Ice fishing might be the answer to your cabin fever blues

Vallyn Bernard

Being a die hard fisherman, the Utah winters have been rough on me over the years. Sometimes cabin fever gets so bad my wife actually makes me get out of the house and shovel snow. Trust me; it doesn’t help with the fishing bug. However, this year I’ve found something that has helped, ice fishing.

I have to admit ice fishing isn’t for the faint of heart, especially when the ice starts cracking and popping as you walk across it. On the other hand it has to be one of the most laid back ways to fish I’ve ever come across.
Let’s take a minute and look at the basics. In Utah with artic temperatures from mid December until early March the lakes and reservoirs around Emery County get frozen pretty solid. Right now, North Huntington, Mill Site, and Mill Meadow all have ice on them over two feet thick. Sorry, I can’t tell you how much ice is on Electric Lake, Cleveland Reservoir or Mammoth, because the last time I was up Huntington canyon, it was like driving along a sunken road. I couldn’t even see out onto the reservoirs because the snow was so deep along the side of the road.

If you want to go ice fishing there are a few specialized things you need and the first, and by far the most important, is something to cut a hole in the ice. By the way, if you have to use some of the more physical tools to make a hole, a couple young men with a lot of energy are always a plus. I have seen people making holes with metal bars, axes, and of course, hand powered ice augers.

For just a moment, let’s pause and talk about a very important safety issue on the ice: the size of the ice hole. Except for a few lakes, which most of us will never ice fish, the maximum size of the hole should be 10 inches in diameter. Why, you ask? So you, or more important, one of your little ones won’t fall through.
Power augers cut through the ice with the means of a small gasoline engine, which makes them great for thick ice, but they come with a couple of problems, namely they are heavy to pack around and you have to deal with a gasoline engine.

Hand augers require lots of muscle, which is where the couple of young men with lots of energy come in handy. On the plus side, they are light and easily stored.

Earlier this year, a friend of mine was ice fishing when two elderly ladies showed up to fish near him. He noticed they had a hand auger, and appeared too frail to use it. Before he could get to them to offer help digging some holes, another fisherman had showed up with his power auger. He watched the little ladies decline any help, saying they would be fine with their auger. However, the man with the power auger was persistent in his offer to help. Finally, one of the ladies told the young man that she would challenge him to a race with his power auger.

To say the least, my friend didn’t leave; he wanted to see what was going to happen. There had to be a trick of some kind involved, because a little lady in her 70s was not going to be able to dig a hole in the ice with a hand auger faster than a young man using one powered by a gasoline engine.

Here were the rules the little lady set. They would both clear a place on the ice, and when he said go, the young man could start his auger up. Obviously, the first one through the ice would win.

When the guy with the power auger said go, the lady began digging her hole. It took a couple pulls to get the engine going, and almost before the power auger started cutting ice, the lady’s hole was done.

My friend said he nearly fainted on the ice. What he had seen was impossible, because he had been using a hand auger all day cutting holes.

He rushed over to make sure his eyes hadn’t lied to him. Sure enough, there was the hole, and the lady not even in a sweat. How could this have happened he wondered? As he talked to the ladies, they explained to all those who had gathered round them, that it had nothing to do with them, but their auger.

Giving it to my friend, she told him to try it, but only if he didn’t want his auger anymore. She told him once he used her auger, he would throw his away. Laughing he took her auger, and placed it on the ice. He told me that with no pressure on the auger, and very little energy, the auger seemed to melt through the ice. He couldn’t believe how fast and easy it was, so he walked a few feet and dug another hole. Others took the auger and in amazement dug holes just as easily.

My friend told me he did in fact give his hand auger away after that day, and laughed at the ladies who had only dug one hole, but had 10 or 15 holes around them to fish in.

Two things of importance here; one, the ice wasn’t several feet thick, and two the ladies were using a Nils Master hand auger. If you’re going to buy a hand auger, it’s well worth every penny to spend a few dollars more, and get a Nils Master auger. Just so you know, I recently used one, and they’re everything my friend said they were. Yes, I gave my old hand auger away, too.

Besides a good auger there are a few other things that make going ice fishing easier. If you can afford it, or have one lying around, you want some type of plastic sled to pull all your ice fishing gear on. If you don’t have a sled, and even if you do, a couple of plastic five gallon buckets are also handy to put gear in. Plus, they make nice seats.

The last thing you might need for ice fishing, which you may not have among your normal fishing tackle, is some type of tent to keep the wind off you.

Now, everything else you should already have if you’re a fisherman. Getting a little ice pole is a good idea, because of space, but not necessary. Another thing that can help is to put a small strike indicator on the end of your pole, so you’ll be able to notice the slightest bump on your line.

In the winter, fish aren’t always as aggressive, so their strikes are often nothing more than a small movement on your line. A piece of wire with a loop on the end of it held in place with an orange bead, and taped onto the tip of your rod works great.

Bait for ice fishing is simple. Whatever worked in the summer will probably work in the winter. Night crawlers are as good as anything, just keep them where they won’t freeze. No matter what your friends may tell you, it’s not necessary to keep them in your mouth to keep them warm.

Ice fishing is a great time to get together as a group and sit around your holes fishing and visiting. I have a friend who cooks hot dogs and chili with his family out on the ice. Another who takes a very small propane stove, and fries up the fish his group catches while they’re out on the ice. There’s nothing like fish right out of the lake, and into a frying pan for some delicious eating.

This year for only $15, you can get a second pole permit that can be used on any lake in Utah. It’s a 365 day license that goes from date of purchase.

So, if cabin fever is driving you crazy and you want to enjoy some time outside, you might want to give ice fishing a try.

A lot of fun can be had out on the ice, just be careful, and remember to keep a tight line. Fish On….