Ice fishing is carried out on a frozen body of water. The ice fishing gear the fishermen may use is either fishing lines or spears and they have to make a hole in the body of ice in order to gain access to the unfrozen water underneath the ice. The sitting position is preferred for ice fishing too, as the fishermen can stay either on special stools or directly on the ice. For some, ice fishing is all the more enjoyable as they have built real sheds or cabins around the ice openings, bringing the comfort of a bunk bed with them.

Ice fishing is considered a popular and even necessary activity throughout the icy regions on our globe. Some countries where it has become a hobby during free time are the European Northern ones like Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Norway, Russia and even Germany. The Northern states and regions of the American continent where ice fishing still flourishes are Canada, Alaska, Colorado, Michigan and so on.

Getting into more details about the fishing gear used, we may realize that it is pretty different from other types of fishing in that it has become rather specialized. A fishing line or a spear would surely prove worthless in this type of sport if you do not have an ice saw or a chisel at hand to begin with. Keep in mind that the ice break through is the one to come first. Though water will keep freezing even after you have made the hole, so almost all anglers additionally get a skimmer with them to remove that newly created layer of ice. Many fishermen also rely on a heater not only for their sakes but also for keeping the area around the hole warm enough to avoid letting more ice be formed. That is that wood huts and cabins that capture this heat inside tend to be widely preferred by ice fishing fans.

Ice fishing is based on three different methods, each with its specifically designed tools. First, you can use small-sized rods with colorful little lures or baits. The second makes use of tip-ups that are a great means of catching fish in large quantities within a certain period of time. Plus finally, let's mention spear ice fishing that depends on large hole making and fish decoys.

No matter for which of the three you go, things with ice fishing will never be like in the all days. It appears that these days, with the help of sonars, ice fishing lovers can identify the areas where fish are located in the large body of water under the ice. Then, with the help of commercial fishing devices anglers will make about One hundred openings per day in the event that they wished to catch large amounts of fish, very much unlike our ancestors who had to wait by the hole for the fish to come to them.