The Forgotten Art of Ice-Fishing

Alex Haines


My father comes from Detroit, Michigan, a state home to Swedish ice-fishers of every variety, temperament, and disposition. It is simply a lost art that we, as a society, have forsaken due to our great neglect and tragic forgetfulness. Without the great ice-fishers in our time, generations of northern Americans, including my father, would have had nothing to survive on or satiate themselves.

Longer fishing expeditions can be mounted with simple structures. Larger, heated structures can make multi-day fishing trips possible, but these are eschewed by many seasoned fishers, who fish with no protective structure, attired only in heavy winter wear.[citation needed].

A structure with various local names, but often called an ice shanty, ice shack, fish house, shack, bobhouse, or ice hut, is sometimes used. These are dragged or trailered onto the lake using a vehicle such as a snowmobile, ATV or truck. The two most commonly used types are portable and permanent. The portable houses are often made of a heavy material that is usually water tight. The two most common types of portable houses are when your shelter flips behind the user when not needed, or a pop up shelter so the only means out is through a door. The permanent shelters are made of wood or metal and usually have wheels for easy transport. They can be as basic as a bunk heater and holes or having satellite TV, bathrooms, stoves, full size beds and may appear to be more like a mobile home than a fishing house.

In North America, ice fishing is often a social activity. Sometimes, the consumption of alcohol is involved. Some resorts have fish houses that are rented out by the day, often, shuttle service via Snow Track or other vehicles modified to drive on ice is provided.

In Finland, solitary and contemplative isolation is often the object of the pastime. In Finland, fishhouses are a rare occurrence, but wearing a sealed and insulated drysuit designed of space-age fabric is not.

In North America, Houses appear to create a city at locations where fishing is best.

Many fishermen will go out with 2.5 inches of good ice for walking, but the recommended is 4", 5-6 inches for Sleds (Snow Machines, Snowmobiles) 7-12 for light cars and 14-16 inches for full sized trucks. Care must be taken, because sometimes ice will not form in areas with swift currents, leaving open areas which freeze with much thinner ice. On the Great Lakes, off-shore winds can break off miles-wide pans of ice stranding large numbers of fishermen. Just such a circumstance occurred in Lake Erie in Feb. '09, with 100 fisherman having to be rescued by helicopters, local authorities and the Coast Guard, and one man who'd fallen into the water dying on the rescue flight.

Late-winter warm spells can destroy the texture of the ice, which, while still of the required thickness, will not adequately support weight. It is called "rotten ice" or soft ice and is exceedingly dangerous. Some ice-fishermen will continue to fish, since even with the bad ice normally 8 inches is more than enough. Fisherman may carry a self-rescue device made of two spiked handles connected by a string to pull themselves out of the water and onto the ice.

Many cars, trucks, SUVs, snowmobiles, and fish houses fall through the ice each year. Current environmental regulations require the speedy recovery of the vehicle or structure in this situation. Divers must be hired, and when the trouble occurs far from shore, helicopters may be employed for hoisting.

Other risks associated with ice fishing include carbon monoxide poisoning from fish house heaters and frostbite due to prolonged exposure to wind and low temperatures, although most new houses are fitted with air exchange systems that allow air flow preventing poisoning.