Sarley: A good way to break into ice fishing

Thank goodness for the break in the weather. No matter how rough-and-tumble some ice fishermen like to act like, it has been just too frigid to be out there on the ice. The current moderate temps (for Northern Illinois, of course) make it much more comfortable to spend a little time on frozen water.

I remember the first time I went ice fishing. It was a long time ago and I was invited by living legend Spence Petros to meet him on a lake in Mundelein. It was about 20 degrees and I was leery of fighting the cold.

I hauled out all of the foul weather gear I could think of and began applying it layer after layer. When my ensemble was completed, I looked like Ralphie in the “Christmas Story.” I could barely move my arms. I looked around and asked Petros where the shelter was that we would be sitting in for our excursion. He scoffed and called me a sissy. He wanted to know if I had showed up to participate in the Iditarod.

We drilled about 50 holes as we moved around the ice looking for likely crappie spots. Whew, that was exhausting and I really worked up a sweat. In no time at all, the temperature seemed almost tropical, and I began peeling off layers. I ended up in jeans, boots, a hoodie and my gloves. I no longer wore a hat. I couldn’t believe how much perspiration I was generating.

That is what ice fishing is to me. I find that it can be too cold to endure the weather, so I stay home. If the weather suits me, I do not overdress, but I always have clothing that can be peeled off if I feel too cold. I always have the proper footwear to protect my feet from getting wet and I wear good gloves with a pair of latex surgical cloves underneath to keep my hands from getting cold and wet.

The best weather for ice fishing is when it’s over freezing outside. The ice is melting a little and has a layer of water on the top. Sometimes, if you are lucky, you can get in a day of fishing when it is so warm that you can get away with just wearing a sweatshirt. Man, that is heaven.

If Petros hadn’t introduced me to hard-water fishing, I don’t know how I would have learned. I didn’t really know any ice fishermen.

How about giving this a try? Get dressed as if you were going ice fishing. Make sure you have ice cleats or creepers on your boots. Head on down to a local forest preserve lake and walk out on the ice toward some people who are ice fishing. Don’t get too close, but close enough to watch.

The ice fishermen will probably wonder what you are doing and will ask. Perfect. Now you can tell them that you have never ice fished but always wanted to try. Ask them if it would be OK to watch what they are doing for a while. Dollars to doughnuts they will invite you to watch from a closer distance. I’d say there is an excellent probability that they will ask you to try one of their ice rods to jig in one of their holes. Voila, you are an ice fisherman.

Ice fishermen are the friendliest folks in the outdoors. If you are lucky, you have hooked up with a group that grills something for lunch right there on the ice. Some ice fanatics barbecue a fantastic spread. I hope you find a group like that.