Sarley: Tips for staying safe and comfortable while ice fishing this winter

It looks to me like winter is finally here. The temps are going the below freezing. It won’t be long before those of us who practice the sport of ice fishing will be able to hit the ice-covered water.

One tip I have for you is to hit the ice as quickly as safe ice is available. Sometimes the season is incredibly short. “Safe” is the watchword. Every year there are plenty of reports of ice accidents, and some are even fatal. Experts generally recommend that safe ice is at least 4 inches in thickness. Me, I prefer a minimum of 6 inches. I’m a big guy and I don’t want to see below the surface. Ice gets from 4 to 6 in a day or two usually. I’ll practice patience.

Let’s talk about some of the things you will need in order to be ready for your ice fishing outings. Obviously, you are going to need a way to drill holes in the ice to get your baits down to the fish. One or two holes is not going to cut it. The first time I ice fished, I was amazed that my instructor had us drilling at least 50 holes in the ice. We were using a manual ice auger and it was an awesome task. My arms were exhausted by the time the job was complete.

The best ice fishing tip I can give you is to make friends with someone who owns a gas-powered ice auger. Now that is what I call a pal. It beats the heck out of drilling holes by hand any day of the week.

Obviously, you can buy your own ice drill, but it’s a large investment, especially if you don’t even know if you are going to like the sport or not. A hand drill is fine for beginners, as long as the blade of the auger is sharpened to a fine edge.

Those of us who own ice augers should already have sent their blades into the shop to be sharpened. They should already be in the shop. Most bait and tackle shops take in ice blades for sharpening at a reasonable price. My friend Fran Connelly from Des Plaines does a good job and has fast turnaround. You can contact Fran on Facebook.

Another preparation tip is to go down to the local hardware store and pick up a can of Kiwi Camp Dry. This stuff is the best water repellent product on the market.

Ice fishermen spend a lot of time picking out the proper clothing to keep themselves warm while on the ice. It’s even more important to keep yourself dry. Nothing brings an outing to an end faster than getting wet, and nothing is worse than trying to suffer through having wet feet.

I spray my ice boots with Camp Dry twice before I go out on the ice the first time. I’ll do it again one more time in mid-season. If you tend to play it extra safe, you can always slip your feet into a plastic bag before you put on your socks and your shoes or boots.

When you are ice fishing, you are using extremely fine fishing line and tiny, tiny lures and terminal tackle. It is virtually impossible to handle this gear, let alone tie knots while wearing gloves. When your hands get wet, it’s tough to get them dry again.

I love wearing a pair of latex surgical gloves when I ice fish. They keep my hands dry and are flexible enough to allow me to tie knots in microthin fluorocarbon fishing line. My latex gloves, which are cheap and available at any Walgreen’s or CVS, always save the day for me.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

• Daily Herald Outdoors columnist Steve Sarley can be reached at sarfishing@yahoo.com.