Ice Fishing with Warm Feet? Is Such a Thing Possible?

Over winter break, I’d been hoping to get out ice fishing at least a few times. I had the time off, the ice would be fairly thin and hopefully slush free, so what could be better? (Side note: I know it might seem odd that I listed “thin ice” as one of the pluses of fishing early in the season. Aren’t I worried about falling through the ice? Not so much. Ice that’s 2 inches thick can technically support a 200 pound person. The thicker it gets, the amount of weight it can support goes up exponentially, so it doesn’t take much for a normal person to be able to go out safely. (Side side note: type of ice makes a difference. Solid, black ice takes more weight than white ice. Also, thickness isn’t uniform across a lake. Currents affect it, and snow depth affects it. Recommended depth is 4 inches for ice fishing.) The thicker that ice gets, the harder it becomes to make your hole. Also, early in the season, there’s no slush on the ice. (Snow falls, and then insulates the snow beneath it. The insulation raises the temperature, and so that snow underneath melts. You can be walking through deep, wet slush on top of deep, thick ice. Not a fun combination.)

Anyway.

So I’d wanted to get outside and do some fishing. Did it happen? Nope. Why not? Well, because it was in the 50s over the break. I might not be a scientist, but I know water doesn’t freeze when it’s 50 degrees out.

Long story short, I got to go out for the first time on Monday after work. This was minimalist ice fishing. One auger. One jig. No traps. Ice fishing really doesn’t take much. I’ve said it before: it’s about as easy as it gets. Just a little cold is all. Particularly my feet. I’ve always had a problem with cold feet (save your jokes, please!). Even in bed with a bunch of covers on, I need to sleep with socks almost all the time. My toes just get way too cold. When I go ice fishing, I’ve always worn extra socks and gone for the really thick ones. It didn’t matter. My toes would always freeze up, and I’d have to sit there jumping around to try and get my blood circulating.

However, this time, I had a secret weapon. Denisa had bought me some special socks for Christmas. (I tried to find them online, but I’m honestly not sure which ones she got me. They’re black. Does that help? She would know, if you have questions.) Supposedly, these socks were able to keep your toes toasty warm no matter what. I was excited to try them out, even if I was still skeptical.

The verdict? I was outside on the ice for two hours or so, and my toes were nice and warm the entire time. Honestly, I’m wondering if some black magic is involved in these socks. Maybe a fire demon was enslaved to keep them going? Maybe I shouldn’t look too closely at that.

All I know is that one of the few problems I had with ice fishing has been solved, and that’s just dandy. Thanks, Denisa!

How did the rest of the trip go? We caught 7 fish. Lake trout, and fairly sizable. It was quiet–not another person I could see on the lake. Saw some wild turkeys, and nothing else. I like ice fishing a lot, mainly for the peace and quiet that’s usually there. Any excuse to get out and do something different is a nice way to mix things up a bit and pep up a day. I don’t eat the fish (Denisa takes care of that), so even actually catching anything isn’t a huge requirement.

Come on–a picturesque Maine lake, with a light snow falling and no one else but me and my friend out there? It doesn’t get better than that, people.

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