Southern thing.

[customsawyer]

Y'all sure took this subject off in another direction. I remember parking the truck out on the ice, in Colorado. Once you had about 4 or 5 inches you could drive the truck out there and fish out the window while the heater was running. 

[Raider Bill]

I see taking a car or truck out on that ice and doing high speed zippidy doo dah donuts and slides!

[barbender]

Come on up Milton, we'll show you a few things😁

When I was a kid, ice racing was a pretty big thing. Pretty much like the Enduro races that you see on local dirt tracks now, but out on the lakes. People figured out a way to stay entertained in the winter.

[Mooseherder]

On 4 occasions I've been terrified while fishing. Twice in South Florida, big breaking swells coming into the inlet and a thunderstorm while fishing inside the shipping lanes. Then twice in Maine.  On a Lobster boat with massive swells, you couldn't see the boat next to you in-between swells and then Ice Fishing on a tidal river in South Addison.  The Ice was cracking like mad with incoming tide.  Good Times!
Some Lake Ice fishing cabins now are luxurious. Brook trout fishing is my speed now.

[beenthere]

I see taking a car or truck out on that ice and doing high speed zippidy doo dah donuts and slides!

Stark reminder of when a cousin and I drove my father's new 1963 Ford mustang out on the Mississippi river ice at Dubuque, IA winter of '64 to do some of the high speed donuts and slides. Put it into a slide at 60+mph and going broadside could see open water coming up not too far away. 
That was way too close to a major problem, only thinking Dad wouldn't like having me drop his new mustang into the river. Managed to get it out of that slide and as quickly as possible get off that ice. Can't trust river ice. 
One of those memories that send a chill up the spine just thinking about what could have been "the end" of a wonderful life. 

[SawyerTed]

I used to fly fish for mountain trout year round except for March when the season was closed.   

Sometimes it was so cold in the mountains in February that my back cast would freeze in midair.   I had to find a big stick to knock it down.  

[barbender]

Ted, when my back cast freezes like that I like to leave it for a bit, it helps to release the coil memory from the line👍😊

[Old Greenhorn]

River ice is tough and can be dangerous because water is still flowing under it.  We spent 20+ years going to the same fishing camp right on the St. Lawrence river. Over those years I got to know the owner fairly well, great guy, carpenter and house builder by trade also Captain on the town's fire boat, born and raised 3 generations. I loved talking to him. He had trucks stashed on most of the Islands on the US side of the border between Lake Ontario and the Thousand Island Bridge. They would drive them over in winter and leave them there with the keys in case somebody needed to borrow one. I asked his once how many vehicles he had 'out there' and he thought on it a minute then replied "I have no stinking idea, been bringing them out since I was 14 and ain't never brought one back yet'.
 One year, in the 80's, we came up and I saw he had an air boat parked in his field (along with 20 or 30 'regulars') so when we were sitting on the dock one night I asked him about it. "Oh yeah", he says "I got a line on that one last fall and went down to Florida to pick it up. Dang thing ain't much use down there, pluck full of holes, dents and cracks, ain't much left to patch. But it's fine for us. I got it for running across the river in winter. We get calls to fetch bodies back to the mainland of folks that passed in the winter. Also in a pinch for medical emergencies when they had no option. If the ice isn't solid we can't drive over, the fireboat is in dry dock for the season, and there's too much ice anyway. SO that ice boat is perfect, hit a wet spot or thin ice and it cruises right over. Had a heck of a time getting it registered though, dang coast guard." I had to ask, "What was the registration issue, aren't they used to air boats?" "Well No" he said, "that ain't it, they were just so stuck on their stupid rules. They insisted I had a working bilge pump on it. If that boat was on open water, it would take on so much water that I'd need a pump as big as that engine to overcome it. So I had to go and get a brand new bilge pump, and install it. The only time that thing has run was when they made me show them it worked. Stupidest thing I ever saw. A boat full of holes and it passes because it has a bilge pump."

 He did tell me it was not much fun to run because bouncing over that ice at speed would shake the teeth out of your head. Also, the wind chill sitting in front of that fan was something pretty severe.

[YellowHammer]

Flyfishing in the winter???!!!  For carp?  If it was so cold that my backcast froze up in midair, I'd just leave it there, and come back to get it next summer! 

I like Jake's style of ice fishing, stick the rod out the window of a heated truck. 

I REALLY like the idea of training the mink!  That would be cool! We don't have minks here in Alabama, but have lots of groundhogs.  I wonder if they would work....   

[SawyerTed]

My wife's uncle was an avid trout fisherman.  Once he found out I would fish for trout, he rescued me from working in tobacco, plowing or hoeing corn or working the cows many many times.  

Opening day of trout season is early April in NC.  

He convinced me to take him to Price Lake on the Blue Ridge Parkway not too far from Boone, NC.  

We left at 4 am.  Got there plenty early enough and by 9:00 he had caught his limit.  It was cold, spiting snow and sleet and the wind was blowing.  He decided to head back to the truck. 

I was struggling to catch my limit.  But I got my last fish about 25 minutes after he went back.  Only thing was, he left his fish for me to bring out. 

Thinking nothing of it, I carried 14 fish back to the truck.  Of course I met two game wardens just before I got to the truck. 

I explained my fishing partner was sitting in my truck and half the fish were his.  One officer walked over and talked to my wife's uncle.  They talked for a while.  

That officer came back over and said, "The very nice gentleman in that truck says he's never seen you before."  I felt the blood run out of my head and was about to fall out when both officers and Uncle Drexel broke out laughing.  

They had conspired and set me up!  

Anyway, Price Lake had ice on it, we had to break the ice up so we could fish.. 

[fluidpowerpro]

I see taking a car or truck out on that ice and doing high speed zippidy doo dah donuts and slides!

Stark reminder of when a cousin and I drove my father's new 1963 Ford mustang out on the Mississippi river ice at Dubuque, IA winter of '64 to do some of the high speed donuts and slides. Put it into a slide at 60+mph and going broadside could see open water coming up not too far away.
That was way too close to a major problem, only thinking Dad wouldn't like having me drop his new mustang into the river. Managed to get it out of that slide and as quickly as possible get off that ice. Can't trust river ice.
One of those memories that send a chill up the spine just thinking about what could have been "the end" of a wonderful life.

Did that once with my dad's 78 Chevy suburban.
I was sliding sideways and hit a patch of snow / frozen slush and ended up breaking the bead on one tire. Luckily my co pilot worked at the local standard station so we could fix it before Dad found out.

[SawyerTed]

Flyfishing in the winter???!!!  For carp?  If it was so cold that my backcast froze up in midair, I'd just leave it there, and come back to get it nex.t summer!

I believe there's an NC Wildlife Commission regulation regarding just how long its legal to leave a line frozen in the air.

I heard tell of very tall out of state hikers who collect "abandoned" fly lines frozen in midair.  Something about a "Milton Gang..."

[Andries]

A plow on the front and a few yards of gravel in the dump box for traction.
Hit the little pedal on the right and make an ice road.

[Andries]

Now that the road has formed, and the Milton Gang has been frozen into a snowbank somewhere, we can set our lines out of the windows at 'trolling' speed. 
Wee've found that a 'Canadian Wiggler' works best on a thick ice road.

[Old Greenhorn]

........

Anyway, Price Lake had ice on it, we had to break the ice up so we could fish..

So you were ice fishing?

[barbender]

Before I learned that a frozen back cast could straighten out a coiled up fly line, I used to sell the coiled up stuff to some folks from down South. They said it worked good for dental floss.

[SawyerTed]

........

Anyway, Price Lake had ice on it, we had to break the ice up so we could fish..

So you were ice fishing?

No sir, fishing from the bank.   The ice was quite thin but enough that required us to break it to fish.  

[twar]

Interesting how this "Southern thing" thread is discussing ice fishing.
Southern Ontario perhaps?

[Magicman]

But it hasn't gotten around to food yet.  We have caught plenty of "bull" so now maybe someone will fry some fillets. 

[GAB]

Sorry fellows.  If you folks are trying to emulate Mr. Ed McManus you have a long ways to go.  Amen!
GAB

[barbender]

GAB, do you mean the late, great Patrick McManus? 

[YellowHammer]

Does he troll for ice fish?  I always liked Harry and Charlie by Bassmaster's Don Wirth.

I used to sell the coiled up stuff to some folks from down South. They said it worked good for dental floss.

OK, you got me there!  Just last fishing trip, I was eating a breakfast biscuit while I was driving to the lake and got a hunk of something hung in my teeth.  It was bothering the heck out of me by the time I pulled up to the launching ramp.  So....I did the redneck thing and used some 6 lb Berkley 9 carrier Spectra braid, spooled on my Ned Rig rod as "lake flavored" dental floss!  I looked around but didn't see anybody watching when I got the hunk of Jimmy Dean dislodged, but I guess I was wrong!

I hate to be so predicable.

[SawyerTed]

Or Ed Zern...

Actually it was one of McManus' characters who was the greatest fibralator, Rancid Crabtree. 

[GAB]

GAB, do you mean the late, great Patrick McManus?

BB:
You are correct I got the wrong first name.  Sorry about that.
Mr. McManus had an article about someone ice fishing with his lab and supposedly the lab saw a fish and went after it.  The dog owner never thought he would ever see his dog again, but when he heard some god awful noise he went out to investigate.  Well supposedly the dog came up someone elses fishing hole and the ice house owner went out of the shantie through a newly hurridly created opening as the dog was between him and his ice house door.  I sure would like to be able to reread that article.  
I've never been ice fishing but how big of a hole in the ice do you need?
GAB
 

[trimguy]

It depends on how big of a fish you want to pull out😂😂