having particularly colored ice fishing jigs are cast in the water, sometimes with the aid of underwater sonar that makes it easier for anglers to ‘see’ where the fish are. When a “strike” is made, a flag flips up to indicate the catch. In this way, anglers can keep count. This procedure is especially useful during ice fishing competitions where counts are necessary.

Anglers who love both winter and fishing are able to find a home on the ice with a fishing rod, sometimes without a reel, for engaging in the simplicity of sport and nature. This pastime, which goes back centuries—even millennia—is so very ideal that way.