Why Would Anyone Even Think of Going Ice Fishing?

If someone asked me to go ice fishing, I would probably say, "Are you out of your freakin' mind?!"

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I recently came across an article in the Newstimes titled, "Where to Go Ice Fishing in Connecticut." I got to thinking there have to be some legitimate reasons why humans are attracted to standing on a patch of an ice-covered lake or pond hoping to catch a fish.

Let's face it, it's the dead of winter, you're standing on a sheet of ice looking down into a hole that you had to carve out yourself, and it's 18 degrees with a wind chill of 5 degrees. Are we having fun yet? Well, this guy sure is on Bantam Lake.

Having never tried the sport, I decided to dig around on the internet to determine why people like to go ice fishing. My first stop was an article I found on the website apnews.com titled "Ten Reasons to Go Ice Fishing This Winter, and Where It Happens." The article was written by Roger Phillips, a fisherman who lives in Idaho, where the ice fishing season kicks off in November. The following are some of his reasons to go ice fishing.

1. A good reason to go outside in the winter
2. Ice Fishing is beginner-friendly
3. You can take the whole family
4. The fish actually taste better
5. No need to buy ice and pack a heavy, ice-filled cooler

Sorry, Roger, I'm not taking the bait. It's just simply not for me. I did find a website for diehard ice fisherman called iceshanty.com, where you'll find helpful posts and comments from members asking about ice conditions. Group member mungo544 posted about fishing on Winchester Lake which is 16 miles north of Torrington. He was using fish lingo I didn't understand. Here's what mungo544 had to say,

Had a good perch day jigging, all on spikes. I kept 8 decent perch out of about 15 or 16. They all came in about a 1/2 hour period around 2 p.m.

If ice fishing is your thing, take a look at the website newstimes.com for ice fishing locations in eastern, western, and central Connecticut. I'll wrap it up with a quote from aquarium234 from iceshanty.com,

It's all fun and games until someone loses a walleye..