Ice Fishing

Written By: Fran Cross

One of mine and my husband’s favourite outdoor activities in the winter is ice fishing. Ice Fishing is when you drill holes in a frozen lake and fish from a line. It’s a great outdoor activity.  

When my husband and I head out to go ice fishing, I look forward to spending the day out on the lake. Seeing all the ice fishing shacks(shantys) ) on the lake makes it look like a small ice fishing community. I love that feeling. We’re lucky enough to live by a lot of lakes that are less than a 20 minute drive from us. We go ice fishing quite often.     

  At the start of ice fishing season. We make sure the ice is thick enough before we drive on it. The ice has to be at least a foot deep. Before we drive on it for safety measures.    

Locators

 A fish locator is a handy tool, if you have one. It lets you know where the fish are once you drill the hole. If you don’t have one when you’re out on the lake, look where the ice shacks are at. That’s a general clue the fish are around that area.    

Ice Shacks

A lot of people use ice shacks(shanty’s) which are made out of wood. These are permanent and can be wheeled onto the lake and left there for the season.

We have a portable ice shack which is easy to put up and take down. Once you’re done fishing for the day, you can take it home with you. These types of shelter help keep the wind out and also gives you some privacy while fishing. Where we live the weather can be quite cold in the winter. We take a propane heater to keep us warm in the shack when needed.  

Timing

When’s the best time to fish? Usually when a low pressure comes in. Which is cloudy or stormy weather. The fish will not be as active when ice fishing. A high pressure system is when there are clear skies and calm weather. So the best time to fish would be when the weather has been the same for a few days. The best fishing, if going by the barometric pressure, is between 101 and 105 is what we have found. 

    If you’re going ice fishing in the morning, keep in mind that the fish are closer to shore and will be moving out. In the late afternoons, the fish are going to be heading towards the shore.    

Have Fun

The just of it is if you aren’t out ice fishing, you don’t have a chance of catching anything. No matter what the weather is, since my husband and I are avid fishermen and love to fish, we usually go for the whole day. I usually pack lunch for us when we do. Nothing beats spending the day outdoors ice fishing with your loved ones.