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How things have changed


fishadb

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I am only 30 years old, but when I was a kid most our rods consisted of a dowel with a nail on the end. We had an electric auger that weighed about 60 lbs, and if the ice was more than a foot thick you had to wait between holes so the pickup wouldn't die. Now when I go fishing it seems like I have more stuff Than I can jam in the pickup. Several jiggin poles, 2 minnow buckets, auger, vexilar, aqua view, deep cycle, power inverter, tv, lunch pail.

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Nice comic. I am the same age and stuff sure is different. A lot more people have more useful tools and catch rates have gone up,the only thing behind is fisher mans practice of catch and release. Sites like this one are helping but the vast majority of people fishing could use a crash course to ensure better fishing in the future.

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I remember being one of the few people with a vexilar and could hear people saying you dont need that thing. That was 16 years ago. I switched to a ice rod with a reel and them old guys about died because I did not have a cork to detect bites. I hear you on bring so much gear. When I would go with my grandpa I had one bucket with a tip up and one jiggle stick and a little jig box. Now my truck bed is full with the flip over, auger, gas can, propane tank, and the cab is full with the rod bag, tackle bag, aqua view, vexilar, lunch box, and I hardly have room for my old man to go with me.

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portables, electronics and wheelhouses (not skids)... all have come a tremendous ways in the evolution of things... but how about our bait selectoin.

i remember using either a pimple, or a tear drop (limitied seletion is what im getting at), now there countless manufacturers and different lures apon different lures... i'm just glad i got into the sport when i did otherwise it could be down right complicated, (wait at times it still is)

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When I was younger I didn't have a portable shelter, vexilar, or power auger. My fishing pole was a dead stick with an ice pick in one end. Using a rod and reel combination or slip bobber was out of the question because they would freeze. We had to constantly deal with our holes icing over, toes going numb, and fingers that lost all sense of feeling.

I remember one time when my buddy and I went crappie fishing on a day when the thermometer read -20 and the wind chill was somewhere around -60. I had an old 1967 F100 with a patchwork of sheet metal for floorboards. I'll never forget how you'd bring up a fish working the line hand-over-hand, handling wet line and wet fish, and then trying to feed the line with a super small teardrop jig and minnow back down the hole some 25 feet. By the time you were done it was a mad dash to the truck to warm up your fingers. One would think we'd be glad when the fish started to bite but I'll tell you that was not a blessing. I remember looking out the window and telling my buddy, "Your bobber just went down." He replied, "So what!"

Today, I am spoiled. I don't go without my portable, power auger, and vexilar even if its 40 degrees out. I find I enjoy being able to just get out of the wind even when it's warm.

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I never ice fished as a kid except for a couple times when there was a local contest. It seemed too hard and unpleasant compared to fishing in the boat in nice weather.

I started ice fishing about five years ago, so I've always had the portable, the flasher, the heater, the good auger, the ice fishing specific clothing, and decent ice combos.

I have learned one though. I take only the bare minimum as often as possible, and discovered that fishing in the summer and winter for me is no different in terms of how I chase them. I need to stay on the move.

75% of the time it is 10 degrees or warmer when I go. With my clothes, I don't need a shelter, or a heater. Sometimes not even my tiny Jet Sled Jr.

I bring my Showdown Troller, Aqua Vu Micro, Nils 4.5 hand auger, a rod or two and a small tackle box...and some lunch. It all fits in a bucket and I just sling the auger of my shoulder like I'm marching with a rifle.

But yes, aside from being out in the open which was common in the old days, the portable technology, warm clothing, decent rod and reels and everything else makes ice fishing better IMO, because it is possible to be more successful.

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Yep things have really changed! I started fishing in the mid-sixties when I was in my early teens. I and everyone I knew had a chisel for going through the ice. The only portables that I remember were the ones people made.

But the thing I remember most was the home made gas auger my uncle had. It had a lawnmower motor on top of some kind of gearcase. That turned a piece of spiral duct that had a piece of sharpened (and I assume hardened) steel curved around and welded to the bottom. When Frank drilled a hole, it would leave a cylinder of ice behind that would be pulled out of the hole with ice tongs. It was quite the rig and was VERY fast. I don't think it had a clutch because I don't ever remember it just sitting and idling.

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grin I blame DAVE GENZ Clam and the InFisherman crew ! Thank you Gentlemen.

I saw Dave Genz's rig a couple days ago on an episode of The Next Bite. It was laughable how loaded down his snowmobile was. He had a Fish Trap rigged up on the front of the sled and another one hanging off the back. And this his electronics mounted on the dash, auger rack. I couldn't tell what all else. It looked like he was going to war.

What amazes me is how much all of this has changed in such a short period of time. It's really been since about 2000. Before then, most people I know were driving cars onto the ice. Now, everyone uses their ATVs, UTVs, or sleds. Not many people were using electronics. Now, everyone is. Permanent houses were hand built thrown together, no crank downs. Portables had just started coming out. Sunflower heaters for portables, propane or wood stoves for permanents. On and on. But the biggest thing is that you drilled once and pretty much stayed there. Totally different game now.

I think one of the things that makes ice fishing so fun now is not even the fishing, it's just gearing up, customizing your equipment, etc. How fun is it when you organize your sled a different way or find a different ATV mount. Currently, I'm challenging myself to find ways to take the least amount of dump with to just make it easier.

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In 1991 in wood shop we built a plywood seat that was a box with a lid to sit on, hinges so that there was a storage area under the seat and then a hole in the front of the lower portion for added storage. For years this was my portable.

We would fish outside and place candles at each hole with a snow windbreak so the candle wouldn't blow out.

I used a bobber and rattle real until 2000. Then I bought my first icerod and spinning real combo. That was set up with a slip bobber until 2006 when I started using the sonar off of my boat.

I forgot my marcum a couple weeks ago when fishing with my Dad. I felt lost without it. My Dad told me he has been fishing for 60 years without one, stop whining.

I guess he told me....

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a few more things that have not been mentioned.... Clothing, boots, dry-fit, thinsulate, insulated portables, Generators powering houses, forced air furnaces, Satellite TV, Cook stove and ovens, GPS to drive you right to the hot spot showing structure, LED lights. Stike sensor, auto jiggers, Im sure i am missing a few!

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I'm in my late 40's and I remember when I was a kid it was a big deal when my dad replaced the old spoon auger with a new spiral hand auger. That was a big deal then. Now it it unusual to see someone without a power head auger.

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My dad had a wooden suitcase style flip up canvas type portable that weighed about 300lbs. We kept it in the garage year round. Patches every where on it due to the mice and when that thing heated up oh boy, the mouse pee smell would burn your nose hairs. This was only like 13 years ago. I sure am glad the times have changed. How did it take so long to figure out how to put a fish house in a backpack?

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