Better Halves and Ice Fishing

[lilbits23]

I go fishing with my boyfriend 90% of the time. It is about spending time with eachother. I trust him enough to know that he would never do anything to put me in harms way, so when we go I know it is safe. I also knew what I was getting into when we started dating, he fishes every chance he can and hunts evey chance he can. I knew that, and I know that will never change. I have since taken up hunting as well and really enjoy it. But, it was my decision. If you want your wife to join you, you may have to do somethings that you don't especially enjoy yourself. If she likes to shop then maybe you should go along sometimes to spend time with her. It isn't always about her coming with you so that she can spend time with you, you need to also take an interest in what she enjoys and use that to spend time with her. I will say though that there are times that couples should spend time apart and it is good that each person has sperate interests and seperate friends. It makes you appreciate the time that you do spend together in the end. Just the perspective from a women.

[Lisa Almquist]

slipperybob.... your post might get scaled back a bit.....maybe you could edit and say something about warming up your portable or perm without a buddy heater or something like that?

lilbits,

Well said girl! I, too, live with a fishing/hunting maniac and knew that when I signed on to this relationship. Your post hit the nail right on the head! Welcome to Fishing Minnesota and keep up your awesome posts.

[SDbowhunter]

The girl I am dating loves fishing open or hard water. She doesnt understand my addiction to hunting but to me they are one and the same. I should post some pictures of her progression. First picture is of her holding a bluegill by the fins with a pair of forceps, Next picture is her holding a 27" walleye with her sleaves around her hands so she didnt have to touch it and the final picture is of her hugging a 47" sturgeon. I should frame them for her for christmas.

[Lisa Almquist]

That was just like me too with the fish touching!! Now I don't mind it. I can even touch leeches now. I know I would love to get framed pics with me and my fish! You should really do that-framed pics make a great gift.

[Nate McVey]

The "wall of fame" is a great idea....sorry to get off topic for a second.....I have 8x10's, 5x6's and 4x7's all over the guest room in our house. My fiance was thrilled when I gave her a framed picture of her first rainbow through the ice last year for her birthday. Now her goal is to have a picture of every fish I have, only bigger Her friends really get a kick out of it when they come over and she is proud to tell them she caught them herself.

[Borch]

Mrs. Borch loves ice fishing, especially on URL. When we were first married she would never go out with me as she hated ice fishing. I asked her why because she always seemed to have a good time fishing open water. She explained that when her dad took her out when she was young he was grumpy, yelled at her for tangling her line and they didn't even get a bite,(sounds like it wasn't his idea to take the kids out).

Knowing this I picked a warmer day on a lake where I had a hot crappie bite going and took her out. She had a blast and has been hooked ever since. She has her own portable, is learning how to use electronics, puts on her own bait and unhooks her own fish. She's a bobber fisherperson so I'm hoping to get her more into jigging and working plastics this winter. If fishing is slow she'll read a book and listen to her Itunes while I search for the mother load.

We spend a lot of time with each other on the way to the lake and on the ice. I think the toughest thing she's overcome is not running to a bathroom on shore when nature calls and your 5 plus miles out on a lake. But she's past that now.

[Eric Wettschreck]

I gotta think Borch and I and a few others are pretty darn lucky that our Mrs's like ice fishing. Mine isn't a big fan of runnin and gunnin, or even portable time. She's a huge fan of my permanent house, with the heat on high, reading a book, waiting for the rattle reel. That's her thing and it's cool.

For the dudes who's better halves don't like ice fishing, or are not willing to try it.....change your tactics. Remember, it doesn't have to be like it used to be. Raise your hand if you remember sitting on a bucket freezing your jibblies off and thinking you were lucky if you caught 4 crappies. Keep the heat on, tunes playing, nod your head and pretend to give a dump about what she is rambling on and on about, re-assure her that even though you are the dumbest guy in the milky way you wouldn't bring her out on dangerous ice, have a bucket and charmin for when nature calls and be prepared to leave the portable for that particular moment (every 6 minutes for some wimmin).

You could try pumping her full of liquor or bonking her on the head caveman style and dragging her on the lake, but I'm thinking that would only be a temporary on ice situation.

[JustinG]

Well, some of you guys sure are lucky!!!

My wife pretty much HATES fishing!!! She will go out with me 2 times per year. She will fish once in the boat if it's over 80 degrees so she can bake in the sun reading a book and she will go once in the winter if we go after Rainbows. Which is weird, because the last time we went trout fishing, we caught our limit and there was plenty of fish down there for her to watch sight fishing. She seemed to be having a good time, but every time I asked her to come along after that, the answer was "NO WAY"!!!

Oh, well, I guess- I don't think she is going to change and that is ok. I am not going to force her to go out if she doesn't want to.

Justin

[slipperybob]

The person I met, the person I married, the person I live with now, are all different people, but still the same person. How does that happen? Alien brain snatched! LOL's

She was fine with my fish addiction before, then she said I should scale back, now it's like, "if you care to spend quality time with me as much as your quality time with the fishes, there'll be a relationship..." That's only half the story... The other half goes, "I wanna spend time with an old friend from back in high school." Yep, and there goes my quality relationship time...What am I, a trophy catch to show her old high school buddies? LOL's, that's her version of quality time together. Fishing is definitely not qualtiy time together for her, when none of her other friends wants anything to do with it.

[Lisa Almquist]

So that's why Mrs. slipperybob never posts!! Thanks for sharing though because I know that not all ice fishing stories are all marital harmony right?!

[Shack]

Ah man!

Mrs. Shackbash is a hoot!

When we first met, it was "go ahead hunny, take your new brother in-law". Every holiday, was a get together, eat and head out to Coon, Rum River, Linwood or Martin. I admit, in the late nineties I was fishing 50-60% of my free time. If I had scaled back a little, things today might not be all that bad.

After a couple of years of this, she started to say things about fishing. Next the word "fishing" was four letter word towards me. Up until last winter, I took a couple of years off to save my marriage.

I offered to take her at the beginning, but now I just don't.

Do not get me wrong, I love her, but it was a totally different story in the beginning.

I guess its a two way street, I told her I liked country music when I met her . Wrong!

[gonefishin11]

With my current girl, our first date was ice fishing in Feb. 2003. I took her once each year after that and put a ring on her finger Feb. 2007 in the fish house.

This year I asked her is she wanted to go and she said "Yeah, if you give me diamonds..."

[Shack]

See, now there is a example of bringing you better half, (or soon to be better half fishing) they always want something in return.

[TCon17]

My fiance and her dad have been ice fishing together since she was a kid. She comes out with me whenever she has enough time on the days i go. I gotta watch her a little though, cause if she gets too bored, she might get too drunk. I had to pull her out almost a mile in a sled a couple years ago. good thing we both quit drinking.

[Grant Pearson]

something I forgot to mention about my other half is that she's very competitive. When out fishing, she's always gotta catch the biggest fish, and doesn't want to leave until she does! I guess not necessarily a bad thing! Sometimes, she actually does catch the biggest fish, and sometimes I have to pull her off the lake!!! This fall, she's getting into hunting. She want to do it "so she can shoot a bigger buck than me." Whatever gets her out in the woods with me!!! I guess I couldn't ask for a better other half.

[slipperybob]

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So that's why Mrs. slipperybob never posts!!

Thanks for sharing though because I know that not all ice fishing stories are all marital harmony right?!

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she's on her own chat forums elswhere. Funny thing is, that's how we originally danced our tango too. She did ask my reasons for fishing. I told the truth, for recreation, for relaxation, for adventure. She said, that she's only dealt with guys who answer like "for a man thing." I really do wish Mrs. slipperybob would spend more time with me, but I find it more harmonious to not do the guilt trip thing about quality time together. Besides, it's a good reason to pack up and go home... to somebody.

[SomethingFishy*]

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I gotta be honest too-sometimes I pick tackle because it's just cool looking. I know it's girly right?

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This is what my girlfriend does, now she is looking to buy herself a flasher.

[Lisa Almquist]

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This is what my girlfriend does, now she is looking to buy herself a flasher

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She needs to get herself a Marcum!!

[g_anoka]

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sometimes I pick tackle because it's just cool looking. I know it's girly right?

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Tackle is made to catch fishermen, excuse me, fisherpeople first.

[DzNuts]

If I wanted to spend time in a house with her I'd stay home.

I don't even ask. This is *my* time to get away (sometimes from her) . If she was interested enough to ask me if she could go fishing, I prolly wouldn't say 'no' more than a couple times. But I'd let her know this is still a time for me and the guys to talk smart and smell funny.

[SP180]

There is something more in the fact that my wife is my best friend also. When we got married it was for spending time together and after 17 years, 5 kids 2 dogs and a cat, the best time we spend is in the outdoors together. I do enjoy the outdoors with the boys, but not as much as with my better half.

[SP180]

OH by the way, all you girls out there keep up the good work.

P.S. I have to go scrapbook for a while to share in the experiences.

[FrontenacPike]

Ok maybe I'm just a little different than the rest of you but so far everyone was writing ways to get their other half to like what they do. Me on the other hand enjoy my time fishing by myself or with a couple other beer drinking boys, who all enjoy a good fart or a loud belch. Yeah you need to share activities with your wife/gfriend, but thats why they invented restraunts and date nights.

Last winter I got the big question, "how come you never take me fishing with you???" Well sweetheart I don't know I guess I just never thought you would like it. I thought to myself....what should i do??? To make a long story short, I picked my day perfectly as for weather goes. Yeah you guessed it 8 degrees with a -5 windchill sitting on a buckets catching gills. I think we ended up fishing about an hour at best before I heard a very faint quiet shivvering voice say to me "lets go home".... OK!!!! Later on that day she told me that she dosn't understand how I could get so much enjoyment out of somthing so misarable. The next day I was back on the ice having a beer, scratching in places a woman just wouldn't understand!!!!

with heat of course

[cold one sd]

My wife loves to fish out of a boat as much as I do. I think she would like ice fishing as long as she was warm and comfortable, but she wouldn't trust the ice if the lake froze clear to the bottom and I don't push her to go on the ice.

[McGurk]

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nod your head and pretend to give a

dump

about what she is rambling on and on about

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Ahh, the secret to many happy marriages; I've never seen it in so few words! (and I'm pretty sure it goes both ways, like she interestd in the new exhaust and carb you put on your 4 wheeler, why you chose it, how it went on, and what it's going to do for you)

I'm lucky enough to have a convert to the sport. Letting her know that it is important to you is key very early on in a relationship. She knew that I liked it, but didn't have the time or access to decent lakes early on in our relationship. Now we have a wheel house and a portable rigged up for 2, and she LOVES watching "fish TV" on the camera and the fact that she usually outfishes me.

To all of you dealing with grumblers when you buy gear I have 1 word for you: Scrapbooking. If you thought there was useless dump that we use, let yourself get dragged into one of her stores and see what she buys. Now that my wife is into it, I have almost zero guilt thrown my way over purchases. Let her have her time doing it, and chances are she'll not mind you going out, either. There is a secret though, and boilerguy eluded to it earlier. As a matter of fact, I reposted it at the top of my post. Do this, and life will be much easier. This is in my experience, anyway.