Ice Fishing

A well- sharpened ice auger makes drilling holes in thick ice nearly effortless.

Yeah, right.  Let's just say that it's less work than swinging an ax.  Our pond has many smallmouth bass and I wanted to see if they could be caught in the winter.  The snowfall causes the ice to sink and water to flow onto it from the edges and from various cracks I suppose, so the top layer of the ice is covered with slush.

I drilled six or seven holes with the ice auger at various places in the pond.  The water is less than four feet deep in most places and you think it would be easy to find the fish.

But after jigging with worms and waxworms for the better part of two hours without a single bite, I had to admit defeat.  The next day I asked several more knowledgeable ice fisherman and they said that smallmouth bass are very inactive during the winter.  I guess that's how they survive in such shallow, oxygen depleted water.  Next summer I think I will plant some bluegills in the pond.