
Winter angling on a northern lake 
Thru the Ice Crust 
The Thrill of the Bended Rod Is Absent, But He Who Has the 
Courage to Face the Wintry Blasts Finds the 
ISHING through the ice has its 
F devotees who are as ardent in the 
sport as those familiar only with 
the charm of “open water” angling. 
While, perhaps, not so much skill is re- 
quired in mastering the winter fishing 
game as in that of open water fishing, 
there is, nevertheless, much to learn. 
Winter fishing is principally for the 
capture of pickerel and perch, and the 
first essential is knowing something of 
the nature and habits of these fish. For 
the most part, this kind of fishing is 
done in ponds and lakes not influenced 
by tides. Having chosen one of these 
bodies of water wherein is known to be 
a goodly supply of these fish, the first 
thing to do is to determine the best 
“orounds.” Generally someone lives in 
the vicinity of the pond or lake who is 
familiar with conditions, and it is wise 
to seek out such a person, thereby sav- 
ing much time and work in experiment- 
ing. As a general rule, the best pickerel 
fishing is found in water ranging from 
five to ten feet in depth, whereas the 
largest of the perch are more often 
found in deeper water. 
Of course, one may fish with a single 
line held in the hand, but there isn’t 
nearly as much sport in this method as 
there is in doing it on a larger scale by 
means of tilts, or tip-ups, holding set- 
hooks. And then too, the catch is much 
By ERNEST WARREN BROCKWAY 
greater than by the single-hook method. 
In. certain sections legislation has 
frowned on this wholesale method of 
fishing, the tip-up method, on the ground 
that it savors of “fish-hog” tactics. 
Pickerel, especially in a body of water 
well adapted to them, multiply rapidly, 
and so the tip-up method is a debatable 
proposition. Of course, were one man 
or several men to monopolize a pond 
daily that would be another phase of 
the question, but when a body of fish- 
ermen make only a few trips during a 
winter, there is little danger that a 
pond will become depleted. 
Having selected the best “grounds,” 
the first move is to chop through the 
ice a section of holes a rod or so apart. 
Instead of stringing the holes along in 
an unbroken line, many fishermen ar- 
range them in a square. The latter 
method seems more practicable unless 
there are several members in a fishing 
party. When a tip-up signal appears, 
one does not want to lose any time in 
responding to it, and when the hooks 
are set in a smaller area promptness is 
assured. Many a fish is lost from lack 
of quick response. 
S to the size of holes, fishermen dif- 
fer in opinion. They should be of 
sufficient size so a fish may be drawn 
out freely. From eight to fifteen inches 
Sport Interesting 
is a good rule. When the ice is ex- 
tremely thick and when an axe is used 
for chopping holes, it is always an ex- 
cellent idea to begin large, for except by 
the most experienced with the axe, the 
hole is inclined to taper in at the bot- 
tom. And once this is begun it is 
difficult to straighten out. In heavy ice, 
a regular ice-axe, chisel or whatever 
one wishes to call it, is far superior to 
an axe. One may easily have one made 
by a blacksmith. 
[* is merely a piece of heavy steel bar 
an inch or an inch and a half in 
thickness and from five to six feet in 
length (depending on the size of its 
user) flattened out and tapered on one 
end like an axe. With this implement 
one has no difficulty in cutting a 
straight down hole and it can be done 
much easier than with an axe. 
As to tip-ups, there are so many dif- 
ferent kinds in use that one cannot very 
well describe them all. Some are made 
to set across a hole with the joint of the 
signal rod in the center of the hole, 
while others have a standard sticking 
up in the ice at the side of the hole, 
three or four inches back, and leaning 
so that the end of the signal rod is 
above the center of the hole. When the 
latter style is used, the base of the tip- 
up is fastened in the ice by means of 
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