I
woke up this morning to a fairly heavy snowfall. That got me thinking about ice-fishing. If it’s snowing, ice on the lakes and ponds isn’t far behind. Following are some ideas for taking advantage of early ice ice-fishing. First and foremost: Make sure the ice is safe. Enough said on that topic. Next, fish with a friend, and keep a rope in your bucket. If you thought the ice was safe but it wasn’t, your friend and the rope can pull you to safe ice. More and more ice anglers are wearing parkas that float just in case they find a weak spot in the ice. The Rise and Ascent parkas that Clam has created provide floatation, warmth, and are comfortable to fish from.
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Now for the fishing part of our early ice ice-fishing adventure. Keep in mind that the ice will be thin, there probably won’t be much if any snow cover, and that you might be fishing shallow water. You’ll be directly above the fish, so they’ll be able to easily hear or see you. It’s important to get on your spot and get holes drilled before the bite starts. It often takes the fish a few minutes to calm down after you drill holes and get set up. If you know you’re on a good spot, keep your moving around from hole to hole at a minimum. If there is some snow cover, and if it’s on a good spot, drill your holes on the snow.
