Child’s Play

Is this the year you get your offspring on the ice? Each season I try and take youth on the ice who have either never been ice fishing, or don’t have an outlet to go. I don’t worry about broken lines or lost lures. I do however keep initial forays close to home and take along lots of extra gear in case they get wet feet by stepping into a hole. It happens, but what’s important is for them to know that winter fishing can be just as much fun, if not more fun than fishing in the summer.

Your Ice-Fishing Success Depends Upon You

I’ve been on the water often enough over the decades to know that the barometer will affect your fishing success, but the degree to which it plays a part, often depends upon the fisherman him/herself. The need to slow down one’s presentation is often difficult to recognize, much less make a very necessary, immediate transition, especially when you’ve been out several days in a row with the fish banging your lure or minnow as soon as, or before it hits your favored fishing depth.

I frequently state, “I let the fish tell me what they want.”