So I have a co-worker that is just getting into ice fishing. and didn't know what to do. He had noticed that his dad had an old wheelhouse ice shanty from his grandpa that wasn't being used. So for the heck of it he took it home and got the old shack up to speed. At this point he had nearly no idea on what to do other than place the shack on the ice. This is where I came in. I have been feeding him with information and the like on how to bring ice fishing into the 21st century.
I let him borrow my underwater camera. It was great that he could actually see if there were fish below him. I introduced him to ice buster bobbers. Since he had been using the old school cork with toothpick this was a huge benefit for him. Once he had got the hang by himself we went out together and I showed him how to use an ice fishing flasher. He is now thoroughly convinced that the modern ice fishing way is the right way. And truly, if you haven't been around ice fishing for over a decade the sport has really changed. The portability of everything is increased by leaps and bounds. Now a ice fisher can get to the lake with portable ice fishing huts and be to his spot in minutes set up and ready to fish. No worrying about putting 2x4's under the house to ensure it doesn't freeze in, you can bring your shelter home with you every time and not have to spend a lot of time screwing around.
The electronics are simply amazing. We can now use a GPS to show us the lake contour of everywhere we want to go, and mark the hot spots we find along the way. Once we get there we can punch many holes in a quick fashion with our power ice auger. One the holes are made we can look down them with our flasher to see if any fish are present. None there? Just move to the next hole and so on. If we want a true picture of what is down there we can drop our underwater camera down the hole and see what is down there for structure and fish. NO more wasting umpteen hours on the lake catching nothing.
The modern ice angler is all about efficiency. If the fish aren't biting move to another spot quickly with you portable house, punch holes to your heart's desire with a quick cutting power auger and fish there. If there are no fish there rinse and repeat. Once fish are located use your flasher to ensure that they are always interested in your lure. Make tweaks to your presentation based on how the fish are reacting to your bait. Upsize and downsize accordingly. If we know fish are down there and are willing to rise to the bait they are willing to hit. Without electronics we would be in the dark. Blind to what was happening.
Yes, today the modern ice fisher has a wide array of ice fishing gear for his use allowing her to catch more and bigger fish. Gone are the days of sitting on a bucket staring at a hole until the cornea's of our eyes are burnt out by the bright sun reflecting off the ice.
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