Page 14 - JAN2022

Page 14
Sports
By mJC
Ice fishing, full transpar- ency, I am relatively new to this aspect of fishing. Having grown up just outside of Boston and spent most of my adult life in the southern states, so ice fish- ing was not a viable option. I have, however, recently tried my hand at it without much success as far as catching fish, but I have discovered that for a lot of the ice fishing population, catching fish is a bonus, not so much the goal. Being outside in the fresh air with family and friends and
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enjoying a day on the ice, espe- cially if it’s a bright blue sunny day with light to no wind having a cookout and a warming fire, catching up on life.
I have observed many other people out on the ice having fun and enjoying the experience, whether they were serious ice fisherman, with numerous sets, or less avid participants more casually setting up a drop or two. As for myself, I had my friend and his two sons with me. We used a chainsaw and cut out a couple of blocks of ice and set up two lines with live bait. The
days were less about catching fish than they were about my friend and I catching up on what we have been up to lately and reminiscing about when we were his kids ages and all the fun we had and the mischief we got into. Life was a bit different back 40 years ago at the lake. Far fewer people and much less regulation. It was our wild, wild west. In the dead of winter, you could have almost any area on the lake that you desired, as opposed to today where the population has multiplied ex- ponentially. Anywho, I digress, back to fishing, definitely fishing and not catching for us. We had a few hits but we were so caught up in maintaining the fire and cooking sausages that we missed the strikes. His kids had more fun playing with the bait, nam- ing them, and having imaginary races with them, so all in all a good time was had by all.
If you have been cooped up in the winter months in the past, for whatever reason, and would like to get out and participate in relatively relaxing activity, try ice fishing. It’s also a social activity, most fisherman are willing to share their experience with you, love to talk about fish and fishing and are generally friendly and generous people. Don’t be shy, if you see someone ice fishing, approach them and start a con- versation, you may find it to be an enlightening experience and time well spent. Who know, you may even strike up a new and lasting friendship. It’s a win- win for all involved. Get off the couch, put down the remote and go have fun, and if you have kids or grandkids, it’s a great family activity for all of the reasons cited in this article and many more. Make a day of it, give it a shot, you never know, you just might catch the big one!
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This year I intend to get a bit more serious about the sport, get with experienced and successful ice fisherman and learn the se- cret handshake as to where they are (the fish) and the best tactics and techniques to catch them. I will update as to how my quest progresses or the lack there of.
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