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Flashing an oversized ring. Shannon Rasch celebrates her
bachelorette party on the ice with a group of friends.
adventure and the camaraderie. It's like the infield
of the Indy 500, except the people are dressed
warmer.”
Across the ice, bride-to-be Shannon Rasch and six
female friends are doing more celebrating than fishing.
“I wanted a nontraditional bachelorette party, and this
was it," says Rasch, 33, of Albertville, Minn., wear
ing green winter overalls, a large ring with a plastic
diamond and a white lace veil. "Sometimes ice fishing
is just a reason to force yourself to get out of the house
and have some fun.”
“A woman who loves ice fishing!” yells a man from
nearby. “You’ll make the perfect wife!”
Ice angling and angering
“The beauty of ice fishing,” says Slaybaugh, “is that
you don't need a boat to access the lake. You need a
fishing license and about $lO worth of equipment."
Poles range from short cane poles to open-face
spinning reels attached to an ultra-sensitive rod. Bait —
minnows and worms—generally is the same as used
for summer fishing, though a colored, weighted hook,
which attracts more attention in die darker water, often
replaces a standard one. A minnow bucket widi a lid
doubles as a chair.
Holes are dug with either a large steel chisel used to
chop through the ice, or, more commonly, with a hand
powered or motorized auger that bores a hole with a
6- to 10-inch diameter blade.
“Once you dig a hole,” Slaybaugh says, its a lot
like bobber fishing. You bait up a hook and try dif
ferent depths. If the fish aren’t biting, you spend a few
minutes hand-drilling another hole someplace else on
the lake.”
While gear is important, making certain that ice
depth and conditions are safe for fishing is critical.
Never venture on to a frozen lake unless you've done
your homework.
“Always check with local resorts or bait shops and
ask about conditions for the lake you want to fish," says
Tim Smalley, a water safety specialist with die Minne
sota Department of Natural Resources. “Nobody wants
to die for a fish, no matter how nice that fish is.”
Shelters, shacks and shanties
Across the Great Lakes region and beyond, some
avid anglers set up shelters to stake out the same spot
American Profile •
during the ice fishing season, forming temporary
towns often larger than permanent nearby cities.
Some shacks and shanties are simple —two-by-fours
and plywood nailed together ft* shelter from die wind.
Others are more like cabins on skis, dragged onto the
ice by snowmobiles or trucks and left on the lake for
three months. They feature bunk beds and propane
heaters and fishing Wes dug through trap doors in the
floor. Gasoline generators power radios and televisions.
When people talk about ice fishing, though, they
are referring to the mobile, often solitary pursuit of
finding and catching fish from under a layer of ice.
“People ask how I explain the -appeal of ice fishing,"
says Slaybaugh, 39, whose first ice fishing experience
came on the Mississippi River at age 7. “But I can't
explain why you’d drill a hole in the ice and sit on
a bucket on a frozen lake when it’s 10 below. If you
don't do it, then you can’t fish up here for four
months."
At 3 p.m., a cannon blast signals that fishing
must cease on Gull Lake. A crowd gathers around
the main stage, where a giant board lists the top
150 fish caught during the tournament. When the
results are finalized, 24-year-old Sara Kitzman, of
St. Cloud, Minn., has landed the day's biggest fish,
a 3.7-pound walleye. Kitzman —the second female
and youngest winner in the events history—will
drive home the new Ford truck.
Alan Wroolie, like thousands of others, did not get
a single bite during the three-hour tournament, but he
doesn’t seem to mind.
“This is a family tradition now,” he says. "And
I can go back and tell my friends I was walking
on water. Maybe I’ll catch a big one next year.
You just never know.
“You just need a hook and a hole.' ft
Steve Lange is a freelance u -riter in Rochester. Mirm.
Visit www.fishingbuddy.com/links/toumaments.php
to find an ice fishing tournament near you.
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Famed Ice Fishing Festivals
Brainerd Jaycees Ice Fishing Extravaganza—Braineid, Minn. Jan.
21. They call it the “World's Largest Ice Fishing Contest " and, with an
average of 10,000 paid competitors crammed into a l/3-mile-by-l/2-
mile area, it’s haid to aigue. (800) 950-9461; uu-u.uxfiskmg.org
Tip-Up Town USA —Houghton Lake, Mich. Jan. 20-22 and 27-
29. Started in 1950, Tip-Up Town is more on-ice carnival than
fishing contest, with an estimated 40,(XK) revelers taking part
in carnival rides, ice slides, beer tents and pony rides. (800)
248-5253; www.houghtonlakechamber.org
Alexandria Ice Fishing Challenge—Alexandria, Minn. Jan. 28.
An average of 4,000 people turn out for this family-friendly event.
www.icefishingfhallenge.org
Devils Lake fire Department Ice Fishing Tourney—Devils Lake,
N.D. Jan. 28. More than 3,500 anglers vied for SIIO,OOO in prizes in
2005, the 21st year of this akohol-free, family-focused event tliat raises
money fix the local volunteer fire department. (701) 662-3913; wu-w.
dltfdicefishingtoumey. com
Golden Rainbow Ice fishing Contest—Forest Lake, Minn. Feb. 4.
The contest kicks off with a slippm’-and-sliclin slxxgun start, as the
S,(XX)-plus anglers race across the ice fix the fishing hotspots. (952)
903-4903; uni -u .forestlakeicefishing, com
International Eelpout Festival —Walker, Minn. Feb. 10-12. The
eelpout—also called the spineless catfish and lawyer fish (due to its
slimy skin) —has a disturbing habit of wrapping itself around the
angler’s arm as its being unhooked. Events include a black-tie dinner
on Leech Lake, the Eelpout Peel-out ftxxrace, Pillar Plunge, and, of
course, a fishing contest, which draws 2,(XX) anglers and 10,(XX) spec
tators. (8(X)) 833-1118; www.eelpoutfistrt-al.com
Great Rotary Fishing Derby—Meredith, N.H. Feb. 11-12. An
estimated 6,(XX) anglers compete in this statewide tournament
featuring $60,000 worth of prizes. (603) 279-7600; u-u-w.
meredithrotary. com
Sebago Lake Rotary Derby Fest—Windham, Maine. Feb. 25-
26. An estimated 5,000 competitors catch 1,000 togue, a not
so-loved lake trout. (888) 423-3524; www.tcefishingderby.com
Reel in a Great Deal!
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