loading up the truck to go fishing......

[trapper2000]

well i  ggot the  old truck warmed  up and ready 




put the  old  sled on the trailer






got my  rods  all ready and  put in a  bucket





tossed  the  auger in the  back set and  headed to the  lake







i  got there  and  started  fishing right away






so thats how  my day went it was  nice to be out enjoying the  weather  and  getting  a few fish ........

[SeanP]

Nice!!!

[Riddlefiddle]

Cool pics.

[ValparaisoGirl]

Love this!   

[trapper2000]

well feel free to add to it  internet pictures or  things you actually have

[trapper2000]

i thought these were pretty cool







pre jet sled lol

[Pequod1]

I think that top one with the blue background was mine! Built one just like it. Used to put a Coleman lantern in the box for heat and had holes drilled between the two sections for the heat to flow into the outer box where you could put your feet once in a while .  I just put it in the dumpster a few months ago . Kind of sad, brought back some memories.
On the other hand, I hated that spade. I think I could make a hole a lot faster with a spoon and fork. Only too glad to dump that.

[zcm_82]

We had an old SkiDoo like that when I was a kid... worked great going straight, but it wouldn't turn for beans if you were going much faster than walking speed. Turned the bars and it would just keep going straight. 

[NOT ME]

I had one like the one on top. The tall box on the end with the hole in the side was for your Coleman lantern to use as a heater.

[trapper2000]

a  antique fishing derby would  be  fun with prizes  for  the  coolest   old  equipment .....i love  older  stuff from the  past  i  have   old  bullhead rods   with johnsone reels  then   some  zebcos  and  a  few  metal  rods  with  level winds lol  i bullhead  fish with them  ......it's  fun

[BH2]

cool pics!

[Arkangel]

Trap...

Thanks for the pics and the trip down memory lane.

My earliest memories of ice fishing - coming up on 55 years ago with my Grandfather - on Whitney Point Reservoir (aka: Dorchester) and Oneida Lake and a myriad of other small lakes in the Broome/Chenango/Cortland County areas (with an occasional trip up Nord to Bay of Quinte, Ontario)

That same/similar Ski-Doo (and a Moto-Ski)...the poles with metal spools...spade auger (oooof) and homemade wooden sleds converted into our own "jet sleds" were all employed by him as well.  We were state of the art!

Our "GPS" was my Grandfather lining up with a treeline on the opposing shores to find the honey hole.

Heat?  We had these ignitable "sticks" that we would place in a metal clamshell that snapped shut and wrapped in felt...they stayed lit all day and got VERY hot in our pockets.  Instant handwarmers .

Sleds got stuck in slush fields (it happens)...we wore snowmobile suites (where did THEY go?) that we had so unzip from the ankle UP at the end of the day...frequently iced shut - so we started the old Ford Ranch Wagon and held the zippers to the exhaust to melt them..!

No boy ever had it so good...my Grandmother used to pack the BEST lunches too.  We'd come home with buckets of perch/crappie and cut fish well into the wee small hours of the morning.

He had an old aviators jacket that I've never seen the likes of.  Printed: Army/AirCorps on left breast pocket...his last name on the opposite side.  He'd put that jacket on me and I NEVER got cold.  I also didn't move around too much because it was very heavy.  Maybe he knew what he was doing.

My 98 year old, WWII Veteran Grandfather who flew C-54s over China/Burma/India died this last New Years Eve 12/31/21

Thanks Grampa...and thank you for taking me back there, Trapper.

~Arkangel

[trapper2000]

ark i hear tell your grandpa is fishing with my pop right now on the other side ......... you and i will have alot of fish to clean when we get there ....my pop  stormed the beaches of Normandy and scaled 100-foot cliffs ..... the great generation ....we all should be proud

[sodussut]

Trap, I( still use those jigging poles your showing in the photo. Still hand lining after all these years!(50)

[Arkangel]

Trap...

Speaking of storming the beaches of Normandy and scaling cliffs...

I was seated at a large, roughhewn (dinner?) table at a "leased land" cabin deep in the Adirondacks...I'm going to say it was in the Croghan area - near Beaver River Flow.

I believe it was called the "Sand Pond Club"...NOT Sandy Pond (where I spend my time)...just ironic.

If I have my story straight - that camp WAS used by the US military during WWII as a POW camp - it housed captured German soldiers on wood cutting detail providing firewood for the local north country residents during the war.

I was there as a guest - we used it as basecamp for snowmobiling.  I met a man named "Newt"...long and tall - skinny as a rail.  Newt was a member there. 

I spent many an hour listening to Newt tell the story of scaling those same rock cliffs under the cover of darkness in a mission they thought was doomed to fail.  A common friend told me I should not let Newts appearance fool me...he was one rugged SOB - and as tough as they come...mentally and physically.  I've thought of him often over the years - proud to have known him and grateful for his sacrifice(s).

Greatest Generation - darned right! 

Not an ice fishing post - sorry - look what you started, Trap

~Arkangel

[lowaccord66]

Nice post.  Like seeing the old stuff.

[trapper2000]

remember these old headach makers?  they sure smelled bad

[NOT ME]

Those things sucked. Stunk and were fire hazards.

[zcm_82]

I can smell that picture

Dad used one of the double burner Colemans when I was a kid, and I had a single like that for a couple years before I switched to propane.

[trapper2000]

Those things sucked. Stunk and were fire hazards.

i'm sure a few people had to have  expired using them  my eyes would burn lol

[SeanP]

i'm sure a few people had to have  expired using them  my eyes would burn lol

Got a headache just looking at it!!

SeanP

[trapper2000]

dangerous  heaters  man

[luthersmk1]

A buddy of mine was in the tent behind it when it burst into flames. Burned a hole right throught side of eskimo tent when it did. Lucky enough he didnt get burned.

[ny_angler]

I started using alot of the equipment in the pictures.  Snowmobile ... spoonbill auger  sticks for rods . Couldn't get me to use any of it again ... and I won't fish without  my vex.

[Yotecatcher]

Where ya headed Trap?

[cdubbs]

Trap...

Thanks for the pics and the trip down memory lane.

My earliest memories of ice fishing - coming up on 55 years ago with my Grandfather - on Whitney Point Reservoir (aka: Dorchester) and Oneida Lake and a myriad of other small lakes in the Broome/Chenango/Cortland County areas (with an occasional trip up Nord to Bay of Quinte, Ontario)

That same/similar Ski-Doo (and a Moto-Ski)...the poles with metal spools...spade auger (oooof) and homemade wooden sleds converted into our own "jet sleds" were all employed by him as well.  We were state of the art!

Our "GPS" was my Grandfather lining up with a treeline on the opposing shores to find the honey hole.

Heat?  We had these ignitable "sticks" that we would place in a metal clamshell that snapped shut and wrapped in felt...they stayed lit all day and got VERY hot in our pockets.  Instant handwarmers .

Sleds got stuck in slush fields (it happens)...we wore snowmobile suites (where did THEY go?) that we had so unzip from the ankle UP at the end of the day...frequently iced shut - so we started the old Ford Ranch Wagon and held the zippers to the exhaust to melt them..!

No boy ever had it so good...my Grandmother used to pack the BEST lunches too.  We'd come home with buckets of perch/crappie and cut fish well into the wee small hours of the morning.

He had an old aviators jacket that I've never seen the likes of.  Printed: Army/AirCorps on left breast pocket...his last name on the opposite side.  He'd put that jacket on me and I NEVER got cold.  I also didn't move around too much because it was very heavy.  Maybe he knew what he was doing.

My 98 year old, WWII Veteran Grandfather who flew C-54s over China/Burma/India died this last New Years Eve 12/31/21

Thanks Grampa...and thank you for taking me back there, Trapper.

~Arkangel

Great story/memories!.. RIP to your grandpa..

[62&done]

Lota memories here  I still have that stupid fire trap of a heater

[ValparaisoGirl]

I haven't tried this out yet, but thought it was cool:

[perch chacer]

Trapper, looking at all your old ice fishing gear, maybe you are one of the oldest guys still going out on the ice.  Good luck to ya and many more.

[Arkangel]

ValPro Girl...

That is exactly what I was referring to in one of my posts...those sticks are ignitable - placed in the clam and snapped shut.  They are extremely efficient and warm...even HOT!!!

However - they do emit a fairly strong fuel smell...not sure it's the best thing to handle before touching bait...etc...etc...

Having said that - I have vivid memories of using copious amounts of Ether (Quick Start) for both sleds and gas-powered augers...yet we still filled buckets with perch pretty consistently.

I know fisherman that boil their lures to rid them of scent...others that spray attractant to their lures.

As I'm fond of saying "I'm sure the truth lies somewhere in the middle"

~ArkAngel