Is ice fishing season your only fishing season?

It is for me. I have finally eeked my way up into a “middle class” income. And when you live most of your life on the bottom half, a Ranger or Skeeter is simply not a reality – in fact the idea is almost a slap in the face. And what’s great about ice fishing, is that it makes an entire lakes accessible to anyone who wants to put in the risk or the hard work. Not just the guys with $30,000 boats. Ice fishing is the great equalizer.

And that’s not say that I don’t spend $1000’s on ice fishing, a new Otter and StrikeMaster this year alone gets you there in a hurry! And its rising popularity is obvious! Go out to any lake or reservoir and you will see villages of people, most of us less wealthy, just killing it and having a great time. You don’t see that in the summer. You see a smattering of boats. You aren’t going to catch a 30″ walleye casting from a public beach. I made the decision to concentrate my disposable income on the season that was accessible to me. And it has paid me back 10 fold.

The reason I bring this up is because of this week’s episode of InDepth Outdoors. I watched 5 minutes of the show. I can watch any of the hundreds of open-water shows all year round – and I don’t. What makes IDO the best outdoors show I have ever watched is the ice element… And of course James and his wingmen (especially Joel that team is phenomenal).

Please give us the ice shows from December to March. Besides, watching you fish in flip-flops this time of year is kind of a kick in the teeth!

You don’t need a $30,000 rig to get out on the water. I’ll take my $4500 boat and the Mississippi River any day over ice fishing.

There are alot of good used fishing boats out there that can be had for a song. They may need some tlc, but with a little elbow grease you’ll be rubbing gunnels with the big boys. The fish certainly can’t tell the difference.

Ice season is the only season I wish we could avoid.

Tom Sawvell wrote:

Ice season is the only season I wish we could avoid.

+1

I fish 110+ days the last 4 years in a row. I tolerate ice fishing. Friggen drilled over a hundo holes today. Argh

My 14ft boat has traveled miles on Lake Superior,Mille Lacs,the Misissippi River and alot of other large lakes in this state.It has more then likely had more fish caught out of it then alot of the $30,000 rigs,its not the boat that catches the fish….I have probly missed around 15 days of ice fishing since Nov 15. I am so sick of drilling holes in the ice and then staring at them for hours on end,I go out and dont even care if I catch anything.I think this week I may hop in the old $1500 14ft Alumacraft and go pound some fish,its gettin to be about that time again.

I fish all year long. Even though I am a shore fisherman in open water, there are plenty of trophy oppurtunities around here where a boat isnt needed.

I find it funny how guys that hate ice fishing are on a ice fishing thread.

I kind of get what you are saying, but like others said, you can get a cheap boat and catch just as many fish or more than the guys with the expensive shiny rigs. And it all depends on what you compare. A new otter for ice fishing could be comparable to a nice kayak for open water, or a new ice castle shack and a skeeter boat.

If you watch James introduction, I don’t blame them for taking a week off of filming after all that driving they did. If it gets too stressful trying to churn out out a show every week he/they will probably get burned out and not enjoy it anymore… or he’ll Morph into John Gillespie.

Not saying I hate Ice fishing,I dont mind it for a month or two,just get burnt out on it alot faster.

Perspective is a very individual thing. For me, ice fishing gives me something to do during winter, it helps me learn bodies of water more intamently, connects me to others who hunt the ice, and occasionally experience the reward of a fish. I also love camping and with my equipment am able to now camp year round. During the hardwater season all I need is to brave the elements, and truth be told I hate the cold.

Open water season is much more relaxing, I’m much more mobile, I’m usually fishing with my nephew, and we are in a boat which in itself is fun. Success is substantially better, but is more time and water temp dependent. I still camp, but not on the water literally, and I love the sun. Just being in the boat and ramming around without catching a fish is still a successful day. On hot days the beer tastes better, and there’s more girls and their not in snowsuits…

I hear ya Chris, sounds a lot like my post last week – Fishing on a dime. There seems to be a common desire to be properly outfitted to do at least one fishing season with the right gear to make your time fishing enjoyable and successful. I see the comments about getting a cheap boat and Zebco 33 but even that isn’t always possible – you’d still need a tow vehicle and a place to store it all. My brother does it exactly the way you do, he gears up for ice fishing only and doesn’t open water fish or hunt. Personally I wish I would have never bought my $1200 over/under a few years ago and stuck everything I spent on hunting into fishing. Now I’m too heavily invested in hunting, fishing and ice fishing but not heavily invested enough to feel I’m outfitted adequately to be successful for all conditions presented in the field and on the water. Quality hunting opportunities are vanishing and hunting is definitely more and more a rich mans sport – at least around here with the lack of public hunting grounds and quality habitat the only good hunting is private clubs that’ll push you near $100 for a 4 hour pheasant hunt. In the fall I thought I had everything I needed already for ice fishing and still ended up spending at least a few hundred more. It shouldn’t be called fishing it should be called an addiction and I have an addictive personality – what a bad combination for me. Well maybe not bad for me, it’s only bad for my wife and family and their spending plans.

IceAsylum wrote:

I find it funny how guys that hate ice fishing are on a ice fishing thread.

Since the ice fishing post’s come up in the todays topics is probably why the “ice fishing haters” read them. I guess the topic should read “If ice fishing is your only fishing season Please comment”

Regarding needing a 30K boat to fish as others stated that is not needed I fished years in a 14ft 15hp boat and have done well.

Regarding ice fishing I do it a half dozen times a year and drill a couple holes with my hand auger and enjoy the time I am out there.

I wish there were “Like” buttons on IDO, this is a good community. I feel a little guilty for writing a divisive post, the world certainly has enough of those to read.

And the IDO team certainly deserves a week off (after a grueling week of catching record-sized perch in the Rocky Mountains – I kid)… How about showing some B-roll of the days that they weren’t successful, we all have them. Show us how to lose with grace and focus more on specific presentations that they use – teaching moments.

I do stand by my comments that what makes IDO unique is the ice and the local element…. The proof is in the sales that they generate for the Ice Force brand.

Yah, I’d agree with most on a boat. You don’t need a spendy boat to make it happen on the open water.
Lots of very good and dependable rigs for 5K and under out there. The boat doesn’t make the fisherman if you get my drift. Most can’t afford the 40-60K rigs. Don’t feel bad. A ton of them out there are on credit anyway.

Myself, the ice fishing and the super sized crowds it brings are definitely not as fun as open water. Not that I hate ice fishing, not by any means, but I’d take sitting in the boat 100 to 1 to being on the ice.

Chris Cantey wrote:

You aren’t going to catch a 30″ walleye casting from a public beach.

I’ll have to disagree with you here. Walleye was 28 inches and the Northern was 8lbs. Both caught off a public fishing dock at a local lake.

Chris Cantey wrote:

And the IDO team certainly deserves a week off (after a grueling week of catching record-sized perch in the Rocky Mountains – I kid)… How about showing some B-roll of the days that they weren’t successful, we all have them. Show us how to lose with grace and focus more on specific presentations that they use – teaching moments.

If I were a betting man most people aren’t interested in ideas or techniques that didn’t work. We all have plenty of our own experiences to cover that.

Yes ice fishing is the only time i fish. During the warm months im golfing which i love but when winter comes i need a break from golf so ice fishing gives it to me. Lets my old body recover from hacking and slashing for 6 months???

Chris Cantey wrote:

How about showing some B-roll of the days that they weren’t successful, we all have them. Show us how to lose with grace and focus more on specific presentations that they use – teaching moments.

I hope this doesn’t come off as snarky, but the target market for a fishing show wherein the hosts don’t catch fish is microscopic. It might even just be one person…

Here’s the thing, in order for a show like IDO to be successful they need sponsors. In order to have sponsors, James and crew need to keep the sponsors happy and show them that there is a return on their investment. If the sponsors don’t see any financial gain, they will most likely revoke said sponsorship. The sponsors want to see James and crew catching BIG fish and lots of them. Why? Because Joe ‘lots of disposable income’ Schmo is thinking about buying a new boat, and Skeeter wants Joe to see James catch a 20 lb lake trout on superior out of his trusty MX20 something.

Joe will now associate that big fish and that success with the MX20 something, the st croix rod, the Shimano reel, etc..I hate to say it, but Skeeter doesn’t care much for Blue Collar Bob, because BCB isn’t in the market for a $60,000 boat.

They care about Investment Banker Billy and all his friends with houses on Minnetonka and cabins up north. They want Billy and co to think that if they buy a new 20 foot skeeter they can catch fish like James. Is that what James and team care are concerned with? From a personal standpoint, I don’t think so. From a business standpoint? Well they probably wouldn’t be on season 9 if they didn’t.
Now, if Joe Schmo watches James catch 0 fish and split his pants while trying to get his jig out of the anchor rope, that’s not going to sell any boats.

They do a great job of doing quite a few shows for the average Joe, but they can only do so many ‘catching crappies on pressured water’ shows before everyone loses interest, not just the sponsors.

Just like sitting on the ice and watching fish constantly NOT bite the VMC tingler isn’t going to sell any Tinglers. Having the camera zoom in on an LX7 that’s marking no fish is not going to sell LX7’s. Or watching James whiff the hookset on his TUCR bullwhip isn’t going to leave you saying, ‘DANG, I need that bullwhip”.

I have a few TUCR rods which I really like, and I can tell you that I wouldn’t have bought them had I not seen them on IDO. Plain and simple. I would have bought more Thorne rods but James and team make an already quality product look like it is a contributing factor to them icing big crappies or walleyes.

It comes through on film that James and team LOVE to fish, which in my opinion is a big part of their success, but when it comes down to it, to some degree it’s about the money. Whether it’s about the money to James or the sponsors or both doesn’t matter, they put on one of the best fishing productions out there.

^ like.

Hey Chris I bet we talk you into a boat before summer…just keep hanging around.

CRC – I know you will!

I love ice fishing and got into it mostly because my open water addiction needed to be fed during the winter months.
I definitely understand why some prefer ice to open water. It’s like a party on the ice, and this is not possible while fishing open water. ice fishing promotes a social aspect of fishing like nothing else. When the fish are not biting I often find myself taking a walk to have a chat with others nearby to make social contact. I find it really interesting to talk to fellow ice fishermen to find out how the bite is, what baits they are using, or to just shoot the poop. More often than not beers are exchanged and friends are made. That’s pretty cool if you ask me.
Someone mentioned that James and crew exude the love of fishing, and I think this is what’s most important. Fishing is awesome. Let’s all share what we have learned and make it even better.

From the original post: Exactly why I don’t watch IDO fishing on ice – or any other ice fishing show. I don’t spend a dime or a minute on ice fishing anymore and I don’t care to watch it. I’ll take the Scott Martin Challenge over an ice fishing show any day – and I’m not a Bass guy either.
Similar to you though, I spend most of my disposable income on open water fishing – as opposed to you and your ice fishing habit. I’m not knocking you or anyone with this post though; I’ve just learned that as I age, I’ve had to to focus my disposable income on those things that I really appreciate and like to do. I dedicate much less money and time to those items further down the fun bucket list – if you know what I mean. To each their own.
I watched this seasons 1/2 hour IDO show for the first time last weekend and can’t wait for more open water stuff. Sorry, but I’m patiently waiting for open water – and I’ll be keeping my Skeeter.

Hello, my name is Michael, and I’m addicted to ice fishing. Seriously.

Oh, and I fish very little if at all, in the summer. Too busy dreaming about ice fishing and building brownie points with the War Eagle.

I’m glad so many of you don’t like ice fishing as much/at all

philtickelson wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Chris Cantey wrote:</div>
How about showing some B-roll of the days that they weren’t successful, we all have them. Show us how to lose with grace and focus more on specific presentations that they use – teaching moments.

I hope this doesn’t come off as snarky, but the target market for a fishing show wherein the hosts don’t catch fish is microscopic. It might even just be one person…

Here’s the thing, in order for a show like IDO to be successful they need sponsors. In order to have sponsors, James and crew need to keep the sponsors happy and show them that there is a return on their investment. If the sponsors don’t see any financial gain, they will most likely revoke said sponsorship. The sponsors want to see James and crew catching BIG fish and lots of them. Why? Because Joe ‘lots of disposable income’ Schmo is thinking about buying a new boat, and Skeeter wants Joe to see James catch a 20 lb lake trout on superior out of his trusty MX20 something.

Joe will now associate that big fish and that success with the MX20 something, the st croix rod, the Shimano reel, etc..I hate to say it, but Skeeter doesn’t care much for Blue Collar Bob, because BCB isn’t in the market for a $60,000 boat.

They care about Investment Banker Billy and all his friends with houses on Minnetonka and cabins up north. They want Billy and co to think that if they buy a new 20 foot skeeter they can catch fish like James. Is that what James and team care are concerned with? From a personal standpoint, I don’t think so. From a business standpoint? Well they probably wouldn’t be on season 9 if they didn’t.
Now, if Joe Schmo watches James catch 0 fish and split his pants while trying to get his jig out of the anchor rope, that’s not going to sell any boats.

They do a great job of doing quite a few shows for the average Joe, but they can only do so many ‘catching crappies on pressured water’ shows before everyone loses interest, not just the sponsors.

Just like sitting on the ice and watching fish constantly NOT bite the VMC tingler isn’t going to sell any Tinglers. Having the camera zoom in on an LX7 that’s marking no fish is not going to sell LX7’s. Or watching James whiff the hookset on his TUCR bullwhip isn’t going to leave you saying, ‘DANG, I need that bullwhip”.

I have a few TUCR rods which I really like, and I can tell you that I wouldn’t have bought them had I not seen them on IDO. Plain and simple. I would have bought more Thorne rods but James and team make an already quality product look like it is a contributing factor to them icing big crappies or walleyes.

It comes through on film that James and team LOVE to fish, which in my opinion is a big part of their success, but when it comes down to it, to some degree it’s about the money. Whether it’s about the money to James or the sponsors or both doesn’t matter, they put on one of the best fishing productions out there.

What a great post! Couldn’t have said it any better. One thing that really never get’s discussed around here though. Can you imagine the IMMENSE PRESSURE on James and the crew to perform each week?? I want NOTHING to do with that pressure. Can you imagine in order to keep your job you have to put fish on the ice! Not only fish, but big fish! Yes they get paid and get free stuff from Sponsors, but I still wouldn’t want to do it.

Kudos to the IDO Team for pulling it off all the time!

The bottom line is enjoy what you do and do what you enjoy. 40 plus years ago I spent many hours ice fishing out of the door of my car. The hole was drilled with a hand auger and the fish were caught on a hand made jiggle stick. In the summer it was a 12’boat and 3 horse Johnson. My boat,auger,rods,electronics have been upgraded over the years but the one thing that stays the same is I love to fish. A bad day of fishing is always better than a good day of work.

Basically target panfish all winter and spend muskie opener to freeze up chasing….chasing….chasing!

Life is a garden, DIG IT! IM gonna take what when ever I can get. Any day any way the opritunity is a gift.

For me, Ice fishing is my primary fishing season. I just have so many other things going on in the summer that its hard to find time to get out and fish. I do river fish around opener and try to always get out at least a handfull of times. I do not use a boat in the summer though so that makes it tricky. A few friends have boats but we rarely use them. Winter fishing > than summer fishing in my opinion. The ease of accessibility to the bodies of water is just great. I also enjoy everything about it.

My summer fishing box consists of a handful of raplas, jig heads and twister tails. 1 ugly stick rod – medium weight and no electronics. My winter fishing setup has multiple tackle boxes with all sorts of jigs/lures/baits/plastics, many rods 10+, portable house, wheel house, electronics, everything I need.

Personal Preference I guess but I definitely would qualify ice fishing season as my only season.