Yesterday Far Guy, Chance and I tagged along with my brother, Jody ( the one that lives next door) down to his dark house. He was opening up the hole..in preparation for our brother Carey's arrival from Oregon. Carey and his wife arrived safely..he was here maybe five minutes before he was off to the fish house for some late afternoon fishing.
This is the Fish House on the lake. The sticks that are sticking out of the snow on the right are where a fish house sat previously..when the house was moved to a different spot..sticks were put up as a marker so that no one would walk into it.... plus there are some hunks of ice that should be avoided by snowmobilers.
This is Jody, cleaning out the hole with a little strainer..clearing out the small pieces of ice. The door flap was open for this photo.
A decoy..snug in it's home on the roof. Decoys come in all colors and shapes and should be good swimmers in the water...there is an art to running a decoy. I personally prefer some nice circular swimming movements and then resting with just a few little jerky movements..you never can tell what is going to lure a Northern into the hole. One of my favorite decoys was hot pink..
Here is a photo with a flash.. of the fishing hole..when I sat down..I sat in the chair on the left..you can see one of the chair legs. Far Guy was near the door, Chance was warming up his feet by the heater and my brother was running the decoy and manning the spear. Three people and a dog..cozy!!
Here is a photo without a flash.. you can see the decoy in the water..you can see the ice depth..it is thicker than it appears. I believe the ice to be about eighteen inches thick. The water is about nine feet deep here. This is the view that will make you a Dark House Spearing enthusiast or not. I do fine..some people are a bit freaked out by it all.
This is the spear at the ready..
My brother Jody fishing...we were hoping that something would come into the hole while I was sitting there with the camera..no luck.
I hope you enjoyed your glimpse into a Spearing House in Minnesota in the winter. Since I grew up Dark House spearing ..I think that there is no better way to fish. Somehow the danger and the view down into the water has mesmerised me since I was just a little girl. I find it very relaxing. I love listening to the lake "talk" ..it moans and groans within it's icy depths..and to me that is relaxing and entertaining. Dark house fishing is all about patience..and that adrenalin rush when a big ole Northern comes through the hole:)
Great post Connie - great overview showing all those Southerners what ice fishing is about...
ReplyDeleteThat is a great view of what goes on in the dark house world. It looks like it should work well as you said it has for many years. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThis was way cool. Thanks for a look into ice fishing.
ReplyDeleteLinda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
I've lived in Minnesota all my house and have never seen spear fishing. I actually thought only the tribes were allowed to do so. Everyone I know is just out there with round drilled holes, lines and bobbers watching that bobber for movement with all their might. Thanks for the education.
ReplyDeleteThanks Connie. The most I ever knew about ice fishin' was off of Grumpy Old Men. Your great pictures really gave us a peek of what it's all about.
ReplyDeleteGod bless and have a great weekend!!!
I do love the way the ice talks!
ReplyDeleteLooks cold, but relaxing... I couldn't actually kill a fish though, but would love just to be there.
This is a good reason to look forward to winter! I never thought there were too many. Thanks for the education.
ReplyDeleteGreat Post! I love the picture looking down into the ice without the flash and seeing the decoy in the hole; very cool picture. I remember going with my dad and being SO scared that I would fall in the hole.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this post. One of the best parts of blogging for me is learning all about things like this that I otherwise would never have even heard of. Looks like a lot of fun and much skill involved.
ReplyDeleteThat is neat. Listening to the sounds of the lake sounds so fantastic. I might be a little freaked and afraid of falling in the hole, but it would be exciting catching a fish and hauling in it. Great post.
ReplyDeleteI am glad to let you know I am now an Iowa follower! Thanks for the link. :)
I loved the pictures and the education but I hate heights and that hole with its seemingly unending depth seems like height.
ReplyDeleteConnie, you and Rae are sparking off each other right and left! This is what the blogosphere is all about, isn't it? I loved the story about this fishing method. I think I also would be scared of that hole, but it must be very exciting to see a fish caught this way.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that spearing was still legal in Minnesota, except for American Indians.
ReplyDeleteI haven't ice fished yet, but I love regular fishing in the summer....so maybe I should give it a try!
I haven't ice fished in years but this time of the year they're great eating and not so muddy tasting. It's illegal up here to fish with a spear.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for that up close tour of Dark House Spearing. It sounds like something we would do if only we had some nice thick ice. And fish. Ice fishing cat fish from our pond just doesn't sound right. The adrenaline rush after sitting quiet sounds like a perfect tonic, one I would thoroughly enjoy.
ReplyDeleteThat was a great educational post! But it has me shaking in my boots :) Don't think I have what it takes to do that.
ReplyDeleteConnie, I wrote a children's picture book about ice-fishing. I hope to find a publishing home for it someday. This post reminded me of researching and writing it. I have a fondness for fishing as well, even in the wintertime, though it's been a while...
ReplyDeleteI am from southern India and live on a coastal village.. Never heard of this kind of fishing and the pics made this a very interesting read.
ReplyDeleteThis is a pretty good Post. Even though I'm not much of a fisherman, I used to do it long ago. Ice fishing was not one of my favorites to do. Sitting out there in the cold weather waiting for a nice fish to bite, was boring for me. Spear fishing would be something different.
ReplyDeleteI never had one of those Shacks for fish from, since fishing around here out on the ice is forbidden. Guess if you like to do this kind of fishing, it's fun to do. I'd always fear that I'd fall threw the ice, but if the ice is that thick that would be hard to do. Enjoy!
On your previous dark house post I had to tell my husband about it. He'd never heard of spearing the fish, either. So I didn't feel so naive. ha ha.
ReplyDeleteThe photos are very enlightening. I think I might enjoy listening to the lake talk, too. I doubt that I could spear a fish. Are there any other excuses for sitting in the cold dark?
Looks very interesting!!
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