Fishing is my favorite hobby.
I love being out on the water, swaying back and forth in the breeze, watching that bobber slide to one side and then sink below the water line going the other direction.
There isn’t a lot of that going on our lakes this time of year, so we fishermen have two options—watch out the window and hope that spring comes early or bundle up and get out the ice fishing equipment and start drilling holes.
Ice fishing does not bring about the same warm and fuzzy feelings that being in a boat gives you. There isn’t a lot that’s romantic about ice fishing, especially compared to the summer version of the activity.
Launching a boat takes a little muscle and know-how but then feeling the breeze on your face as you scoot away from the launch and out to search for where the biomass has gathered that day makes it way worth it.
When you are ice fishing, you drag your ice equipment behind you wherever you are going. Sometimes, that first place you stop to investigate the presence of fish is the spot where you need to stop to catch your breath.
The next choice is whether you are going to be a “box” ice fisherman or a “hut” fisherman. Box people have less to carry onto the ice but no way to shelter from the cold and wind. Hut people have more to lug around but they have built in protection from the elements. Add a small kerosene lantern to the inside of that shelter and you are set for climate-controlled fishing at any time of the day or night.
And box fishing doesn’t lend itself to the social aspect of traditional fishing.
But a shelter that’s built for multiple people can open the door to some of the best times you could ever imagine happening.
Now add a fishing camera to your arsenal and you can not only see if there are any fish below your hole, but you can see what species and the quality and quantity of them.
Sure, you can use your sonar to detect fish from the boat, but the water clarity in the winter is so good that you can drop your camera down and watch the fish bite your bait.
Here’s the problem: no matter what time of year it is, fishing only occurs when the weather cooperates.
And for those who choose to bundle up and fish in the winter, the winters have not been cooperative over the last few years.
We had that stretch in early January that was good for making ice, and we made good ice. During that time, some guys did get out and do some fishing, and by all reports the catch was pretty good and the quality of fish they pulled through the holes was also pretty good.
But then that fickle wind switched from the north to the south, and the ice began to disappear.
At first, there was still good ice out in the middle of the lake, but it was mushy on the top. That makes it a lot harder to pull a box or hut across but not impossible. And eventually the warm air warms the ice on the shorelines and there is trouble just getting onto the ice sheet in the first place.
So, unless something changes soon, another winter will come and go and I will not get to drag my hut around the ice.
Maybe more importantly, another year will go by and I won’t get show my pre-teenage son what it’s like to bundle up, drill two holes and sit and enjoy the day together in that hut.
It’s no one’s fault. It can’t be helped.
When you are counting on the weather for doing anything, you understand the risks involved.
If you are an ice fisherman, and your chance to get away from work or whatever is now, you may be tempted to sneak out and try to drill some holes and catch a few before it’s too late.
That is such an awful idea.
The only good thing that comes from that concept is that you make it on the ice and back off again without the county dive team getting involved.
No amount of fish or trophy catch is worth that.
It’s only the beginning of February. Maybe we get another cold spell and good ice comes back with it.
Or maybe the fishermen who are staring out the window waiting for spring have the right idea.