Of Ice Fishers and Snowshoes

At age twelve, I helped my father and older brother build a ply-board fish shanty in our storeroom. Once the walls were all in place, we realized that the assembled shanty would not fit through the storeroom doors. So, down went the walls and the shanty was reassembled outside to go on a trailer…then out on Little Bay de Noc near Gladstone in Upper Michigan where we fished. This was my first-time ice fishing. I remember helping to make the shanty more than I do the fishing.

In my adult years living in Wisconsin, I purchased a pop-up ice shanty and took to fishing on Lake Onalaska and Third Lake near La Crosse. A friend often joined me, who also enjoyed sitting on ice attempting to catch fish. 

Our method involved purchasing live bait, using a manual ice auger to drill a couple holes, setting up my shanty with two folding lawn chairs inside, using ice fishing poles and sometimes tip-ups, and sharing some beers along with sandwiches and snacks. A day on the ice was a day most enjoyable.

Traveling on ice

Just how do you get out on the ice? After all, it can be icy and slippery or snow covered. Some fishers drive out on ice with their pickup truck, SUV, ATV, or snowmobile. I never drove out on the ice. I always walked and pulled a sled with my gear.

I have been on clear ice where there was little to no snow. In those situations, I wore stretch-on cleats over the bottom of my boots. The cleats provided traction and helped to keep me from slipping. But when lakes were covered with either packed snow or shallow snow, I would walk out wearing boots with no attachments. This was the easiest means of locomotion over shallow snow-covered ice.

On deeper snow, cross-country skis can be used to get out on a lake. However, it could be challenging if pulling a fair amount of gear on a sled. Another option is to use snowshoes, a more functional approach when towing a sled. 

Snowshoeing suggestions for ice fishing

Traditional, plastic, aluminum frame, or foam snowshoes all work well in snow over ice. The goal on snowshoes is to gain floatation on snow in reaching your fishing destination. Traditional (wood-framed) snowshoes are a nice back-to-basic feel for the wide-open space of a snow-covered lake. The advantage of using technical snowshoes over traditional shoes, is that they have cleats or crampons for gripping into ice when needed. 

There are a few tricks of the trade to apply when venturing out on ice with snowshoes. Nobody likes going through the ice. However, when on frozen water, the danger is always present. When putting on snowshoes, be sure to loosen the bindings enough to kick out of them should you fall through ice. But have the bindings secured just enough so they do not fall off when walking.

If pulling a sled, be sure to allow enough rope from you to the sled so that the sled does not hit against the tail of your snowshoes. Also, keep a distance so that rooster tails from your snowshoes do not pile snow onto the sled. When using a push-sled, allow space behind the sled for your snowshoes to track.

Consider other uses for snowshoes than just for traveling to your fishing spot. Snowshoes can also be used as a shovel by removing snow for setting up a shanty or clearing an area to auger an ice hole and placing tip-ups.

Thoughts on gear 

Besides bringing my snowshoes, I pull a plastic sled loaded with my ice fishing gear. Everything I need that I am not wearing goes on the sled.

My shanty is black and absorbs heat from the sun. So, I never use a heater in the shanty. Some anglers will use a portable propane heater, but beware of carbon monoxide dangers. I do prefer fishing from inside the shanty. However, on occasion I have fished sitting by a hole on a bucket or lawn chair.

I use a manual 8-inch ice auger to drill holes through ice. The manual auger is lighter than carrying gas, propane, or electric-powered augers, and it is environmentally friendly. I also bring along a metal pole for breaking ice in holes that were previously made but froze on the surface in the hours they sat vacant.

My remaining gear includes a couple short ice-fishing poles, a tip-up (a device used to suspend bait in a hole and signals when a fish is caught), live bait such as waxies or spikes (larvae/maggots) and/or minnows, bait bucket, tackle (jigs and spoons) and tackle box. I also bring an ice scoop (to remove ice skim from top of ice holes), 5-gallon bucket (to sit on or put fish into), small portable shovel, rope, ice picks, and floatation cushion for safety. I don’t use high-tech electronic fish finders. But I do bring food, beverages, water, and sometimes a gas stove and metal container to heat soup or drinks. 

Finally, I can’t fish without a license. I secure a WI state resident fishing license and a State Fishing Regulations booklet. The booklet provides Information as to whether I can keep fish or if it is catch-and-release in a given body of water, the minimum length of a fish, and number of a fish I can keep. In Wisconsin, I fish for panfish, bluegill, perch, bass, crappie, walleye, and northern pike.

Ice safety most important

There is no sure way to be assured that ice on a frozen body of water is safe. Minnesota DNR guidelines recommend that people consider four inches of ice safe for activities on foot. But note that ice thickness is not necessarily constant across an iced area. 

Some clues to identify unsafe ice include looking for sloshy or grayish areas where water may seep through ice, and areas where ice is cracked or buckled. Stay away from locations where you can see open or moving water, and areas where objects like rocks, logs, or down trees lay. Heat from the sun shining can melt ice around those objects. The same goes for bridge pilings. 

Additionally, heavy snow-covered bodies of water may not be safe, especially if snow is over a thin layer of ice. Such is the case should large amounts of snow come early in the season when not allowing time for water to freeze adequately. Ice is always impacted by the weight of heavy snow and should be approached with caution.

Since safety comes first when on the ice, here are some items to help be better prepared.

Hand-held safety: Bring along a set of ice picks (also called ice claws). Ice picks are hand-held devices with an inch-long spike on the end to help pull you out of the water and onto safe ice in the event of a break through. When traveling on ice, I carry the spikes in my hand or lay the string that attaches them over my shoulders. This safety device is sold at many sporting goods stores.

Bring rope: Take along a 30-to-50-foot rope or a throw rope. A throw rope is designed with a loop to grip at one end, and rope stashed in a bag for weight when tossed to someone in trouble. I carry the throw rope in an accessible pocket of my jacket.

Signaling/communication devices: Bring a whistle to use if in distress. The international signal for distress is to blow three times repeatedly. Carry a cell phone to call for help in the event of an emergency. I place the whistle lanyard around my neck, and the phone in a zip-lock bag kept in my coat pocket.

Added clothing: Take along additional clothing stored in a zip-lock plastic bag. Include socks, gloves or mittens, wool or fleece cap, and perhaps a pair of non-cotton long-johns. 

Be prepared to float: Bring a life vest or type IV flotation device (flotation cushion). The cushion can also be used as a comfortable seat on a bucket or chair. When heading out on a lake to ice fish, wear the vest or carry the flotation device. 

One last suggestion is to bring along a friend. More people will increase the chance for survival if someone falls through ice. Traveling on frozen water alone puts you at a greater risk. 

A question remains - If you fall through the ice, then what? Hopefully that never happens. But if it does, knowing survival techniques as identified by Wisconsin and Minnesota DNR may help save you some day. For more information, go online to: https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/Education/OutdoorSkills/IceSafety and  https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/safety/ice/index.html

Since providing more detail is beyond the scope of this introductory article, go online for information on ice fishing gear, techniques, and safety. I recommend checking out informational websites on the subject. Here are a couple interesting sites I found: https://www.takemefishing.org/ice-fishing/ice-fishing-basics/ice-fishing-safety/ and https://onthewater.com/ice-fishing-safety-tips.

For the love of ice fishing and snowshoeing

When I moved from La Crosse to northcentral Wisconsin in the late 1990’s, I took to the ice with friends on the Big Eau Pleine Flowage, Lake DuBay, and backwaters of the Wisconsin River near Stevens Point and Wausau. My tradition of using the same gear, techniques, and wining and dining on ice remained the same. 

Given the sheer pleasure of ice fishing and getting out there on snowshoes or on foot, the goal was always to catch fish…or not to catch fish. Either way was just fine, because a day on the ice was a day most enjoyable.