The Ice Tent - Prologue

I am having trouble explaining to people why I am up here now at Shag Lake trying to spear a Northern Pike through a hole in the ice. I think it all goes back to these picture. They were taken at least 50 years ago. My dad introduced me to ice fishing on Shag Lake. I distinctly recall staring through that hole in the ice and trying to explain to my Dad that there were no fish down there. I never went ice fishing again That is - until Harlan and I set up a dark tent and tried ice spearing three years ago. We set up the tent, but did not stay long enough to give it a proper go.

This is how it is supposed to work. You don't cut just a little hole in the ice - more like a picture window. Then you put this light proof tent on top of the hole. The only light inside the tent is coming up through the ice. Because of the ice and cold, the water is clear. The effect is like an aquarium. You can easily see 12 - 15 feet down to the bottom. Then you dangle a decoy to get the pike to swim under the hole and spear it with a trident. Easy. That's the theory.

For some reason, the notion of standing over an open hole and spearing a fish makes a lot more sense to me than standing out in the cold dropping a frozen worm through a hole in the ice. I hope this helps explain my rationale.


To be sure I remembered how to set up the tent, I assembled it in the comfort of the 72 degree cabin as a dry run. Tomorrow - on the frozen lake. Now all I need is a hole in the ice.