Heading to the Frozen North

I’m going ice fishing for a few days this month. I’ve never done it, and I’m eager to see what it’s like.

Actually, it’s not quite true that I’ve never done it.

Many years ago, I went out a few times on farm ponds near Jefferson, bored a hole in the ice with a large auger, and sat on an overturned five-gallon bucket with my hood up and my back to the wind, hoping a bass or a crappie would bite.

Sometimes they did. But that’s not what I’m talking about regarding ice fishing.

Three other guys and I are driving up to Mille Lacs Lake east of Brainerd, Minn., about 130 miles north of Minneapolis, on a Tuesday. That night, we’ll stay in a cabin on shore.

But the next morning, we’ll go out onto the ice and spend the next two days and nights in an ice shack, fishing through the ice for walleye, sauger, northern pike and whatever else might want to bite on our plug-and-minnow lures. We’ll come back on Friday.

I say “the next two nights” because that’s literally true.

The shack we’ve rented has four beds, a two-burner cookstove, a big heater, lanterns, indoor toilet facilities and other comforts of home.

There will be eight holes already cut into the ice through the raised floor, so we can fish round the clock if we so choose.

We’ll have playing cards, a radio and whatever other recreational accessories we want to take.

But that’s about the extent of what I know. I’ve pumped a few ice fishing veterans from Jefferson about what to expect, and got a rough feel of ice fishing life. But it will all be new for me.

I take it on faith that the location of our shack on expansive Mille Lacs Lake will be over a spot frequented by fish.

If it’s not, I also have faith that the resort that leases out the shacks will move ours to a more fruitful location, and will then drill holes at that spot also.

The ice on Mille Lacs right now is 14 to 16 inches thick, so it’s rock solid.

I also have faith that there will be plenty of fuel in our heater, so that the Minnesota winter doesn’t creep into our accommodations. I can cook a little bit, but I hope that someone else in our foursome is more skilled.

One of my favorite films is “Dirty Old Men,” in which Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau battle for the favors of Ann-Margaret, who has recently moved into their town.

The town is in Minnesota, on a lake, and it’s wintertime. So one of the great scenes takes place among fishing shacks on the frozen lake.

Competing for Ann-Margaret seems highly reasonable to me, but I don’t expect to undertake that activity, on this trip anyway.

I also don’t expect to bring back any fish.

Any we hook will probably end up as fillets in our frying pan. But if we’re particularly successful, I’ll put a few fillets on ice and return with them, just to show Kathy that we did what we said we’d do. There will also be photos as proof.

I’m keeping an eye on the Weather.com website for Brainerd for the days we’ll be there.

In a way, it would be satisfying if the temperature drops below zero while we’re warm inside our shack. On the other hand, it’s midwinter in Minnesota, and that gives cause for a little concern.

But the ice fishing veterans I’ve talked with look forward every year to returning to the Great North in winter.

And I’m looking forward to my first trip out on the ice, for a couple days of walking on water, even if it’s the frozen kind.

Contact Us

Jefferson Bee & Herald
Address: 200 N. Wilson St.
Jefferson, IA 50129

Phone:(515) 386-4161