Author Topic: 1943 Like Erie Blue Pike Ice Fishing  (Read 3373 times)

Offline jimski2

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1943 Like Erie Blue Pike Ice Fishing
« on: Dec 22, 2006, 10:05 AM »
Since there isn't any thing going on, let's remember the "good old days".

It's early January and  the lake has hardened up good. Two old timers "shanghai" a 12 year old kid, load him on their old "ice jalopy", and head out on the ice to 55 foot of water. They set up their "tipups" with a spreader and baited with salted minnows. The fishing is good and the same holes are used Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The ice jalopy is an old Model A Ford with the doors removed in case it sinks and you have to bail out fast. Chains were installed on the rear tires. No sleds or ATV's then. On the side of the jalopy are 2 twelve foot 2x12's that were to be used to cross gaps in the ice if it opened up. A long tow rope was carried. Also piled up on the back were a dozen 8 foot skinned and hardened maple saplings that held up the windbreak. An auger made of a wood bit would drill small holes in the ice and the poles were set up in a circle. Slush ice and water would freeze them in a little while. A 30 foot by 8 foot muslin tarp was strung on the poles and a wind shelter was set up then. A can with charcoal or wood was burned to cook on as you stayed out all day.

Holes were chopped in the ice using a "spud". It was a wood chisel mounted on a long handled shovel handle equipped with a lanyard so you didn't lose through the hole. A handline was set up using a dowel to mount it above the hole with a couple chunks of ice that came from chipping out the hole. It balanced the rig so if it moved up of down if there was action on the bait. These handlines were used year round as poles and reels were expensive then. The handline was a wooden board abut 3/8 inches thick that had oval notches on it and one ear extended about 4 inches farther that the others. Your line, back then chalkline, was hitched to this end where it balanced on the dowel. There were several holes for the dowel to be placed for good balance. The spreaders had two clips for the hooks and a sliding lead sinker for weight. Each guy would set up to a dozen lines and sometimes would jig the line to get fish going when things were slow. The frozen salted "emerald shiner" minnows were carried in cigar boxes [ can't get them anymore] lined with newspaper.

Anyway the catch that weekend was 999 blue pike. They were taken home and buried in the snow on the north side of the house. With the war going on, food was scarce and the fish were given to the good neighbors or sold to the rest.

And that's the way it was.

You can not take too many perch, unless you can not clean them, give them to your friends and neighbors to clean and cook. The more perch you take, the faster and bigger the rest  will grow. The walleyes and bass will survive from fry to fingerlings.

Offline firsticerules

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Re: 1943 Like Erie Blue Pike Ice Fishing
« Reply #1 on: Dec 22, 2006, 10:16 AM »
i love old fishing stories thnx for the share and 999 blue pike holy moley  :o

FORGET MILK.......GOT ICE?

Offline Fishin is the Mission

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Re: 1943 Like Erie Blue Pike Ice Fishing
« Reply #2 on: Dec 22, 2006, 10:49 AM »
Man...you tell a great story...for a while I was right there, on the ice, smelling the charcoal burning.  Thanks for the trip!
Thanks, Dad, for taking the time to show me how to fish!!

Chuck

Offline jayswimmer09

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Re: 1943 Like Erie Blue Pike Ice Fishing
« Reply #3 on: Dec 22, 2006, 12:31 PM »
999????? why the hell didnt they stay and wait for the 1000th

Offline KingFisher1

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Re: 1943 Like Erie Blue Pike Ice Fishing
« Reply #4 on: Jan 11, 2007, 07:06 PM »
WOW!  This is very close to the way I learned to ice fish with my dad when I was a kid. The only difference is that we we would walk way out there and we would be going for perch, but that is all my dad and his friends would talk about were the days of the blue pike. People used to quit their jobs to go blue pike fishing in the winter, they could make more money selling their catches.

Offline ice dawg

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Re: 1943 Like Erie Blue Pike Ice Fishing
« Reply #5 on: Jan 14, 2007, 10:13 AM »
999????? why the hell didnt they stay and wait for the 1000th

They wanted to stay under the limit and not be fish hogs.  ::) :D ;)
It seems to go from zero to hero all some have to do is lie.

Offline AirManCam

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Re: 1943 Like Erie Blue Pike Ice Fishing
« Reply #6 on: Jan 15, 2007, 04:55 PM »
That was a great story man!
15lb mono pike fisherman...WHATS UP!

Offline slider

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Re: 1943 Like Erie Blue Pike Ice Fishing
« Reply #7 on: Feb 13, 2007, 03:28 PM »
my first trip was to a local lake all we had was a old hatchet to put a hole in the ice
it took almost an hour
we got three holes in thanks to a older guy that had a spud bar he let us borrow
not long after we got there we were drunk  and had no idea what we were doing of course no one would admit they were freezing their but off so we stayed well into tha night
all of a sudden the ice settled and we had no idea what was going on we felt the shaking and we looked like a rabbit being chased by a fox rods tackle box beer everything was left behind
we all dared each other to go get the stuff but there was no way anyone would go out
there it was a coleman lantern burning brightly in te middle of the lake rods all proped up on tackle boxes waiting for the first bite
about 45 min of standing there like fools the same older gentleman walked by and asked how it was going
completly embaressed i told him of our situationand i thought he would die laughing
needless to say he escorted us out to show it was safe to retrieve our equipment
Ill bet hes told that story for years and if hes lucky enough to be still with us still is telling it
 ;D ;D ;D :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[


Offline ksobilo

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Re: 1943 Like Erie Blue Pike Ice Fishing
« Reply #8 on: Feb 15, 2007, 09:01 AM »

I grew up perch fishing on lake erie. I'm too young to have caught any blue pike unfortunately, but we still do use the old style hand lines you described. We use them to jig perch on spreaders in the summer and have used slightly different ones balanced on stands for ice fishing up on Lake Simcoe (in Canada) in winter.

I guess these primitive hand lines/tip ups are also common in Canada as the hut operators provide stands... I guess some good old techniques never go out of style..


 



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