Ice Fishing with Friends

My company has several thousand employees overseas. I happened to meet a manager from India who had come to Boston. In our conversations about our different cultures I told her about a day of ice fishing I had with my son. I put together a description and pictures that she passed around in India. She had never seen snow or frozen lakes and ponds so it was quite interesting for her. This is what I sent her.

It was 10 degrees out and very windy so the wind chill made it feel like it was below zero. When the lakes and ponds freeze in the winter we go ice fishing. We use an ice auger to drill holes in the ice. (my son Kevin and my friend Doug)



Once the holes are drilled we use "tip-ups" or traps to catch the fish. We put a minnow (small silver fish) on a hook and lower it through the hole in the ice. The minnow swims around under the ice. When a fish swallows the minnow and hook the fishing line goes tight it releases a flag which pops up in the air. We usually race to the flag. The first one there is the one that gets to pull in the fish. You can put out several tip-ups per person. (another friend Rick with my son Kevin)
While we wait for the flags to pop up we collect wood from the woods to make a fire. This is to keep warm and cook food we bring for the day.

Once a flag pops up you slowly pull the trap out of the hole. Then we need to quickly pull the fishing line to set the hook in the fish then pull the fish through the hole. (Rick setting hook on a fish we caught)




This is a large mouth bass that Kevin caught.


Ice fishing is a fun time for all … the worst thing is when I take pictures I find that I am not in any of them …