A lot of people think of ice fishing as a drinking sport for older men looking to escape their families for the day or weekend. The exact opposite is true for how I came into the sport. It was a chance to connect with friends and family with fishing being taken somewhat serious. As a guide I now focus on giving a lot of families and first timers the opportunity to give the sport a try and to be successful.
A few years ago I made the decision to really lean into what had made me successful and to make that a focus point of my ice fishing experiences. I wanted to make it accessible for anyone looking to give it a try without too much difficulty. I utilize traps or tip ups as a main method to chase fish as that is the most effective. The excitement of chasing the flags from these traps is the main allure and hand lining the fish in gives my clients a direct connection to them. On these set ups we use live bait so most of the time it is fairly easy to hook the fish. We also mix it up and add in some jigging as well, but that isn’t the primary focus.
The other decision I made was to focus on the experience. Many of my clients have probably heard me say you can’t always control the fishing, but you sure can control the experience. I made sure to let potential clients know that there would be a heated insulated shelter and for full day trips warm food is provided. On a previous post I highlighted a bunch of the food options, but the one that I chose to really focus on was fresh pizza on my Ooni oven. When I first mentioned that this was going to be an option there were many that doubted that this would be successful. I’m glad that I did not listen as my clients love having fresh pizza and kids especially love it! There are plenty of other options and I have experience in dealing with dietary issues so I am up to a challenge. I love having a family out on the ice just enjoying a nice day on the ice, catching fish and eating tasty food while not worrying about anything other than pulling in fish.
So this winter get the family out onto the ice to experience a Maine winter tradition. Let me take care of the logistics and food and come out and give it a try!
