The Passion of Ice Fishing
“Drill Baby Drill!”
Written by Stu Hoefle and Photography contributed by Hoefle Family
Lakes across Montana
There’s something intriguing about walking on the surface of a lake – a frozen lake, of course. It might not be a truly Biblical experience, like actually walking on water, but it is something of a pilgrimage and there is water involved - albeit frozen. Still the question remains: why would someone wander out to the middle of the lake and then drill a hole in it? What would possess someone to sit for hours, over a round hole waiting for a slim chance that a fish might actually come upon that circumference of area and take a bite out of whatever has been planted on the hook? Well, a lot of people do. Me included. It’s an adventure that I’ve loved for the better part of my life – Ice Fishing!
The art of “Ice Fishing” started eons ago as a way for hunters and gatherers to forage for food. Today, it’s a continuation for fishermen to enjoy fishing all year long.
There’s a short period of time between the last days of fall fishing to when it’s safe to begin winter fishing. Those of us waiting for the ice to safely freeze over gear up for the months ahead when the lure of pulling a fish through an eight-inch round hole will sustain us until the icy slush melts away from the rivers and we can once again tie a fly to the end of the line on our flyrod.
Back in high school, some fifty years ago, my good buddy, Jack and I became “jerk junkies.” As with most ice fishermen, we became intrigued after seeing guys hovering over holes on what looked like frozen tundra. Underneath that snow, there was twelve inches of ice and underneath that ice, were schools of Rainbow trout that they were pulling through the hole with a fishing pole about 2 feet long.
It looked like a blast, and we were in! We bought a couple of rods and a hand-crank auger. We put everything in a couple of five-gallon buckets which also served as a place to sit as we watched our holes and waited for our lines to jerk. After that first experience, we could no longer make it through winter without numerous attempts to feel a tug on our line and see a pole bend. We also liked to eat fish and the “catch and keep” limits back in the day were a bit more generous.
There was the lure of adventure as well. What else would you call it when one ventures out in zero-degree temps with a bucket, a fishing pole, a hand auger, some corn and a few worms with lots of layers on? As we became more sophisticated for these forays, we fashioned a sled to carry our gear, added chairs to lounge on, a cook stove to boil our dogs, and maybe a six pack or two (one wants to stay hydrated when out in the elements). Ah, the good old days fishing through the ice.
Once I married, my wife went from thinking we were nuts to actually loving the sport herself. She loves to tell the story of one of our escapades in which we scored our limit at Hebgen Lake. Seven months pregnant, she asked for one last time for the two of us to get away before our baby arrived, so I talked her into a weekend of ice fishing at Hebgen.
As we pulled up to the lake, the first thing we noticed was that there were no other fishermen. Too foolish to find out why, we treaded across the frozen water and settled on a spot. I drilled and she set up gear. Within no time we were pulling fish out of our holes and cheering each other on. Before too long another die-hard fisherman sauntered close to where we were and commented on the pile of fish we were accumulating.
We asked him if he fished here often. He said he did. We asked why the lake was empty of other fishermen especially when the fishing is so good. “Are you kidding?” was his reply, “It’s minus 20! Only crazy people are out here!”
That craziness has stuck with me all these years. Once our kids were old enough and the fear of losing one of them through one of the holes we’d drilled was over, we taught them to ice fish too. They were hooked. Plus, it was an inexpensive way for us to entertain them.
Today ice fishing has evolved into a sophisticated sport with high- tech gear, tents, electronics, buggies to transport gear, power augers, even social media pages covering general ice fishing in Montana to specific lakes.
It’s fun to drive up to a lake and see families out enjoying the sport, laughter echoing across the lake, bets being made on who catches the first and the most, kids being pulled on sleds, bodies hovered over portable cook stoves warming up hot chocolate and hot dogs. It’s a winter sport in our neck of the woods, that will not die. And that’s fun to see.
Becoming grandparents has given my wife and I another generation of teaching kids to enjoy nature, and eating fish, but there’s more. It’s a time to appreciate what we have, to spend time together, to enjoy being outdoors, and of course – to catch fish.