Mika Lappalainen | Friday, 5 January 2024
Past two weeks have just flew by. I think there was Christmas and then New year. At least people made lot of wishes about those in facebook. For me last two weeks have been more to see what groups we have at farm next day.
On Wednesday last week I had group for ice fishing. We did one before Christmas. They had some bites and small perch but not action really. It was shortest day of the year.
So I didn't have high hopes last Wednesday either. December and January are tricky ones. Short days and fish are everything else but active.
Anyway I gave good instructions about basic techniques. Showed by hand how and so on. Then I explained how to handle fish if and when strike comes. As you don't really have rod and reel to play with fish is more like you and line only.
When fish strike, strike back with rod.... and then pull from line, do not try to reel in. When fish pulls use your arms as suspension to slow and stop fish. You already have that line out what you have so play with that. Do not turn line around your hand.
Crucial moment is when you are getting fish into ice tube (hole). Be careful that you don't cut line to edge of ice, when it is turning in..... it is possible to hook ice with rhe fish so be smooth..... and when you do that you will see that fish is in the tube because water level on hole will rise. Then fish has only one way to go, so pull it up firmly and fish will probably even help you. Simple like that.
So they start to fish, some hot juice during fishing. Nothing happens, nothing in sonar either. I walk around and talk with them. One guy is fiaherman so I stopped to talk with him longer time. I was just about to leave when he got the bite and fish on, he started to do as told and then turning line around hand..... nooooo... he figured fast that not good idea and take it off.
I can see he have good fish to play but not totally sure that he is in the game, if you know what I mean. Fish make few pulls and he seems to play fine with fish, then he got fish in the tube, I can see how water rises in the hole. I'm just about remind that pull it up now, when fish try to turn in the hole which is not even possible, guy goes with the fish..... and fish is off. Hole we are using are 6 inches and when rainbow trouts are around 2 kg so fish will fill hole pretty much... only thing fish can do is turn head... just help them to swim up.
No fish but good fight and even better stories to be told. This week I had to cancel planned ice fishing trips due cold weather. There is no point to go fishing when hole freezes in 10 minutes. Temperatures during this week has been something that no need to convert between celsius and Fahrenheit, it has been close to -40.
For the longer reindeer ride we have been walking reindeer instead that people can drive by themselves. Reason is reindeer safety, our reindeer will hit always full throttle if they can decide and in these temps it could be absolutely dangerous for the reindeer's lugns.
Today electricity price hits new records in Finland, in some hours it is 2,8 e/kwh. So heating is turned off in our home and we use our fireplaces, we luckily have 3 of them. It is still -30 celsius /-22 F outside. It should warm up next week so much ä that it is -5 celsius /23 F.
Have a nice weekend and go fishing.
Mika from freezing Finland
