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Ilf 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. Rate This Story How did you like this story? Log on to www.americanprofile.com/rate Special Offer Your BASS Mtiubnnhip Includes: • The FREETackle Bag AND 33 big issues of Bossmoster® Magazine, featuring the latest bass catching tech- niques. * Official Membership Pack with your per sonalized membership card, handbook, decal, embroidered patch and more. eligibility. C 2004 &ASS. Afl nfl** r%Mrw<J. Page 7 More than 535,(XX) avid fishermen know a great catch when they see it! Join BASS® today and get a 3-year membership at a special price for American Profile readers. Join now and you’ll also get this official BASS Tackle Bag FREE! 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! H HLWWT...this OfcrEtxkSoort join tody far three years for aoon**faJdlT y ° U LuHUjmJ ui*ih!|i aPPB * d to - |gWi „ vwt ■■