16 Nebraskaland • December 2023
IN THE FIELD
Staring into an 8-inch hole in the ice, your eyes following
the thinnest fishing line you've ever seen, might be the
most addictive activity on the planet. So addictive, in fact,
that a stopwatch is nearly as important to your fishing
success as your rod and reel.
Using this uncommon ice fishing device, an angler can
assure that they will in fact move when the fishing slows.
Set it for 15 minutes when fishing new water. If there are
no strikes, or you don't see marks on your sonar, change
locations.
Here are a few other tips to increase your efficiency on
the ice.
Two-Person Teams
•
One cuts a set of holes – 20 to 30 is a fine starting
number — and the other person lowers the sonar transducer
into the water. If fish are marked, kick away the snow cone
of ice from the top of the active holes so these spots can be
quickly spotted again.
•
Share Ideas – You should know how the person beside
you is fishing — from depth to lure to action. It's also not
a bad idea to ask strangers fishing nearby. The ice fishing
community, at large, is friendly. I've never run into a group
of anglers unwilling to share information on the hard
water.
•
A New Person – Quite often, it's to your advantage to
take a new person ice fishing. They'll try things you won't.
Last season, toward the end of ice, a relatively new ice
angler suggested we look at a spot in the middle of a lake.
While I explained we were nowhere near any sort of
underwater structure, he persisted. Two limits of panfish
and a monstrous channel catfish later, I could only tip my
cap. With a stopwatch in hand, every part of the lake is
worth exploring if the fish are slow.
Efficient ice fishing teams consist of one person cutting holes, pictured, and one finding fish. PHOTO BY JEFF KURRUS
By Jeff Kurrus
AN ICE FISHING TIMER
