Ice fishing

[Rick V]

My recent trip up to the frozen tundra (The U.P. of Mi.) has me scratching my head. I saw people ice fishing. Okay I don't get it, why do they call it fishing? You walk out onto the ice, freeze, cut a hole in the ice, freeze, drop some bait through the hole, freeze, keep the hole from freezing closed on ya, more freezing involved, and dangle your fish offering in hopes you find a hungry fish? Huh? Remember I live in Va, where we actually get to do fishing that involves more than standing , freezing, and waiting for a fish to swim by.
Can someone explain this to me? To me it is like going to the Baltimore Aquarium and dropping dynamite in.

[The Gaijin]

I think it has more to do with booze and avoiding the wife than any fish that may or may not be caught..

Rivers, lakes and oceans - it is mostly the same.

[Billbo]

Not a bad way to break up the winter, beats fighting what's going on in Fargo right now. Record crest of the Red River expected on Saturday. Town is shut down preparing for it.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by The Gaijin

I think it has more to do with booze and avoiding the wife than any fish that may or may not be caught..

Rivers, lakes and oceans - it is mostly the same.

Bingo, and I don't have a wife! I don't even drink beer if I'm operating my boat (well, maybe 1 or 2 during the course of the day)...sometimes it's better NOT to be the boat owner. There ain't no bad days fishin'...even if the water's frozen over, I suppose! Some of the best times I've ever had were fishin' with my buddies when nary a fish was caught .

[TerryH]

Fishing is fishing. Ice fishing is the biggest challenge because the fish has to come to you. Of course you can go looking, but after that 3rd or 4th hole, you're too tired to fish.

[vash]

the hard core guys go out with a plan. the same fish structures you cast to from your boat platform get fished by walking above it on the ice. they have topo maps of the lake bottoms and fish finders to assist. i have never tried it, but it looks like a blast. a properly set up iceshack has all the comforts of a good tent...hahaha.

keeping the fish fresh isnt a problem. i dont like the cold, but if it involved fishing, i'll give it a go.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by vash

....keeping the fish fresh isnt a problem. i dont like the cold, but if it involved fishing, i'll give it a go.

+1. Other benefits I presume...you have no trouble keeping the beer cold, and you're not operating a boat or need to drive afterward. Heck, build a nice big fire on the ice to keep warm, and have at it....

[vash]

keith! funny

drinking and boating is a bad idea. drinking and sitting in a purple shack, on ice? mandatory!

[Zef]

Originally Posted by The Gaijin

I think it has more to do with booze and avoiding the wife than any fish that may or may not be caught..

Rivers, lakes and oceans - it is mostly the same.

+ 1...It's a way to get out of the house (because a thing called winter tend to keep you inside) and have some fun....

[anotherblack944]

Oshkosh Fisherman Refuses Rescue; Fish Were Biting
3:42 pm CDT March 25, 2009

OSHKOSH, Wis. -- A fisherman floating on a Lake Winnebago ice slab refused to be rescued Tuesday, telling authorities he wanted to stay because the fish were biting.

Winnebago County sheriff's officials said Joseph Dake used a ladder across open water to get to the ice slab, about a quarter mile from shore.

Lt. John Zimmerman said the slab was connected to ice that led to shore, but a large crack had formed.

The Oshkosh Fire Department sent a rescue boat to Dake Tuesday evening. But authorities said the 35-year-old Oshkosh man refused assistance, saying the fishing was good.

[fingpilot]

When I first moved to Minnesota, rented a place right on the beach in Tonka Bay. It was fall, and the house came with a boat and a dock. Was beautiful. Then I discovered that I had to pull the boat out mid-october, and the dock too. Started snowing on Halloween. Lake froze over shortly after.

Loved living on the water. Sitting one evening reading the paper with my back to the picture window that looked out on the lake, when the paper was lit from behind by headlights..... Someone had planted a ice house 50 feet off of my beach, and had several cars and trucks parked there, all having a great time. Noisy, coming and going all hours, and not a thing we could do about it.

Karma intervened. During one loud, well-attended party, the entire 50 foot radius around the icehouse crashed thru and sank. The tow companies wanted to use my property to anchor and retrieve the truck to pull the cars and debris out. Thankfully, the police nixxed that, and the following spring, they came back and lifted all the cars and debris onto a barge, now floating. The water was 50 feet deep. I understand the bill for the enviornmental cleanup was $100K.

Nobody parked in front of my place for another two winters.

[FastCarFan]

Originally Posted by anotherblack944

Oshkosh Fisherman Refuses Rescue; Fish Were Biting
3:42 pm CDT March 25, 2009

OSHKOSH, Wis. -- A fisherman floating on a Lake Winnebago ice slab refused to be rescued Tuesday, telling authorities he wanted to stay because the fish were biting.

Winnebago County sheriff's officials said Joseph Dake used a ladder across open water to get to the ice slab, about a quarter mile from shore.

Lt. John Zimmerman said the slab was connected to ice that led to shore, but a large crack had formed.

The Oshkosh Fire Department sent a rescue boat to Dake Tuesday evening. But authorities said the 35-year-old Oshkosh man refused assistance, saying the fishing was good.

I don't understand the appeal either. I know, beer is part of it, but I can think of many, many things I would rather do.

I love the stories like the one quoted above about guys stranded on ice floes. Check out the story below from earlier this year in Lake Erie. I love the quote from the Sheriff (I made it bold & underlined it).

This happens every year on the Great Lakes.



(CNN) -- An Ohio sheriff had harsh words for ice fishermen who had to be rescued Saturday after high winds and rising temperatures caused an ice floe to break away and strand about 150 of them on Lake Erie.

People were stuck when an 8-mile-long chunk of Lake Erie ice broke away near Toledo, Ohio.

The incident, in which one person was pronounced dead after being transported to the hospital, came after the National Weather Service issued a warning that ice floes could break away from the main ice area in the western section of the lake.

At least some of those rescued were fishermen.

"This just cost the taxpayers a ton of money," Ottawa County, Ohio, Sheriff Bob Bratton said. "We lost a life out there today. ... I'm sorry a man lost his life out there today. These people should have known better."

Bratton said those rescued should never have been on Lake Erie in the first place because weather conditions made it risky, and "if there was a section in the code about common sense, we would have had 150 arrests out there today." Watch sheriff express frustration »

A spokesman for the U.S. Coast Guard said the person who died fell in the water when the ice floe broke away from land. View ice safety tips »

"We have rescued more than 150 people, and unfortunately there were two people in the water," Chief Petty Officer Robert Lanier said. "One of the people was recovered and brought to shore," but the other man was pronounced dead after being taken to a hospital.

"This was wrong. These people endangered the life of volunteer firemen, [and] the United States Coast Guard," Bratton said, estimating the cost of the sheriff's office response at $25,000. "I'm sure that's going to climb."

Bratton told the Cleveland Plain Dealer that the fishermen displayed poor judgment in building a makeshift bridge to get from one section of the ice to the other.

"I have no problem with people ice fishing, but these idiots should realize that when you see open water, you should not build a bridge and cross it," he said. "It's a shame you can't arrest people for stupidity."

Among the hundreds of people who went fishing Saturday were Gary and David Vaughn of Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvania.

They told the Plain Dealer that they set up a shanty about 7 a.m. and didn't come back out until 11 a.m., when they saw a crowd gathered at the edge of the ice. It was then that they knew they were in trouble.

"When we were over there waiting to be rescued, we feared the ice would just break up under us," Gary Vaughn, 47, told the newspaper. "I feared for my life."

The sheriff told the Toledo Blade that the people who went out on the ice did not take proper precautions.

"Where is the common sense when they know the ice is broken?" Bratton said.

"The experienced fishermen, I guarantee, are not out there," he told the newspaper. "They're not reading the weather. If the ice is broke, you don't build a little bridge to get from here to there."

"Ice fishing and recreation on the ice is a culture in the Great Lakes. It's something we've become used to," Lanier said. iReport.com: Were you there? Share your photos, story

The sheriff said there were a host of factors that the fishermen should have been aware of, which caused them to risk their lives unnecessarily.

"The weather changed; the temperature went up; the wind was coming out of the south. These are all things that are indicators [that an ice floe break could occur]."

Asked whether there are signs or other notification systems to discourage fishermen from going out on the ice under risky conditions, Bratton said there are only Web sites fishermen can check.

"We will go back and look at that," he said. "We can't develop the attitude, 'Go out on the ice. If you get caught, we'll be there to get you. We'll bring you in.' You've got to have common sense." Watch lake officials describe rescue efforts »

Unprecedented numbers of fishermen have taken to the ice this winter because thicker ice allowed them to go farther out onto the lake, according to the Plain Dealer. But Saturday's unseasonably high temperatures apparently melted chunks of the ice.

The ice floe, 8 miles long, was created when a large piece of ice broke off from land near Locust Point, Ohio, east of Toledo, Lanier said earlier.

Numerous helicopters participated in the rescue, Lanier said, including those from the Canadian Coast Guard, the U.S. Coast Guard, Ohio State University and Monroe County. State hovercraft were on the scene as well, and airboats were sent, he said.

[JKelley]

Originally Posted by fingpilot

When I first moved to Minnesota, rented a place right on the beach in Tonka Bay. It was fall, and the house came with a boat and a dock. Was beautiful. Then I discovered that I had to pull the boat out mid-october, and the dock too. Started snowing on Halloween. Lake froze over shortly after.

Loved living on the water. Sitting one evening reading the paper with my back to the picture window that looked out on the lake, when the paper was lit from behind by headlights..... Someone had planted a ice house 50 feet off of my beach, and had several cars and trucks parked there, all having a great time. Noisy, coming and going all hours, and not a thing we could do about it.

Karma intervened. During one loud, well-attended party, the entire 50 foot radius around the icehouse crashed thru and sank. The tow companies wanted to use my property to anchor and retrieve the truck to pull the cars and debris out. Thankfully, the police nixxed that, and the following spring, they came back and lifted all the cars and debris onto a barge, now floating. The water was 50 feet deep. I understand the bill for the enviornmental cleanup was $100K.

Nobody parked in front of my place for another two winters.

Hey Fingpilot.. I live in Tonka Bay, did you ever go to this place?
This is one of the marina's located on Lakeview Av. When did you live here?
John

[Mike Andrew]

Just went last weekend in NW Wisconsin.Fishing wasn't great, but the buddies were and it was nice to be sitting in shirtsleeves on the ice the first Saturday of spring.
Oh, there was beer.

[fingpilot]

John;

Was there when the NHL Northstars became the "Stars". Believe it was the late 80's/early 90's. Lived almost at the end of Mound Ave. I don't remember that exact marina/restaurant, but know that all of them seemed to change hands every couple of years.

I loved living there, but then, I got to fly out a lot during the winters. At least got to climb up into the sunshine.

[JKelley]

Originally Posted by fingpilot

John;

Was there when the NHL Northstars became the "Stars". Believe it was the late 80's/early 90's. Lived almost at the end of Mound Ave. I don't remember that exact marina/restaurant, but know that all of them seemed to change hands every couple of years.

I loved living there, but then, I got to fly out a lot during the winters. At least got to climb up into the sunshine.

Fingpilot

The marina is at the end of Tonka Bay Rd off Hwy 19. This marina was part of an old Motel that was built in 1886 and demolished in 1913. The marina/seasonal bar is the only part of the old hotel that remains. The only reason the thing is still standing is because the owner is about 85 years old and refuses to change a thing. He has owned this place since 1959. Here is another shot of the marina looking out to gails island. My wife and I have lived here since 1992, we really enjoy the area year round. I will admit the last two winters have been tough to take.

John