Took a little road trip yesterday and while out I swung past one of the community first ice fishin' holes. A sheltered bay off the Mississippi that is shallow and freezes early. There were six vehicles parked in the lot and guys were out on the ice not far off the ramp. The water there is about 3 feet deep and indeed you can catch some keeper panfish, usually bluegills there.
On the ice I saw one guy with a 360 Live Scope device. That is a steerable sonar device with a panable transducer that can show fish in a 360 degree circle perhaps 60 or more feet out. I was watching this guy playing with his $1,800 or more dollar toy as another guy was dragging his sled across the lot headed for the ice. I had my side window down and was laughing as I said to the much younger bearded dude, "Look, that guy has a Live Scan out there in 2 1/2' of water." He turned to me and said, "I've got mine too." I looked in his sled and indeed there was the bulky case and long arm and stand. I shook my head and said, "I think I'm going back to a diddle pole." He said, "I've got my flasher too."
Technology is a wonderful thing and I imagine that these young men have recently bought this latest high tech gadget and are dying to try it out. The fact that this spot makes that application seem almost silly doesn't matter. I will say this though. Looking at the bearded guy I'll give you a run down on what his gear had cost him. Otter Monster sled, $140.00, Striker ice suit with floatation, $500.00, flasher, $500.00, 360 degree Pan Optics Live Scan, $2,000.00 with the ice stand, auger, $100.00, Cordless Milwaukee M-18 Fuel drill to drive the auger bare tool only, $170.00, three rods, $150 minimum, three reels, another $150.00 minimum, pocket tackle box with 200 lures many of them tungsten, $450.00. Add in a skimmer, ice line, creepers for his boots, his expensive boots, a spud bar I saw in the sled for testing ice safety, ice picks for self extraction from falling through the thin ice, a bunch of ice plastic lures and a Copenhagen can full of waxies or spikes and you've got another $500 easy.
As I saw him walking across the lot and knowing a lot about ice fishing I'd estimate his investment in gear alone was between 4 and 5 thousand dollars. The beautiful new looking Chevy 4x4 he got out of was most likely not cheap either. For many of us our hobbies are a huge part of our lives. And frankly, what the hell else is money good for?
www.ampannealing.com
