Everyone is a beginner at some point for everything, ice fishing included. We all made mistakes from our lack of experience. I figured since the ice fishing season is starting, I would share my first ice fishing trip.
The Gear
As a kid, I was always disappointed when winter came because there would be no way to fish anymore. Eventually I learned about ice fishing. My 15 year old self was excited about the prospect of fishing year round rather than having to wait 5 months of the year doing nothing. Of course I had no money so I asked my dad to buy some basic gear.
I got a manual auger as I didn’t want my dad to spend too much money. Knowing that it could be cold, we got a basic two person shelter. I got one basic rod combo with mono on the reel. For lures I figured all I needed were some summer jigs. For seats I figured I could just invert a bucket. All this would be loaded onto a child sized toboggan.
Tackling Lake Winnipeg
Back when I was younger, the internet was a thing at least. Using Google I figured the best place to go was Lake Winnipeg. It was becoming well known as a walleye hotspot. As I couldn’t drive yet, I wanted to pick a destination that wasn’t too far for my dad to drive. We would then drive to Chalet Beach Road and walk from there. We walked at least a kilometer to some permanent shelters thinking they must have knew what they were doing.
As we were new to setting up a shack, it took a really long time. Hand augering through the thick Lake Winnipeg ice took forever. Soon we set up and were fishing.
Without a heater it started to become unbearably cold but I wasn’t willing to give up. The spot that we chose was likely 6-8 feet deep. With just a jig and minnow, I sat on my inverted bucket with no action for hours. Towards the end of the day, I had a small nibble but it unfortunately didn’t get hooked.
Admitting defeat, we packed our gear away. Being inexperienced at putting down a shack, it took an eternity for my dad and I to figure out how to put it in the bag. The cold and wind was very unbearable. Throughout the long walk back, I wondered why people would even do this activity.
For the rest of the season, I fished Lake Winnipeg two more times. I did catch my first sauger on the second trip and a perch on my third trip. All trips had no heater and were pretty uncomfortable. It would take me quite a while before actually started to enjoy ice fishing.
Final Words
If my younger self could visit his future self, he would never believe it was the same person. These days I have my own truck, snowmobile, power augers, larger shack, heaters and state of the art electronics. Money really makes the sport more comfortable. It was difficult to learn ice fishing without a mentor figure but I eventually learned. Even today I’m still learning but I’m pretty proud that I managed to not give up and make it this far.
These days with lots of internet resources and increased popularity of ice fishing, it has become easier to get into the sport. While I sometimes poke fun at novices, at the same time keep in mind that a lot of people never had Dad or Grandpa teaching them. If you see someone struggling on the ice, give them a hand. Maybe because of your help, that person will be able to keep their interest in the sport. Giving people a solid foundation is the best way to keep them hooked for life.
