Your First Ice Fishing Experience

happened across this thread over at ice shanty and I loved it.

https://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=338159.0

I love hearing peoples stories so I thought I would start a thread here and see if people had a story to share.

Personally I cant say I remember the very first day I went ice fishing. I do remember as a teenager I would walk across the frozen lake to my friends house with nothing but jeans and sneakers on. When you stop feeling your thighs you know you are cold but that never seemed to bother us much we were so determined to have adventures on the lake. this would have been in the early 90’s. We didn’t have any equipment other than a hand line pole and maybe a few ice jigs and wax worms. We used to walk out to the lake and wait for other fisherman to show up just to ask them to punch us a few holes as we didn’t have a spud bar or axe and certainly not an auger. Fun times

Not a personal story but something that played in when my father was growing up.

They had a great uncle Jack that lived near by that was one of those hermit types that lived alone in a single room cabin. Upon his passing after the 1929 stock market crash they found money tucked into the mattress, walls, hiding spots, etc. Must have been a total curmudgeon because the youngest siblings were deathly afraid of him. They would sprint by his place along the road to avoid any possibility of a confrontation.

In comes the ice fishing angle. It was a bit of a family tradition for the eldest brothers to play into the fears of the younger siblings. They did more than scaring the younger ones that when the lake would crack they might fall thru. They created a name for it called “Järvijäki”. They played into the fears they had of this old hermit Jack that the ice cracking was actually “Lake Jack” that was coming to get them.

I myself had been warned of “Järvijäki” as a young fisherman but I never experienced the full context.

4th grade. Me and my buddy got bored watching tip-ups so we started playing football. He was Don Majkowski and I was Sterling Sharpe. I went out for a pass, eyes focused like lasers on the ball as it wobbled through the air through snowflakes. Next thing I knew my left leg was in the water pretty much up to my frozen boy parts.

“Watch out for them holes,” his dad said. Spent the next few hours trying to warm up next to some drunken uncles in the shack.

Have had some good days on the ice too, but never really got into it.

I never ice/summer fished as a kid started summer fishing in 1999 then figured I would go ice fishing. I found a old Mora 7 inch hand auger, old peg rods and a old clam house that you had to throw the tarp over and fasten down. Well any way went out and tried to get the tarp over the house did not work well It ended up blowing away chased it down. Then I learned how sharp blades are a must I must have tried for 15 minutes and got no where chiseled a hole with the ice chisel found I was in 4 feet of water. Got nothing. Now the good part I went out to the big crowd of people, nothing draws a crowd like a crowd, A older man came up to me started talking with me. He showed me rods and reels, power auger, Ice auger, And a Vexilar. To this day I thank that man and hope many of you will be like him we fished together many a time. I bought a Vex first because it was the most money. Then an auger and flip over house I have never been the same since and today feel I’m an accomplished ice angler and yes I help people whenever I can. That’s my first ice story.

Must have been around 9 or 10, dad and 5 or 6 buddies gathered at horse lake, built a fire and shot the breeze. Must have been around 15 tipups out. I got to run them all, had a ball. DK.

mrpike1973 wrote:

I never ice/summer fished as a kid started summer fishing in 1999 then figured I would go ice fishing. I found a old Mora 7 inch hand auger, old peg rods and a old clam house that you had to throw the tarp over and fasten down. Well any way went out and tried to get the tarp over the house did not work well It ended up blowing away chased it down. Then I learned how sharp blades are a must I must have tried for 15 minutes and got no where chiseled a hole with the ice chisel found I was in 4 feet of water. Got nothing. Now the good part I went out to the big crowd of people, nothing draws a crowd like a crowd, A older man came up to me started talking with me. He showed me rods and reels, power auger, Ice auger, And a Vexilar. To this day I thank that man and hope many of you will be like him we fished together many a time. I bought a Vex first because it was the most money. Then an auger and flip over house I have never been the same since and today feel I’m an accomplished ice angler and yes I help people whenever I can. That’s my first ice story.

Awesome story, the old timer took you under his wing and lit a fire. God bless his soul

Amen!

I don’t remember my first ice fishing trip but I owe my passion for ice fishing to my grandfather. I spent many a day in my grandpa’s blue tarp fishhouse. The old dowel stick rods catching anything from panfish to walleyes. Funny I didn’t die from the sunflower heater and smell of Swisher Sweets. I burned many a pair of gloves and had a lot of wet boots but my grandpa always had the patience to take me whenever he could. Even though my grandpa is gone I have a Swisher Sweet box of his full of his lures sitting on my shelf in the office. I only hope I can have the same influence on my son and daughters.

I did not grow up ice fishing, but open water fished quite a bit. My first time ice fishing was with my new friends my freshman year of college at SDSU in 2008. We went out on first ice, I believe a few days after thanksgiving. One guy assured me all you needed was 2-3″, the ice was crystal clear, and cracked with every step. I don’t believe we caught anything, and looking back I’m just glad I didn’t fall in.

Slowly figured out how to ice fish over the years, and now I probably prefer it over open water. Somehow I caught more walleye in those SD sloughs with a hand auger, no flasher, and really no idea what I was doing than I catch now with all the equipment and a bit of knowledge.

I just moved back to the Midwest and have never really ice fished. Hoping to start simple this year and fish in city (I live near lake harriet) as I have a newborn and dont want to venture to far from the family this winter. Anyone have advise as to what affordable gear to get, and any other advice you might have for a rookie including protocols and Etiquette. Thanks so much.

shawn42 wrote:

I just moved back to the Midwest and have never really ice fished. Hoping to start simple this year and fish in city (I live near lake harriet) as I have a newborn and dont want to venture to far from the family this winter. Anyone have advise as to what affordable gear to get, and any other advice you might have for a rookie including protocols and Etiquette. Thanks so much.

Flasher will be the best investment you can make. Nothing wrong with an FL-8 or VX-1. Other than that get a hand auger, a few different types of jigs and spoons, a medium quality pole/reel combo and a 5 gal bucket and you should be all set. Oh and get a good pair of boots and some wool socks. That will serve you well back in the Midwest all winter. Stick around a lot of good people on this site will be able to lend you a hand

maybe talk to @jamin I hear he’s looking to sell a flasher

Grew up fishing eyes and perch on Big Stone in the 80’s shantytowns that used to pop up out there. It was a jiggle stick and heavy mono with either a Jigging Rap or Swedish Pimple out the door of the truck or in my grandpa’s 5′ X 8′ skid house with a wood stove.

I do recall starting ice fishing at an early age. I’m pretty sure they were still using ice chisels at the time (likely early 1970s). Simple clip on weights & hand wound jig sticks (no flasher units, reels, etc). My father started me on pan fishing. Must have been 3-4 years old. Used the simple tactic of setting the hook and running with the pole. You stopped running when the fish popped out of the hole. I remember many times sitting in the truck to warm up with a cup of cocoa from a glass thermos.

Has not been properly documented but I’m quite certain I was born on the ice.

If you don’t like ice fishing you don’t know what’s good

Tegg, your last statement is what I remember the most from earliest ice fishing I can recall, we always had hot cocoa in a thermos. The good stuff you make over the stove with cocoa powder from scratch too. I’ve developed a nasty reaction to lactose so I’m unable to have that hot chocolate anymore but I started making some for my son each time I took him out as well last year.

This is my first season every ice fishing too do you know any lakes in the saint Paul area that freeze fast and are a good place to start for a beginner

Went out with grandpa and when he was getting the holes drilled i stepped in one. Spent the rest of the day with his glove for a boot. Sad part is i didn’t learn my lesson and have stepped in about 5 holes since lol!and thats why I won’t set foot in a spear house.

First time was when I moved back to Michigan after teaching in Southern California- 1998. Read a Woods and Water magazine, bought two tip-ups and set over the spot, on Reeds Lake, where I had caught my first pike in 1984. Sitting in a plastic chair I dozed off with my back to the wind and I woke to both flags pointing to the sky! Caught a pair of 26 inch pike and have been hooked ever since!

About 15 years ago on Leech when I first moved to MN from VA. Was an eye opening experience. One of my new friends had invited me out there with his dad and we spent two days there. It was probably the best ice fishing I’ve ever experienced. We were catching big gills and walleye left and right and I even caught a 5 lb eelpout (also an eye opening experience).

I’m trying to remember my first ice trip…anyways all I got was a jigging peg pole and clip on red/white bobber. And it was fishing somebody else’s drilled hole, cuz I didn’t own a drill.

No idea what happen to that peg pole thingy. Maybe dad toss it away cuz he didn’t want me to go ice fishing/or it’s tucked away somewhere. Moved a few times since those times. And can’t find my home made one with broken rod tip for top and plastic spool too.

years later, I remember shelter and flasher being my biggest game changer…but it was the fishing buddies who never wanted to go ice fishing, had suddenly had the gear and had been ice fishing. I was the last one to play keep up with the jones in equipment.

Disclaimer: if long stories Or spelling and punctuation errors bother you, I suggest not reading the following. ✌️Drifter.

I don’t remember my first time ice fishing. I’m sure I was too young to remember. But I’d bet it was spearing with my dad. Dad used to get laid off in the winter and in between farming chores and milking we did a lot of spearing. I remember being devistated when I started all day school, because that meant my brother (3 yrs younger) was spearing all day with him. But I do remember my first time to Lake of The Woods……

Back then big lakes like that were a very big adventure, and this trip was one of the greatest adventures I remember from my childhood. My dad, uncle and I went on a spearing trip. I was too young to sit by myself in the spear house so I was running tip ups while sitting with dad and uncle Clyde. The first day setting up I remember was so cold. Coldest I have ever, even to this day remember. I’m sure I’ve seen colder but I will always remember it as the coldest day I have ever witnessed. The chainsaw we were cutting holes with would only cut about 1/3 of a spear hole at a time before it would freeze up. We would have to throw it on the floor of the truck with the floor heat on hi to thaw it. We finally got set up and I caught a few northerners on tip ups while dad showed me how to do it. After awhile I got the hang of it and the flag goes up. Dad said go for it by yourself. So I go out and hook into a big one. After battling the fish for about 10 minutes dad opens the door and says what the hell are you doing, and at that moment I drag a 17#er out of the hole (I still have that fish mounted on my wall). My hands were so cold they froze and split open and bled when they thawed. Dad wasn’t really seeing much, but uncle Clyde was having a hay day. I think back then it was 6 fish each on LOTW’s and I know he had his limit and was working on dad and I’s limit. So I walked over to his darkhouse to sit with him. When I got over there he was sitting outside on his block of Ice shaking, smoking, and drinking a brandy. He muttered “I ain’t never seen anything like it”. He said he had 3 pike fighting over his decoy. All three looked over 15#’s. He didn’t spear any of them. That night we stayed at the dive motel at the casino in Warroad. We were the only people in the S-hole and they said they were giving us the room with the boiler for the whole motel in it. So it should be nice and warm they said. We froze that night. The next day’s fishing was the same. Clyde was killing it, dad can’t buy a fish, I’m doing so so on tip ups. At some point I look out at my tip ups and say hey Dad it’s snowing. Dad looks out and says yeah it’s snowing pretty good, we should probably pack up and head in. Go tell Clyde let’s go. So I truge over to Clyde’s house and he huffs and says no way he’s leaving yet. So I tell dad he’s not ready to go yet. I remember wondering why he was so worried, it really wasn’t snowing that hard. A little later I look out and say hey dad , I can’t see my tip ups. He sent me back over to Clyde’s to tell him we are going. Clyde was still not wanting to go yet. So I go back and tell dad. He was getting nervous and said start the truck, we will see what it does. About 20 mins later I look out again and said dad I can’t see the truck. It was parked probably 40 ft from the fish house. The fog rolled in and the snow picked up a little bit making it a complete white out. Dad freaked out and said follow your beaten path in the snow and go get Clyde now! When I knocked on Clyde’s door he opened it and looked out and said holy F! We gotta get out of here. So we packed up and climb in the truck, miles out on LOTW’s in a white out. No GPS or compass. Nothing. Clyde said how the hell are we going to find our way off here? Dad said he always sets his house up in the direction we have to go to get off. So he swung the truck and trailer with the snowmobile around and pointed it in the direction he thought we had to go and locked his arms straight. We start driving, and driving, and driving in the storm. When the two adults started getting nervous and Clyde said we were going the wrong way and we’re probably in Canada, all of the sudden we were stuck in a snow drift in some cattails. We got the truck shoveled out and dad said we have to be close to shore. He was going to unload the snowmobile, find shore, and run up and down it to find where we got to get off in Springsteel. As he heads off in the white abyss uncle Clyde looked at me and said he’s nuts, we’ll never see that “Effer” again. That eased my mind thinking I may never see dad again. After what seemed like forever and Clyde had smoked 1/2 a pack, here dad came flying out of nowhere on the sled! Said he found where we gotta go. He had me walk ahead of the truck following the snowmobile tracks, and he followed me in the pickup. We were only a couple hundred yards from the access! So we got back to the motel, they took the bathroom door off the hinges, laid it on the bed and cleaned fish on it. Judging by the scratches on the door it wasn’t the first time that had been done. After fried fish for dinner, dad and Clyde left me in the room playing and watching TV by myself. They went to the casino to spend the free chips they got with the room rental. While playing with my ninja turtles I found a piece of plywood under the TV stand that was covering a heat vent in the floor. Since it was so cold in our room I left it off and shortly dad and Clyde returned. When they were getting ready for bed Clyde said no way he was freezing like last night again so he put on his snowmobile suit and bomber hat and crawled into bed. Within about two hours we were all in our underwear sweating. I didn’t know any better and slept through it. The next morning they were rummaging around the room trying to figure out what happened when the found the plywood laying by the vent. I told them that I slid it off all the way last night. They had a good laugh and put it back on 1/2 way and we went back out fishing. The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful, until the ride home when Clyde was having me open the sliding rear window grabbing him beers from the truck box. About every twenty minutes we had to pull over for him to take a leak. Wouldn’t you know he was standing alongside the truck peeing when a state trooper pulls up. Noticing Clyde is obviously drunk he grills dad pretty good until he’s sure dad wasn’t drinking/driving, grabs the thirty pack of Stroh’s Light and throws it in the back of the box out of reach and says get out of there. After that trip mom didn’t let me go with the guys again for a couple years. Clyde has been dead about 10 years now, but I have a ton more stories from hunting/fishing with him. He was a blast to be around. He was actually my grandpas brother but we called him uncle.

I started out when I was about 12. All I had was a hand auger, one pole and a five gallon bucket. I would walk to the lake with my bucket in one hand and auger in the other. All I had for bait was some crappie nibbles. But they worked and I caught a lot of crappies. I too would bring a thermos of hot chocolate. I slowly acquired more gear. My dad and I built my first “portable” fish house I think the second year.

I had the opportunity to take my uncle out ice fishing for his first time. He grew up in Texas and later moved to Missouri. He came to town to visit and called me and said he wanted to try out ice fishing. We made plans to go the next morning. Now this was a year where it warmed up and fish houses were dropping through the ice and made the news. My uncle saw this and he wasn’t so sure about going anymore. I assured him where we were going the ice was fine. He asks me how far we will have to walk to get to the fishing spot? About 25 feet I tell him. He didn’t understand and I told him we will drive out onto the lake in the truck to the area we were going to fish. My Uncle thought this was nuts! He couldn’t believe it! The next morning I picked him up. He came out to the truck wearing the biggest snowsuit I have ever seen. I looked at him and asked, “why are you wearing that?” He says, “because it is cold out here!”. “Well you don’t need it, you will be in your t-shirt in 15 minutes.” I tell him. He thought I was pulling his leg because he was “the new guy”. Once we got to the lake and all set up in the portable with the heat on he stripped to his t-shirt and tells me I was right. We did catch some nice crappies that day, his favorite fish to catch.

My father was a die hard fisherman. But would not go near ice of any kind unless some sort of whiskey was floating it. In 1958 friend and I decided to brave mighty Mosquito creek. Being ignorant we went on water that was moving underneath. Luckily we did not step on any thin spots. We ” drilled “our two holes with a hand axe. After removing about a foot of snow covering our spot.

Our dress was hardly adequate leather boots with about four pair of sox. Which promptly got cold as all get out. 45 minutes later we retreat home about a 2 mile
trek. The only reason we didn’t freeze to death was we kept moving. When we got home made a vow to each other never to do something that stupid again.

The very next year we are ice skating on Mosquito Lake. See a small home made hut and skate by it. Old man inside steps out to make sure no ones trying to pilfer his gear. So we strike up conversation about our one and only ice trip.
Told him about near freezing to death for nary a bite.

He had me sit down in his shack. Showed me how to jig the pole and boom a caught a HUGE 10 inch walleye. Spent about 20 minutes in shack with him swapping fishing stories and trying to catch another fish. Needless to say I have been hooked on ice fishing ever since.

That old man I later knew was one-eye Ernie. He wore a patch over his missing eye. Some guys said he lost eye in WWII but I never asked to confirm. I learned ice fishing from that man like a sponge absorbing water. To this day I have never met someone who could approach his knack for catching large panfish.

When he passed it was almost as devastating as when my father passed.Took me a few years to realize 10 inch walleye weren’t all that big. But when it your first fish coming up thru the ice……..

January of 2015 to Lake of the Woods will always be remembered by me as a trip of a lifetime. It was one that brought a couple friends and I much closer. Possibly closer than we wanted… Three guys in a sleeper cabin, 17 miles in, lots of time and no showers (the stench alone was one that will not be forgotten). Let me start out with a little background on us.
I have been ice fishing with my Father since I was very young. We would spend New Year’s out on the ice, a tradition I still wish we practiced. I still go every chance I get. My cohorts were not as experienced. For story sake I will refer to them as Jim and Adam. Jim has been ice fishing a few times but not a regular to the sport. Adam on the other hand has never been. He was quite worried about the ice when we were driving out to the shack. He quickly got over his worries when we got into the fish.
Now as most of you know Lake of the Woods is a working man’s lake. We would fish Sun up until Sun down. The First couple days we got into a few sandwich stackers and threw them in the skillet for dinner. On the third day we really got into the fish. We were catching Walleye, Sauger, Tulipe and Eelout (Nothing of significant size). A bottle of Icehole or two may have been opened. So the day was ending and the bite died down when the story gets good. We each had two poles in the water with a Marcum and Lawrence on opposing ends. Adam was in the middle with Jim and I on the outside of him. We were in the middle of a story when Adam stops what he was saying and noticed a large mark on the Lawrence next to Jim.
His bobber goes under the water, into the dark abyss of his hole. He lets out an “Oh my God!” The hook is set, line is going out and the hooting and hollering begins. All of a sudden Jim shouts “Holy hell!” when his bobber goes under and he moves into action. I’m standing by Adam talking him through his first big bite when he says “Dude your pole!” I quickly grab my pole when a light bulb goes off. I say “Guys let the line out from your poles. He is catching on all or our lines.” Jim responds, “Yeah I was kind of thinking that as well.” Adam says, “Guys I almost got him!” At this point the fish is at the bottom of the ice and all Adam see is its eye and he lets out an “Omg, Omg, Omg! Guys I can’t breathe! I think I’m going to pass out!” I respond with, “Adam, get the head up into the hole or you’re going to lose him!” Adam replies, “OMG! OMG! OMG!” I look up and see him about to try and lift the fish out of the water with the pole… now we all know that doing something of this nature will result in disaster. With the large heart that I have would not allow me to see this happen. So I reach into the hole and grab the walleye from the gill. Adam drops his rod and reel and proceeds to back away from the hole saying, “OMG! OMG! OMG! Guys Im really going to pass out! OMG! Is this really happening!” Jim and myself are laughing hysterically saying, “Dude! Calm down! Calm down! You Caught this on your First Time ice fishing!!!” I’m holding the fish telling Adam, “Hey come grab your fish, we have to unwrap the 5 other lines and take the hook off.”
After all that we measured the big Walleye at just shy of 26 in. It was not the largest fish out there but it was one we landed that I will never forget. Jim and Adam now ice fish more regularly and love to tell this story. Oh, and we also have a group of 8 guys who go every year. I believe we now have a few more addicts to add to the list. Thanks for reading.