Henry Rifle Forums

My step son and I went out on the ice yesterday for some fishing. I had some new gear that I had patiently waited for ( up to three years ) to test out. It was a good day for fishing, mostly overcast and very little wind.

We got onto the lake and drilled a test hole. Almost a foot of ice. Plenty.

We set out our tip ups.





Next, I set up my shelter. I had purchased it a few years ago and never got a chance to use it yet. I had no idea how large it was, as it had little information on the outside packaging. Two people would be fine for me. The kerosene heater leaked out all the fuel on the way to the lake, so it stayed in the truck. The shelter was very warm on it's own if the doors and vents were sealed. It was roomy and my step son and I figured three could fish very comfortably out of it. Four in a pinch.







The next item of gear was an under water camera I got when Gander Mountain went out of business. There wasn't much left when I stopped at the store on the way home from camp a couple of years ago. On a table, there were several boxes of these under water camera units. A friend at work swore by them for ice fishing. They were marked some where around 75.00 so I decided why not. On cashing out, the unit was fifty bucks. Can't go wrong. I took it home and put it on charge, as it runs on a 12v sealed lead battery. I charged it for days and got nothing. I took the unit out to the truck, plugged in the cigarette lighter adapter and a picture came onto the screen. It was black and white. No wonder the battery wouldn't charge, it was so old................lol. I ordered a new battery and charged it and it worked great at home. Fast forward to yesterday. It worked perfectly. It showed us there were no fish where I had made my holes for jigging. My step son was watching when a group of largemouth bass swam nearby. Wow, that was cool to see them. I couldn't get them interested in my jig, but cool none the less.







There's a reason why there are no fish pictures. NO FISH. One of the tip ups went off, but no Tiger Muskie to show for it. The minnow had taken a brutal hit, but no hook set. Still, it was a good shakedown for the gear. I know what it is and how to get it to work well. I did move to another spot. It was a great spot over a fallen tree. Lot's of structure and weeds, but no fish. Better luck next time. It was nice just to have time to go.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Part of hunting, err fishing, sans the harvest. Everyone has been there, done that.

But glad you two had a good time together, and that your equipment checks out okay, too. Lots of cool stuff there, especially doing that underwater photography! I also think your rendezvous looks like a good shelter to thaw out in, as needed. RSb noticed that also in his comment.

There is fun in just doing those types of things with someone else. Sure do hope your next ice outing is much, much less than three years out! Enjoyed your post.
PT7

daytime dave wrote:My step son and I went out on the ice yesterday for some fishing.... It was a good day for fishing.

This cant be official. First off there isn't any coffee cups in those pictures and second of all I see no adult beverage bottles any where in sight. I think these pictures were from National Geographic.

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I think National Geographic would have at least had some file photos of some fish. But I'm with the BigAl on the rest of it!

BigAl52 wrote:This cant be official. First off there isn't any coffee cups in those pictures and second of all I see no adult beverage bottles any where in sight. I think these pictures were from National Geographic.

daytime dave wrote:...

BigAl52 wrote:This cant be official. First off there isn't any coffee cups in those pictures and second of all I see no adult beverage bottles any where in sight. I think these pictures were from National Geographic.

Al , and good story Dave! Bet ya'll had fun anyway!

I've spent many hours sitting in cold stands hunting for deer, bear, and boar .. .. have never sat out on a frozen lake fishing .. .. I really like the camera, I can see one really coming in handy

Miss T and I have loved fishing for years, and have long been associated with a local kayak dealership that sells all over the world. We were at an annual demo day with our rigged fishing kayaks on static display. This was always a great opportunity to talk with other fisherman and kayakers, share ideas, and promote the sport.

The GMs six year old son put everything in perspective, after casting his GI Joe rod off a small dock for an hour or so prior to lunch. Not a single bite in all that time, but still grinning from ear to ear.

"Have fun?" I asked him.
" Sure, " he said. "If you had to catch something to have fun, they'd call it catching."
Then he laughed with pure joy.

Great stories all around, thanks for sharing! Man, that looks cold!

For most of the time I sat on the DeWalt bucket in my flannel shirt. I tried not show any of the Pabst cans in the photos. His mother wouldn't approve. We had a deal about that, he relaxes and has adult beverages and I drive. I should have brought a thermos of coffee, but forgot. If the heater was in service, it would have been down right toasty. Metal cups on top of the heater keeps the coffee warm while you drink it. Most of it packs in and out on the sled.

Good on yah Dave... I just don't DO cold any longer. Too much metal in the bod. Miss T and I used to don our immersion gear and kayak fish for big striper down around the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel at night. (Called fishing the light line) or go down and fish for monster striper at the concrete ships at Kiptopeake. But those would be subjects for entirely new threads.

I have always been fascinated by ice fishing, but never lived anywhere it got cold enough to try it...
That, or snowmobiling, snowshowing, crosscountry skiing, biatholon... You know, real wintery sports.

I spent my childhood in FL, winter sports?
Beach Volleyball...

This winter was the first time I’ve given ice fishing a “reel” try (hehe). I’ve gotta say, something about a tip up flag popping up is addicting! I’ve gone out the past 4 or 5 Saturday’s, and caught 6 northern pike, and a nice smallmouth. Given the time spent out there it’s not much, but it’s sure fun!

Great looking fish. I'd say you are doing great!