How many years?

[upnortfishing]

The sport seems to be growing every year and was just wondering what the general make-up of this community was. How many newbies, journeymen and grizzled veterans are lurking about? New poster here and trying to get a better feel for the community.

I remember going out as a kid but I don't really consider that in my experience, but for about the past 12 years I have been a pretty hardcore tip-up fisher, I would occasionally jig for panfish but was an electronics denier(didn't believe I needed one to catch fish) until last season when I finally bought a flasher looking to greatly expand my jigging this year and start jigging for game fish.

My best ice season was around 8 years ago when I was in college, I spent a good part of 80 days on the ice. In the real (working) world now and I aim for every weekend but am also hoping to figure out a close and easy accessible spot for night fishing after work this year.

[VTWoodchuck]

Started ice fishing about 50+ years ago with my grandfather.   I've had some years where I got out a lot and then some years when I just couldn't get the time.  I retired a couple years ago so now I fish most weekdays all year.  I tend to stay away on the weekends because things get more crowded and noisy on the ice, and the boat ramps are too crowded on weekends during soft water season.  I'm also a fairly new poster here.  It is a great place to learn about different ways to fish different species and also to get the lowdown on almost any kind of equipment.  Enjoy!

[jumbo chaser]

I've been icefishing since the early 80s before the sport became a sport everyone thought I was crazy to sit on a frozen lake and now I've induced several others to the sport and its becoming a very popular  so to answer your question I have been icefishing for over 30 yrs

[sandhillguy]

Lookin back over the last few years I would say that I have actually been independently involved in the pastime since my freshman year in highschool so about 14 years. I used to get outta school, throw on some warm clothes,  grab my old spoon auger, a couple old old hand-me-down jiggin rods, some waxies from the gas station, jump on my banana seat bike and book it a mile outta town on my  to a pond and fish till dark That was when the most money I had in tackle was what my waxies cost me for the day. Hell i wasnt even a flasher or hut kind of guy until the last couple years!! hell for a few years my tipups were a stick with string attached to it and a bobber perched precariously on some slush on the ice, fish on!!

[masoneddie]

Enough to wonder where the heck did they all go to!!?? 
Started out in the mid 70's as a tag along....

[rgfixit]

My good friend and fishing mentor "The Old Man" took me out back in the early 70's. been at it ever since.

Rg

[mr.clean]

A friend of my father's whom has since become a family friend got me started back in 1988 or 1989 . He had extra equipment which I used for my fist few trips.  Then I was told if you enjoy ice fishing and want to continue doing it here are some rods and tip ups to get you started. We used ice chisels (Spuds) back then to cut our holes . My mentor/friend once had a spoon auger and did not care for the maintenance it required to keep the auger sharp. I purchased my first hand auger in 1994 a Strike Master Mora two piece non height adjustable handle 8 inch model. Still part of the gear collection. Over the years I acquired more equipment and hope to finally enter the ranks of flasher users this season. My work schedule limits me to 10 trips or less a season.
Steve

[esox_xtm]

My cousins' husband and my good open water buddy dragged me out one New Years' Day in '81 I think. I was already in my mid 20's and swore ice fishing was for crazy folks. Now I'm certain of it.....

Started with a homemade plywood sled, butt on a bucket, back to the wind. Bought some Polar tipups that I still have and use. Drilled a zillion holes for me and then my son too with a blue Mora 8". Now it's an Otter sled/cabin with heater, SM power auger and a boat load of electronics. Oh yeah, enough tackle to outfit a small army.

Times have changed......

[ICE WANDERER]

          I've been ice fishing for 40 years or so, I'm amazed how much the technology has changed, from clothing to electronics. When my sons got their flashers, I held off. I still caught fish but not like they did, so I broke down and bought one, my numbers picked up considerably.  

[UFCreel]

Been at it for over 30 years. My first hole poked through the ice was with a metal fence post. Used to be if you had a $100 or less worth of gear you had it all.

[OldSailor]

Since the 60's. Dad didn't ice fish so a buddy and I picked it up on our own! Still learning!!! 

[ice dawg]

Started in the early sixties. Chopped holes with an axe back then. Prior to that I went with dad.

[iceslider]

51 years and still going strong!!!!!!!!!!

[polski]

I started in the late 70s with my dad and grandfather The fish seam to be a lot bigger back then I enjoy looking back at the old pics

[HARDasICE]

I lived in Montana in my teens. Back in the 70s. My dad's cousins got me started. And yep, we used an ax. After moving to Nebraska, around 1994, a co-worker got me started again. I'm setting my new wife up to join the insanity this season. Can't wait!

[Spider1]

I saw my first ice fishermen about 26 years ago. thought they were nuts, lol! I tried it with a friend about 5 years ago and knew they were nuts!   3 years ago I tried it again and went nuts for it

 

[pfscott]

First time out was with Grandpa, mid seventies, old spoon auger and a peach crate turned on end to sit on. Dabbled with it for the next ten years, then been hitting it pretty hard since the mid eighties. So, I suppose, 40 years, with a few years missed when younger.

[thomasthepikehunter]

I guess I'll be the young guy, being only 20 years old. From the time I was born I was out with my dad in a boat and on the ice. I only lived about 100 yards from a lake, so I could always go fishing. I used to bike there, even in the winter, and get all kinds of fish. At 14 I saved up a couple hundred dollars, and bought a boat. I rowed a long way in that thing. I traded that boat for a slightly bigger boat, and again for my current 16' boat. So in a way I have a nice, big 16' boat for $200. Well, the motor I put on the back was $1200. I never used a fish house. Last fall I bought a 4x8 skid house which works great, even for sleeping overnight. This year I just came across a good condition flip over for free, so I'll be out in that a bit. How long have I been at it? I don't know. 20 years I guess, 10 or so where I've actually been able to go out myself.

[RANDAL801]

Wow you all have been at it for a long time. That is so amazing to me and can not wait to be in your guy's shoes someday. This will be my 4th year going on a life long hobby. I started out with nothing but a pole. But I was hooked the first time out on the ice even though I did not catch much that first year. 2nd year I bought 3 used cheap shacks 2 hand augers and a used boat style fish finder I had the bug. Last year I went all out thanks to my credit card. I finally have a shack that fits the bill, Nils hand auger and showdown troller, buddy heater and Lots and lots of gear and tackle. I do notice that I tend to buy more stuff each year, is that normal?

[hardwater diehard]

Probably 20 yrs or so ..with the last 10 being the most for serious dedication and refinements ...from tip ups to jigging . The knowledge base has grown with this site.. actual fishing shows dedicated to the sport ...with sponsored Pro's.  Also the manufacturers have responded to the needs of the sport with actual products engineered for the sport and specific species ..that wasn't the case so many years ago  ..it really has grown . It still can be a basic approach ..tip ups, bucket, jig stick etc...or to the  extremes tip downs ,shelter heater , in line reels . It can be a social sport or a solitary experience . But most of all is is quite an addiction and a time machine  ...pulling up a 9 or 10 inch bluegill through a 8 inch hole turns you into a 12 year old again.   Give a man a fish ..he eats for a day ...teach a man to ice fish ..he has an addiction for a lifetime .

[muskiewrangler]

Counting the upcoming season it will be 5 years for me, but that's only because no one in my family wanted to sit on a bucket and fish with me.  But hey if it counts, I ALWAYS wanted to ice fish since I was 5 and once I got my driver's license I was on the ice practically any chance I got.

[Sawtooth]

upnortfishing -
    I see you are from N. Wisc.  I had a friend who lived in Eagle River, and was a professional guide there.  He took me on my first ice trip up near the UP border back in the mid-90s and we caught a mess of northerns.  Ice was so thin that if we all collected at a tip up to see the fish come it, the ice would start to crack.  Only about 5 years ago did I really get serious about hard water fishing out here in Colorado and Wyoming, but now it is my main passion.

[Rebelss]

30-35 years, give or take a few. Started out with a bucket, a wooden Schooley reel, my crappie/rock bass jigs, and my buddy with his spoon auger. Didn't get started on the ice until I was out of my teens. We knew the depths and spots to fish of every body of water within 20 miles, as I started fishing when I was four years old with my Dad. Grew into spending weeks on the river in the Summer months, and lake fishing in a boat until freeze up. You knew everything so well there wasn't a need for the electronic gizmo's used today.
We always did very well and usually came home with buckets of fish for a big fish fry.

[Lobes]

I started ice fishing right after I invented fire ...

                       
NBG

[Rebelss]

I started ice fishing right after I invented fire ...

                       
NBG

 

[Bigassbassman]

My friend F.R.E.D. on this forum took me out in '09 for my first trip when I lived out in MA -- at the time, I didn't even know what a tip-up was, and I thought ice fishermen were nuts.  That day, we set up a ton of traps and it was non-stop action for bass, pickerel, and even some drive-by perch.  Ever since that day, I've been hooked.  It was a completely different way to read the water, structure, depths, fish behavior, etc --- it was as if fishing had been reinvented for me.

With this forum, I've met great people from MA, NH, MN, WY, NE, KS, and CO -- it's been invaluable.  Now that I've hooked my brother too, we spend the entire year planning and looking forward to ice season out here in Colorado.  I'm proud of what I've accomplished in my first five years of ice fishing, but there's always so much more to learn!  Ice Shanty is the place for that.
Nate

[52isntbigenough]

upnortfishing -
    I see you are from N. Wisc.  I had a friend who lived in Eagle River, and was a professional guide there.  He took me on my first ice trip up near the UP border back in the mid-90s and we caught a mess of northerns.  Ice was so thin that if we all collected at a tip up to see the fish come it, the ice would start to crack.  Only about 5 years ago did I really get serious about hard water fishing out here in Colorado and Wyoming, but now it is my main passion.

Saw...who's your buddy? Were you out on Lac Vieux Desert? I've been fishing up there since I was a kid and owned a property for about 20+.

[BBQMAN]

Compared to all the other post here I'm very very green. Last year me and my son took up Ice Fishing and I can't stop thinking about it. Have learned alot here and on the Ice.

THANKS GUY'S

[bart]

Its been about 40 years now. I have had a couple of lulls in my Ice Fishing career, health issues and falling through the ice!(actually beaver trapping) But with the wealth of knowledge attained through Ice Shanty and some advances in technologies made, the last seven years my career has soared and has  become a full-blown obsession! 

[eriksat1]

Grew up in Illinois 30 years only ice fished a few time a season, moved to northwest Wisconsin in 1987 and been a ice fishing addict ever since. I like it just as much as open water fishing.