An Afternoon On Ice

My wife June and I were starting to feel the pressure. Several months earlier we had offered to host a group of eager, yet mostly inexperienced outdoorsmen for a few hours of ice fishing. Our goal was to spend a pleasant afternoon outdoors and introduce the folks to what we consider a fun winter sport. Most of the group had never ice fished before, and we feared those that had might be somewhat critical of our operation.

As we prepared for the arrival of our clients on the appointed day, we couldn't help but recall from previous outings how unruly this group could become if things weren't well planned and organized. Fortunately my friend Scot, a fellow ice angler; had offered his assistance.

Due to the limited time that the group had to participate in this outing, we offered to furnish all of the necessary equipment, including the bait, food, and beverages. Ice fishing gear is inexpensive and we were well equipped to begin with, so it wasn't too much of a problem rounding up enough equipment to outfit our fifteen-member group. We planned to fish a bay on the lake behind our home, which at times is known to produce good numbers of decent sized pan fish. Two dollars worth of crappie minnows and a couple dozen wax worms would be sufficient for a few hours of fishing, even with a group of this size. a good relationship with the local bait dealer helped to insure a good count on the minnows.

We expected the gentlemen to arrive via bus at around 3:00 PM so we began our preparations at noon. Not knowing how well attired the group would be for what at times can be very nasty northern Minnesota weather, we were delighted that on this day the sun shone brightly in a clear blue sky and the temperature was quite mild with little or no wind. If nothing else went right, at least the weather was perfect.

While June busied herself preparing the food and drink, Scot and I made ready the fishing equipment. with two lines per angler being legal for winter fishing, we needed a minimum of thirty rods, plus one or two spares in the event of problems. Not knowing what the hot lure would be, we tied on a wide variety and hoped that the group would be patient while we changed them over after finding what was working the best. Anybody that's ever fished knows how excruciating it is to sit and watch someone else catch fish if you're not catching them yourself, and unfortunately, we had no reason to believe that this group would be more patient than any other.

After checking a few areas for depth, we found what we were looking for and began drilling holes. With two feet of solid ice, I was extremely pleased that the gas power auger was running well and that I had a helper. While I drilled, Scot scooped the slush and ice shavings from the holes. Hopefully the noise from drilling that many holes wouldn't keep the fish from biting or drive them all out of the area. With plenty of stools and overturned buckets to sit on and all of the gear ready for the arrival of our clients, we had about thirty minutes to relax and fish a little bit ourselves. We hoped to have a fish or two by the time the gang arrived to help heighten their intensity. After a half hour of inactivity, June hollered down to let us know that the bus had arrived.

While June offered the group a light snack, I began shuttling them down to the lake four at a time via snowmobile and sled. Scot set them up with rods and a couple of holes while I buzzed back and forth to the house for the remaining members of the group.

Although not necessarily experienced at ice fishing, the members of the group were all very familiar with each other and it didn't take long for the constant banter and good-natured boasting to lead to a bit of snow being lobbed back and forth at one another. The warm weather was cause for perfect snowball making conditions and before long the high-spirited group was into a full-blown snowball war. Fishing holes were necessarily abandoned in order to both defend and attack in the escalating skirmish. Scot and I considered it wise to gather rods from the abandoned holes, both to prevent breakage and avoid any possible problems with the game warden for fishing with too many lines. As the holes were abandoned they became less noticeable with no rod or bucket to mark them. With attentions focused on either their assailants or their targets, more than a few former anglers ended up with a cold, wet foot from one of the twenty-eight open holes. One intent fisherman, determined to catch a fish, was diligently guarding the two remaining holes. to both his delight and mine, in the closing minutes of what by now had turned into a football game on ice, he managed to pull a small perch through one of the holes.

As if on cue, June hollered down that our allotted time was dwindling and that it as time for hot chocolate and warm cookies. By the time I got back up to the house after gathering up all of the gear, all but two of the cub scouts had been picked up by their parent or guardian. The remaining members of the group, the two that I figured would be the most critical, paid the tab when they said, "Thanks mom and dad, that was fun!"