YOU KNOW YOU'RE AN ICE FISHERMAN WHEN...

  I've been an avid ice fisherman for over a decade and have finally realised that, collectively, we're a fairly odd bunch/ Set aside the fact that we willingly walk out onto frozen lakes, ponds and rivers in the depths of winter, we spend a small fortune on specialised equipment useless nine months out of the year trying to catch small fish we're just going to release!

  I recently found another fishing forum on line dedicated entirely to ice fishing called iceshanty.com
There I found a wealth of useful topics but ultimately was impressed the most with a humorous topic called "You Know You're An Ice Fisherman When...''. So here are a few of the better entries along with a few of my own mixed in.

all the tackle you will ever need fits in one pocket

You start your auger in the summer just to hear it run.

When you willingly put maggots in your fridge.

When you make permanent modifications for ice fishing to your vehicle

you have to warm up your beer to drink it...

People you haven't seen for awhile ask if you have been to Florida or the Islands because you have an awesome windburn tanned face.

The trunk Of your car is packed to go all winter so you have to use the wife's car to Grocery shop. 

this is the best coffee of the day

You are the best prepared person on the road , if you happen to get stuck on a highway in a blizzard, you could pop the shack and keep a couple of folks from freezing and even make hot Chocolate ...


when you tell a bunch of guys on the internet that you'll be posting pics of you and a couple of big girls you pulled into the shanty with your doodling rod and your wife isn't mad or jealous...


You take out your gear during the off season and set it up like you were on the ice in your backyard


You spend more on your shanty then you ever did with any of your wife's jewelry!

you create a job just to be out on the ice

Its T shirt weather until you can actually die of hypothermia. 

You hope that you find any ice fishing gear at a garage sale


You find yourself popping the heads off leftover minnows on Sunday
night then salting and stashing them in ziplock bags in the freezer.


WHEN YOU LOOK IN YOUR GARAGE AND COUNT OVER 50 TIP UPS....THEN GO OUT AND BUY A FEW MORE (BECAUSE THEY'RE "NEW ONES", OF COURSE)

this is what you had in mind when you said you're going downtown.

The reason you fish open water is to find ice fishing spots.


You complain that it's not cold enough during the dead of winter and everyone gives you weird looks for saying that.


You watch In-Fisherman ice fishing DVDs in July and August


You have more gear for ice fishing then open water fishing.

this is what you mean when you tell the wife you're taking the dogs for a walk

Just calling the open water season "off season" says it all.


....you turn your LX5 on "Demo Mode" and practice hook sets


You feel the need to tell an employee at BPS that it is time to move their inventory of Jigging Raps from the Rapala section to the ice fishing section.


...when the owner of the sporting camp that you rent for ice fishing sends you a card for your birthday in June.

being there is just as important as catching

When you drive past a pond or a lake and imagine what it will look like with ice on it!


..when you put in a Vacation Request to the boss that ends with the words..."contingent on if there is any fishable ice"!


when you contemplate freezing a five gallon bucket of water so you can try out your new auger in August


When you call fall panfishing "prefishing"

you're happy you froze your fingers for this

When you fill a bucket with water to perfect your jig presentation.


It bugs you that ice fishing gear is seasonal, and you cant buy it year round.


Setting up your shanty in the "House" just to figure out better places for things!!!


You see an orange flag marking a fire hydrant in snow and right away you think, "flag up!"

your only winter wear is a floatation device

When you wish for another POLAR VORTEX.


You watch the movie "Grumpy Old Men" and complain that the film
shows too much Ann Margaret and not enough walleye.........


When you buy tip ups at a sportsman's closeout store in the south for $2 a piece because no one knows what they are.

this is a typical Saturday morning