I hope all of you hard water commandos are happy. It looks like winter has finally come to northern Illinois. Hopefully, safe ice is on its way.
Procrastinating is an art I have mastered over the years. I always wait until the last minute to accomplish things that should have been completed a long time ago. This year is no different for me, but some of the things that need to be done can still be taken care of if we move fast. I use the word “we” because I know a lot of us suffer from the habit of putting things off too long.
I’d like to address three things that I think are the biggest mistakes ice fishermen make every year. The first is going out with an ice auger that has dull blades. Number two is ice fishing with too little equipment. The last thing is trying to walk on ice without the proper footwear.
Of course, “safety first” should be everybody’s mantra when considering ice fishing. There are so many mistakes a person can make in not respecting the dangers of ice fishing that I won’t even begin to list them. That is a subject for a column unto itself.
Cutting holes in ice is no easy chore, even if you are using a gas-powered ice auger. Just lugging the auger and the gas can be tiresome. Good ice fishermen drill a lot of holes in order to catch more fish, and cutting those holes is a real job. Why make the task even harder on yourself by using an auger with dull blades?
I know a friend who sharpens ice auger blades at a reasonable price, does an excellent job and turns the work around quickly. His name is Fran Connelly.
Just package up your blades and send them off to Fran. He sent along this pricing and information:
“All flat blades, like Mora and Eskimo are $9 per set. All chipper blades are $9 per blade. All two-blade Lazers are $14 per set. If your Lazer auger has more blades add $7 per blade. Some older Lazers have 3 or 4 Blades. The Jiffy STX Pro has three Blades so that would be $21. Remember, I pay the shipping back to you.”
“As always, if your center point comes off, send it along with your blades and I will touch it up. All returned blades will have a protective coating on them to protect in shipping and to protect them when not in use. The best way to ship is using bubble pack. Stuff the blades in there with paper so they don’t rattle around. Please make sure you send me the correct return address. Check, cash or a money order works for me. Please keep in mind that your returned blades are very sharp. Install your blades with caution and keep the coating on when installing.”
Send your blades to Fran Connelly at 941 S. Golf Cul-De-Sac, Des Plaines, IL 60016. You can call him at 847-297-8297.
The second-biggest mistake I see ice anglers making is hitting the hard water with too little equipment. One rod and reel just will not cut it on the ice. When you ice fish properly, you are using thin monofilament or fluorocarbon line, probably two- or four-pound test. This line will break at some point, to be sure. When it’s cold out, your hands just aren’t nimble enough to be tying knots in that light line. If your hands are both cold and wet, you will give up, sure as shooting.
You can pick up a backup ice rod and reel set-up for 10 or 15 bucks. It’s worth the small investment to maximize your time on the ice, don’t you think?
The other mistake I’d like to address is not wearing the proper footwear. Of course, you need boots that can withstand the cold. Even more important are boots that keep the water out. I am a big proponent of spraying my boots with Kiwi’s Camp Dry to keep them waterproof. If your feet get wet, the party is over, my friends. I don’t know anybody who can ice fish with damp feet.
Even more important than keeping those tootsies dry and warm is making sure that you have something on your feet that will keep you from falling down. The world’s best boots are not slip-proof. You need to attach a set of ice cleats to the bottom of your boots. Ice cleats, or “creepers,” as they are sometimes called will only run you about 15 or 20 bucks and are an invaluable investment. Just ask anybody who has suffered from a bruise tailbone from an ice fall if you don’t believe me.
Good luck and be safe out there, if and when the ice ever shows up.
FISHING/HUNTING REPORT
Northern Illinois: Dave Kranz from Dave's Bait, Tackle and Taxidermy in Crystal Lake reports: "The wait for ice is almost over. The forecast looks good for fishable ice in the next few days. Always be safe first. Fox River Valley Gardens is one of the first places we should be able to fish. The bluegill and crappie have been in there all fall. Use spikes and waxies on tiny Mini-Mite jigs or a bare hook and stay shallow to find fish. The late-season deer hunt also should be very good."
Call 815-455-2040 for an updated report.
Wisconsin: Call Wisconsin's Lake Michigan Fishing Hotline at 414-382-7920 to hear the latest fishing information for Lake Michigan and its tributaries.
Illinois: The IDNR offers fishing reports on a number of waterways across the state. The fishing reports for lakes, rivers and streams are updated weekly.
Users can search by body of water here: http://www.ifishillinois.org/fishing_reports/fishing_report_selector.php.
A digest that includes all locations can be found here: http://www.ifishillinois.org/fishing_reports/digest.php
NOTES
Muskies, Inc.'s special guest: On Jan. 7, the Fox River Valley Chapter of Muskies, Inc. proudly presents a special guest speaker. Steve Heiting is the managing editor of Musky Hunter magazine and one of the sport's best-known anglers. He has authored or contributed to over 20 books on the sport and his writings have appeared in virtually every muskie publication to appear in print. The FRV meeting will be at 7 p.m. at the Schaumburg Golf Club, located at 401 N. Roselle Road in Schaumburg. The admission is $10 per person at the door. The meeting will be preceded by a buffet dinner that runs from 6 to 7 p.m. at a cost of $14 a person. The meeting is open to the public. Details on club events are available at frvmuskie.com.
Walleyes Unlimited meetings: Walleyes Unlimited, with about 450 members, is one of the Midwest's most popular fishing clubs. They run two meetings a month. In Wisconsin, they meet on the second Wednesday of each month at the Root River Lanes at 7220 W. Rawson in Franklin, 3 miles west of I-94 on County BB. In Illinois, they meet on the last Wednesday of the month at the Gurnee American Legion Hall at 749 Milwaukee Ave. in Gurnee, 2 miles east of I-94 off Grand Avenue.
On Jan. 13, the speaker at the Wisconsin meeting is Steve Everetts from Finseekers Guide Service. Everetts is a good friend of this column and an excellent fisherman and seminar presenter.
On Jan. 27, the Illinois speaker is McHenry’s own Corey Yarmuth, whose topic will be “Being Mobile on the Ice to Catch More Fish.”
January brings a bonus event for Walleyes Unlimited. They’ll be holding their 17th annual Ice Jamboree and Meat Raffle on Jan. 17 out of A J's Bar & Grill at S90 W13970 Boxhorn Drive in Muskego, Wisconsin. The phone number is 414-427-1707.
The Jamboree and Meat Raffle is one of the most important fundraisers of the year for this great club. It helps fund all of the club’s benevolent activities, including the scholarship program, Kids' Fishing Days, obtaining the always outstanding speakers they feature at their meetings, and a whole host of other activities that define the group as an organization and differentiates Walleyes Unlimited from every other fishing club in the country.
The fishing contest starts at 5 a.m. and the legendary meat raffles kick off at 11:30. The price of a ticket is $5 and gets you into the fishing contest and gets you a shot in a raffle. You can buy seven tickets for $25 to improve your odds. A unique feature of the Walleyes Unlimited Fishing Contest is that you can fish on any area lake. You just need to bring your catch into AJ’s to me measured.
For more information on any of these events, please check out walleyesunlimited.com.
Safety reminder: The Illinois Conservation Police remind hunters, boaters, and campers to be aware of the dangers of carbon monoxide produced by portable heaters and generators. This is great info as anglers are breaking out their ice sheds and shanties. The urges the use of carbon monoxide detectors in enclosed spaces and recommends equipment be inspected to be sure it is operable prior to use.
Illinois Conservation Police Chief Rafael Gutierrez said, “Carbon monoxide detectors should also be used on your boat, cabin or in your camper. CO is colorless and odorless, and often isn’t detected until it’s too late.”
• Steve Sarley writes about the outdoors for Shaw Media. Write to him at sarfishing@yahoo.com.