In his column this week, Ray compares the era of ice fishing of years ago to his recent trip.
Years ago, we would go ice fishing and sit on a bucket in the blowing wind, and we liked it.
Sometimes, if the winter was brutal enough, my dad would simply drive his car right onto the ice in Brest Bay, and we’d open the door and fish from inside the Buick.
The cold never seemed to bother us because we caught so many fish. We were so busy hauling in perch, it never dawned on us that our fingers were about to fall off or that we couldn’t feel our toes anymore.
My feet froze every time because I wore cheap, white, tube socks that went up to my knees and had colorful bands at the top. And I wore two pair thinking more was better when in fact it actually cut off the circulation when I stuffed my unmovable feet into black rubber boots.
There was no insulation in those boots. They were equipped with a row of clips that kinda squeezed them together and sorta kept the wind off.
Those black boots were great for spring rainfalls. But for ice fishing in winter? I may as well have been wearing tennis shoes.
My long underwear in those days was made of cotton, which did a great job of increasing hypothermia by keeping the moisture close to my skin.
I had a heavy wool coat and thick mittens that were immediately tossed aside because you can’t fish with thick mittens.
But the technology sure has changed. These days my socks are made of merino wool, whatever that is. And if a single pair can keep the merino sheep warm while they wander the Peruvian highlands, it certainly can keep my feet warm.
My long underwear is made of thin, light, NASA-approved material that can keep astronauts nice and cozy even if they happen to get ejected into space from the shuttle.
Our coats and bibs and boots are made with super lightweight materials so advanced you can survive an ice age.
We ride out on the lake in trailers pulled by four-wheel-drive quads.
We sit in roomy wooden shanties equipped with gas heaters to keep us toasty warm. We had not one, but two, cameras that you lower into the water that project images onto a TV screen so you can see what’s on the bottom of the lake. Thankfully the local mafia wasn’t active.
In the old days, my ice fishing rod was basically a wooden stick and the fishing line wrapped around two nails stuck in the top.
Today I have a lightweight spin-cast reel that can raise the line with the flick of a wrist. The problem was, there was no need to reel in. That’s because no fish took my bait. Not a nibble.
Except for a few dead minnows resting on the lake bottom, it looked deserted down there.
We have all the flash and none of the fish. But we did have a mini grill and hot food to go with cold drinks.
Unfortunately, the shanty wasn’t equipped with a sofa. And too bad we couldn’t get the game on one of those fancy fish cameras.
Then the afternoon would have been perfect.
Ray Kisonas is the regional editor of The Monroe News and The Daily Telegram. He can be reached at rayk@monroenews.com.
The Link LonkJanuary 24, 2021 at 10:44PM
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Ray Kisonas: Nowadays, ice fishing is all flash, no fish - Monroe Evening News
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