Why Ice Fish?

I love it. I love it when people don't understand something, it's automatically a bad thing. Of course, I'm talking about ice fishing. People get an idea of what they THINK it is, and base their opinion on that one thought without getting the whole story.
"You're going ice fishing AGAIN this weekend? Why in God's name would you want to just sit out there on a bucket over a hole and freeze all day? That's crazy. You're an idiot! Stupid! Why?" Hmmmm, let me think about this for a second........I WOULDN'T!!!!! In my opinion....That's BORING! That's STUPID! I don't know ANYONE that would want to just sit on a bucket, looking over a hole and freeze all day. That's NOT what ice fishing is!
I want to try and explain this.
To simply put it....it has NOTHING to do with catching fish. Really. IF....and sometimes that's a BIG IF.....I actually catch fish, it's an added bonus. It's the icing on the cake. It's the nap after a turkey dinner. It's the....you get the picture, right?
And it's NOT about sitting on a bucket, looking over ONE hole all day freezing.
First, we put on enough clothes to NOT freeze. So there's one theory shot down. We're NOT COLD!!!
Second, there are MANY holes that we're looking over. We move from hole to hole to hole to hole to hole. And that's just with ONE fishing pole. In the state of Pennsylvania, you are allowed FIVE (5) lines in the water AT ONE TIME. Soooooo, we put in FOUR (4) tip-up's (tools used to catch fish through the ice).

There's bait on the end of that. If a fish takes the bait, the flag pops up, and we RUN to the tip-up to land the fish. Yes....RUN!!!! On the ice. Notice...running=NOT sitting over a hole all day.
While we wait for the tip-up's to trigger, we move all over the place trying to catch other fish with the fishing pole (jigging rod). And MOST of the time, we're not even sitting when we do it. As a matter of fact, I don't even HAVE a bucket.
But the biggest reason why I like to ice fish is because it is my escape. I leave the real world for the day. It's also the reason why I like to regular fish too. No stress (OK, not MUCH stress), GREAT camaradarie, and fresh air. Plus excellent scenery.

And if I catch a fish or two while I'm at it.....BONUS!!!!

I understand this type of thing is not for everyone, and I'm not trying to pursuade you into making it your thing. I accept the fact some may not want to layer up and spend the day on a frozen body of water. That's cool with me! Just think about something that IS your thing, and all the negative comments you get from those who's thing it ISN'T BEFORE you condemn me for MY thing. (Understand what I just said there? If you did, please explain it to me, because I have no idea lol).
For the longest time, I HATED winter in Northeast PA. The cold, the wet, the lack of leaves, etc. Well, I can't change the weather. All I can change is ME. I didn't want to move to a warmer climate, because I do love it here, so I had to find something I could enjoy when the weather wasn't to my liking. And so my passion for ice fishing was born (many years ago). And now, it doesn't matter what time of year it is here, I enjoy it all the time. Why would I want to be miserable 5 or 6 months out of the year? Why wouldn't I want to be happy ALL YEAR LONG? Hehehehehehe, now, when I AM miserable, I can't blame "Seasonal Stress Disorder" LOL. I'm still out there getting the Vitamin D when ice fishing. I can only blame ME now. :)
It's Tuesday now, and I'm planning on fishing...YES, ICE FISHING again this weekend so I don't go stir crazy. So I don't get miserable. SO I AM HAPPY THIS TIME OF YEAR!
Thanks for reading. Thanks for listening. Find something to be grateful for! I'm grateful I'm able to change ME (with some help), and not be miserable. And if you want to try ice fishing with me on weekends, drop me a line (see what I did there? Tip-up reference), and make sure you have waterproof.....INSULATED boots. I don't want to hear you complain your feet are cold. lol.

Now, enjoy the scenery from the warmth of your computer.