The New ‘Ice Age’

By Steven A. Griffin

I sat in a cozy heated shanty two winters ago and marveled as a guide demonstrated how he could identify the location, size and even species of fish in the area around the shanty.

Ice fishing provides a great setting for thinking, and over the past couple of weather-shortened seasons, I’ve given a lot of thought to how the pursuit of ice fishing has changed since the arbitrary year of 1985.

In many ways, 1985 was a landmark year for me. My wife, Mary Jo, and I celebrated the birth of our daughter, Elizabeth. We bought our first house—an entry-level, land-contracted place where we still live. And my first book, “Ice Fishing: Methods and Magic,” rolled off the presses.

Within the mid-1980s, ice fishing was turning a corner from a homespun sport to something more modern. In the past, clothing and tackle had been mainly borrowed from other activities, purchased in funky bait shops, or made in the garage. But the solid-water segment of the fishing industry was beginning to develop. Ice-focused rods, reels, lines, lures, electronics, shelter and clothing were finding their way to market, and experts were emerging to share their insights.

Those were valid points in 1985, and they’re stunningly true today!

Through a recent summer’s heat, I revised and rewrote my 1985 book, now entitled “Ice Fishing: Guide to Great Techniques for Catching Walleye, Pike, Perch, Trout and Panfish” (Stackpole Books, 2024), and almost all aspects of fishing through the ice have made quantum advancements. Indeed, in just about every way but climate, it seems we’re delightfully deep in a new Ice Age. And Michigan might well be at its heart.

Shelters, electronic gear including cameras and forward-facing sonar, clothing, and refined rods, reels, lines and baits have all made Michigan ice fishing more fun and productive. Just about everything but fish and ice have changed across nearly four decades – and nearly all of it to the advantage of those (whose numbers continue to increase) seeking fish through the ice.

Indeed, one of the most visible changes in ice fishing is the relative invisibility of individual ice anglers: more of them are tucked inside portable shelters that are often so snug that once inside, one soon peels off the heavy outerwear.

Portable shelters are made of the same wall materials as the best of modern ice fishing suits. (In fact, the suits seem to have been inspired by the shelters.) Most shelters today are either flip-over or hub, both of which offer comfort similar to that of a traditional wood shanty but with low maintenance and high portability.

I’ve used both styles; each has its days on the ice. Tent-like and erected directly on the ice, hub shelters are roomy, easier to carry in a car or truck, and more economical. There’s more space to heat, though, and erecting and folding them can be tricky, especially in a breeze. Ice anchors, which keep them in place, are always advisable.

Flip-over shelters rise from a sled-like base and, as the name suggests, instantly transform the sled into a shelter. Dave Genz, who is credited with inventing the category with his Fish Trap, told me on a frozen lake that the concept was an ice-born bass boat—a fishing platform ready for ever-roaming fishing action. Run-and-gun is the strategy of ice anglers who fish each spot for just a few minutes and move on until finding a place where the action merits a longer stay.

You can wear your shelter, too, We ice anglers now have windproof, waterproof suits created for our sport, some of them even incorporating flotation material—not Coast Guard-certified, but reassuringly buoyant against the day the ice fails. (Many suits have a place for self-rescue ice spikes and life-saving gear itself. Whether yours does or not, carry spikes when you’re on the ice.)

The portability afforded by modern shelters and outerwear aids mobile fishing, but no more so than light and reliable power augers, precise sonar gear, and underwater cameras. Huge advances have been made in all three in recent years.

You’ll still hear the chain-saw-like rumble of gas-powered augers on winter lakes, and they still do a good job. But you’ll also hear lower-decibel grumbles of spinning drills as electric augers

bore their way through. Many anglers, especially those whose jobs or businesses put high-power cordless drills and battery packs within reach, purchase a mechanism that links the tool to an auger for a lightweight, efficient way to make a hole. A fresh battery in the coat pocket extends the day.

Electrically powered versions of the original gas auger, powered by 12-volt lithium batteries, have also matured and are becoming popular. I love my StrikeMaster Lithium 24V eight-inch auger, a perfect balance between power and weight that matches the on-foot fishing I prefer. It claims the capability to drill 50 holes through 16 inches of ice on a single battery charge, and I believe it, but I’ve never had need nor stamina for putting that to the test. At 14.3 pounds, it’s pleasantly portable, about double the heft of a hand auger. Gasoline and even propane augers are still favored by plenty of ice anglers, but I think electricity’s reliability, quiet operation and lack of odor are helping it win the day.

In 1985, ice anglers were still figuring out how to cobble their boat sonars for winter fishing. It wasn’t long, though, before manufacturers, led by Vexilar, built flashers designed specifically for ice fishing. Anglers were stunned to watch flashing lines on the dial track the descent of their tiny, wax worm-baited jigs – and of the eager fish arriving to gobble them.

Makers of graph-like fish-finders, boasting features such as GPS and mapping beyond the flashers, but with a slower response, refined their units to the point where either flasher or fish-finder will meet your almost every need: to measure the waters beneath you, spot any fish down there and, hopefully, ‘watch ’a fish swim up, consider its prospects, and take a bait.

You infer that’s what’s happening with sonar, but you can be sure with a camera. From pocket-sized to much larger, a camera with a lens rigged to see down or horizontally can show you your lure, how it reacts as you jiggle it, and how fish respond – in addition to helpful information on the bottom type, structure, and other fish passing by. Once the size and approximate shape of a traffic cone, cameras now come in sizes from big-screen to pocket, and their imagery is superb. Some offer the option of recording the view and action.

The newest craze – and at $2,000 and up, not for the budget-challenged – is forward-facing sonar (FFS) that delivers live-action images of the near-video quality of water and its inhabitants up to 200 feet away.

Created for boat fishing, FFS units have been adapted for ice use, including specialized hardware to hold a lowered transducer in place. Its fans say it opens up the under-ice world and guides their fishing with precision. Others say it’s too effective and should be outlawed before it leads to overharvest.

I sat in a cozy heated shanty two winters ago and marveled as a guide demonstrated how he could identify the location, size and even species of fish in the area around the shanty. The biggest challenge came in attention split between the screen and fishing. However, no one advocated turning off the sonar!

The basics of ice fishing – rods, reels, lines and lures – have advanced steadily in the last 40 years. You can match rugged graphite rods to your favorite species, length and action, clamp on a reliable reel with a smooth drag, and load up quality light monofilament, fluorocarbon or braided superline, as you wish.

Similarly, a stunning range of lures is made just for the ice angler. Once a clumsy world of gear, modern ice fishing lures are made with top-quality hooks, engineered and tested designs, materials including lead, brass and fast-sinking tungsten, and finishes that are both durable and brilliant.

Teardrops, jigs, blades, jigging minnows and spoons of every description are now available, and even such stalwarts as Michigan-made Swedish Pimples go out onto the ice in new colors and patterns every year. Today’s ice angler likely carries as many lures in his or her coat and sled as the salmon troller does in a boat.

In fact, compared to the ice angler of 1985 – including the one whose musings you’re now reading – this winter’s outfitted ice angler doesn’t take a back seat to anyone.

 

For signed copies of “Ice Fishing: Guide to Great Techniques for Catching Walleyes, Pike, Perch, Trout, and Panfish, Second Edition,” contact Griffin at Griff22450@aol.com