Ice Fishing

We’ve all seen that guy at the boat launch floating away from the dock with a dead starter battery. The same scenario plays out in a different way when it comes to ice prep—maybe it’s a dead snowmobile or an auger that just won’t start or fishing line that’s seen too much UV. Most of us pile our ice...

The Fur Hat Ice Tour How-To Series is brought to you by ESKIMO. Bait selection for ice fishing can be as simple or complex as you want it to be—but you should want it to be complex. When it comes to fishing (like so many other pursuits), the more thought and effort you put in, the greater reward you...

The four-wheeler groaned and plowed, tossing snow into the air as we hauled into the enveloping dawn fog. The skin on my face and ears screamed during the ride across the lake, nerves lighting up the registry of pain. I’ve felt this pain before, working cattle in blowing Kansas snowstorms on the...

This time of year can be a tough stretch for hunters and anglers in northern states. Big game seasons are over, small game and waterfowl seasons are winding down, and we’re months away from gobbling turkeys and open water fishing. Spanning this stretch of the coldest, darkest months is ice fishing...

Ice fishing can be intimidating and is often misunderstood. Even some hardcore anglers eschew ice fishing as either boring, miserable, or too gear intensive to be worth their while. This series intends to rectify some of these bogus misconceptions. In the first episode, Steven Rinella takes Tracy...

To pivot off of the ease and accessibility we featured in Episode 1, Episode 2 goes the opposite direction and shows Cal and Miles embarking on a deep backcountry winter expedition requiring tracked Can-Ams and thousands of pounds of gear. Ice fishing can be simple and local, but it can also be...

Kicking off the tour part of the Fur Hat Ice Tour, Janis Putelis travels to Whitefish Lake, Minnesota and meets up with local wild foods expert Mark Norquist who runs the Modern Carnivore website. In this episode, Mark introduces Janis to dark house ice spearing, a hallowed tradition for winter food...

Janis continues the Minnesota segment of the tour on Lake Mille Lacs. He's guided by renowned angler and wildlife biologist Mandy Uhrich. Mandy knows as much about this walleye fishery and the reasons why it has changed over the past generation, as anyone. Mille Lacs is not the ridiculous walleye...

Janis hops the state line over to Wisconsin and travels to Lake Winnebago for the annual lake sturgeon spearing season. Lake sturgeon are ancient and incredible fish, and the communities around lake Winnebago have long revered and relied on these fish. For generations, people around here have spent...

While part 1 is all about the preparation for sturgeon season, part 2 follows Janis, Jake, and his whole crew as they attempt to achieve the improbable, spear a lake sturgeon by hand through a hole in the ice. Success requires patience, intense focus, quick reflexes, and a steady hand. Will Janis...

Pat Durkin shows Janis around Green Bay, Wisconsin and explain to him how the Fox River and the Green Bay of Lake Michigan are success stories for the conservation ethic of the late 20th century. They do a little ice fishing right in downtown Green Bay and take a ride on a questionable homemade...