Ice Fishing back in the 60's and 70's

[Kelikran]

Hi All. Fairly recent to the site, but enjoying it lots. Thought it might be cool to share some notes from the old days, as the title says. We started getting into ice fishing around '67. I was 13. Would go with my dad and uncle, they were from Norway (came over in '27-28 to Alberta to become farmers). We lived near Mayerthorpe and would winter fish Wabamun for whites (either by Fallis or Seba). Len Thompson #6, either brass or copper, or a kastmaster. No bait. Days you couldn't take em off the hook fast enough and you had another. We'd go to Chip Lake for pike. Also Lessard and Carson. This was before Carson got the pike restocked by trout. Caught the biggest whitefish I ever saw in person in Pegasus right next to Carson. Couldn't say how big it was, but a lot bigger than the Wabamun ones. Now that I'm 80% retired there's time to fish again. But what a change with cameras, fish finders, other fancy gadgets as well as power augers! But with all this stuff it still doesn't seem any easier to catch fish than 50 some years ago. Harder actually. But I still enjoy getting out there and you never loose the thrill you get when one grabs that hook. And I must say its a lot nicer in a tent with a heater than it was standing or sitting on that ice with a cold wind at your back.😁. Anyway I look forward to hearing from some of you other seasoned fishers from the 'oldish days. Ken.

[MOUNTAIN MICKEY]

One of my neighbors has been ice fishing since he was a toddler. Because he was small his dad wrapped line around a paint stir stick for him. He still uses this method at about 70 years old(or close to it). Said he never felt the need to change over to a rod.

[North40Rules]

Back in 1962/63 when I started to go ice fishing with my father he used this technique to attract fish.

He would bring hard-boiled eggs to eat ( along with Oh Henry! Chocolate Bars and Snow White Cream Soda) and we would break up the eggshells and put them down the whole and let them flutter to the bottom, the white flashes are really visible all the way down to the bottom, it seems to work.

To this day, I still do the very same thing :)

Cheers N40

[Stinky Buffalo]

Started ice fishing a few years after you, Ken!

Yup, like Mountain Mickey says, we would just wrap line around a paint stick (or other similarly-dimensioned scrap wood) and use homemade brass or copper-wound brass jigs. We'd take the old red mason jar seals and put a chunk of the rubber on the end for decoration. Fished the same areas too, Fallis, Seba etc.

Part of the outings' fun was often helping get other fishermen unstuck with our old VW. It had great traction.

Only bad part was getting cold! I still get cold toes and fingers, but much better now than when I didn't have as much lard on me. :D

We'd use heavy black plastic, which Dad would sew up into bags which we'd cover ourselves with. It would absorb warmth from the Sun, let us see into the hole, and block some of the wind. Dad built a sled with a pop-up frame, covered in vinyl, which was really neat. I still have the Norseman brand two-person shelter he bought us.

Mom would make us PB&J sandwiches. We'd always call them "Soggy Sandwiches", and we loved them. :) Hot chocolate and tea to drink.

We'd head out with some of the old-timers, and marvel at their patience, sitting for hours, filling their pails, and wondering what their secrets were.

And yup, it definitely is a lot slower now than it was back then. Still don't use fancy stuff like cameras, flashers, jaw-jackers etc. Didn't need 'em back then but may try them out when I get more free time to spend out there.

[trigger7mm]

I remember ice fishing for perch back in the late 60’s and 70’s. So many great perch lakes back then. Moose was a favourite of ours, especially in the spring at last ice. Back then there was no limit on perch, and you could fill a 5 gallon pail pretty easily. We never took more than we could use, but a lot of people did. A green Russian hook, the one that looked like a little fish with a red dot on the end, was a killer hook. Add a perch eye on it and haul them in. I remember skidooing into Blackett Lake once, and the walleye fishing was crazy good. You could catch walleye in the evening as fast as you could put your hook down the hole. Those days are long gone, but for us old guys, not forgotten.

[SamSteele]

Back in 1962/63 when I started to go ice fishing with my father he used this technique to attract fish.

He would bring hard-boiled eggs to eat ( along with Oh Henry! Chocolate Bars and Snow White Cream Soda) and we would break up the eggshells and put them down the whole and let them flutter to the bottom, the white flashes are really visible all the way down to the bottom, it seems to work.

To this day, I still do the very same thing :)

Cheers N40


We used to do this as well, but mostly to help see fish against the bottom when looking down the hole. The shells on the bottom helped with that for sure.

[Reeves1]

Back in 1962/63 when I started to go ice fishing with my father he used this technique to attract fish.

He would bring hard-boiled eggs to eat ( along with Oh Henry! Chocolate Bars and Snow White Cream Soda) and we would break up the eggshells and put them down the whole and let them flutter to the bottom, the white flashes are really visible all the way down to the bottom, it seems to work.

To this day, I still do the very same thing :)

Cheers N40

I never found they attracted much. But it does give your eyes a focal point & makes it easier to set the hook on soft biting Whites etc.

[58thecat]

So new a fella that hated ice fishing but seemed to luv the fact that a few wobbly pops, moose jerky and bs'ing about who's rod was bigger and better so he would simply drill two holes about a foot apart open up can of corn and pour some down one hole and bait his hook with a piece of corn and drop his line down the other hole...10 minutes later limited out...fire up the two burner and cook the fish along with potatoes and the left over corn washing it down with a wobbly pop then kick back and watch us sit and stare at a ice hole or two for the rest of the outing. :)

[North40Rules]

You guys are probably right!

Here I was thinking he used the fluttering shells to attract fish when he most likely was doing it for the focal point aspect! lol

Thanks for the heads up! Will be taking my granddaughter ice fishing this year for the first time she is 6. The technique will be used, with the proper explanation lol

[ghostguy6]

The egg shell thing came up a few years ago and was actually deemed to be illegal, cant remember if it was considered chumming or littering.

Edit, Found the thread I was looking for:

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showthread.php?t=56745&highlight=shells

From that thread :
Here is the answer I received to my inquiry regarding the use of eggshells while ice fishing, for the purpose of illumination.

Thank you for your inquiry.

In Alberta it is illegal to set out bait unless it is attached to a hook used in angling (referred to as “chumming”). However, it is also unlawful to deposit waste materials into water.

The deposit of eggshells as you have described may not be for any purpose beyond providing a light background to see fish more clearly, but depositing this material through the ice into a lake is not legal as it can readily be described as “waste”. For this reason, this practice cannot be sanctioned.

Some applicable parts of the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act are section 168 and 181:

168 In this Part,

(k) “waste” means, for the purposes of sections 178 to 183 and section 187,

(i) any solid or liquid material or product or combination of solid or liquid material or product, including, but not limited to,

(A) rubbish, refuse, garbage, paper, packaging, containers, bottles, cans, manure, human or animal excrement, sewage or the whole or a part of an animal carcass, or

(B) the whole or part of any article, raw or processed material, vehicle or other machinery that is disposed of

and

(ii) any other thing that is designated as waste in the regulations;


Section 181 of the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act reads as follows:

Waste on water or ice
181 No person shall dispose of waste on, into or under water or ice except in accordance with an approval, a code of practice or a registration or as otherwise provided for under this Act.


Should you need any further details regarding this matter, I would encourage you to contact the local Fish and Wildlife Division district office in your area. For toll-free access to most provincial government offices, dial 310-0000 within Alberta.

[North40Rules]

The egg shell thing came up a few years ago and was actually deemed to be illegal, cant remember if it was considered chumming or littering. I tried to find the thread about it but too many results came up to find the right one.

WOW! Don't understand how eggshells that are a natural organic material that decompose are illegal, but it is what it is and thanks for the heads up.

No more eggshells for me, and do not pee in the hole either there is a $10,000,000.00 fine for that too lol

[AlbertanGP]

I was going to point out that using egg shells as described would not be legal. I saw someone get in trouble for that at Wabamun in the 90's. But everyone was having a good time reminiscing, and some laws are stupid so...

P.S. Never did it myself as I am not a fan of hard boiled eggs. But I've looked down many holes and seen it in years past.

[pinelakeperch]

Hi All. Fairly recent to the site, but enjoying it lots. Thought it might be cool to share some notes from the old days, as the title says. We started getting into ice fishing around '67. I was 13. Would go with my dad and uncle, they were from Norway (came over in '27-28 to Alberta to become farmers). We lived near Mayerthorpe and would winter fish Wabamun for whites (either by Fallis or Seba). Len Thompson #6, either brass or copper, or a kastmaster. No bait. Days you couldn't take em off the hook fast enough and you had another. We'd go to Chip Lake for pike. Also Lessard and Carson. This was before Carson got the pike restocked by trout. Caught the biggest whitefish I ever saw in person in Pegasus right next to Carson. Couldn't say how big it was, but a lot bigger than the Wabamun ones. Now that I'm 80% retired there's time to fish again. But what a change with cameras, fish finders, other fancy gadgets as well as power augers! But with all this stuff it still doesn't seem any easier to catch fish than 50 some years ago. Harder actually. But I still enjoy getting out there and you never loose the thrill you get when one grabs that hook. And I must say its a lot nicer in a tent with a heater than it was standing or sitting on that ice with a cold wind at your back.😁. Anyway I look forward to hearing from some of you other seasoned fishers from the 'oldish days. Ken.

I love hearing the old stories. Thanks for sharing!

[SNAPFisher]

I love hearing the old stories. Thanks for sharing!

Yep, I 2nd that.

Good 1st post Kelikran and welcome to the forum.

[pikeman06]

Love to hear the ol stories too. Moved to bonnyville the winter of 1988 after a pipeline job, simply for the fishing. Had a 350 dollar apartment and the next 3 or 4 or 5 years until I got my girlfriend knocked up I hit all those lakes up there with what turned out to be my best buddy to this day. Best memories I have wouldn't change a thing. It was on its way downhill and we had to work for them a bit but to me it was heaven. Scarred me for life!!!

[AlbertanGP]

It was on its way downhill and we had to work for them a bit but to me it was heaven. Scarred me for life!!!

That's from everyone hauling them out by the garbage bag full in the early eighties. :(

[pikeman06]

Yup, that was the end of her. Never have lakes so full of life again, they were literally alive with fish...you'd launch your boat and the baby jacks would be scooting out of the shallows, a little further out there would be a big school of perch sliding away from the boat. We would just kill the motor and glide into the shallows and spot perch and put the anchor down and get at er.

[Red Bullets]

What I miss when you could come home with a few fish at the end of the day. Not catch a limit but enough for a feast of great food. It was wonderful to come home with an assortment of fish from one or two lakes. A few whites, a couple pike, a few bigger perch and a burbot or two wasn't that hard to catch in a day's ice fishing at a few lakes in the 60's, 70's and 80's. Some lakes had walleye too.

Great! :mad0030: Now I crave homemade fresh fish chowder with chunks of all of the above named fish caught the same day and straight into the pot.

[AlbertanGP]

What I miss when you could come home with a few fish at the end of the day. Not catch a limit but enough for a feast of great food. It was wonderful to come home with an assortment of fish from one or two lakes. A few whites, a couple pike, a few bigger perch and a burbot or two wasn't that hard to catch in a day's ice fishing at a few lakes in the 60's, 70's and 80's. Some lakes had walleye too.

Great! :mad0030: Now I crave homemade fresh fish chowder with chunks of all of the above named fish caught the same day and straight into the pot.

Still doable around here with a bit of driving during the day. But definitely a challenge, and really hard to do out of only one lake. In the old days, it just happened. Now it would take *a lot* of effort and some skill to duplicate that outcome.

[curtis_rak]

Can only speak to the mid-80’s as my earliest ice fishing memories.

- all “rods” were 18” pieces of cut hockey stick with a v-groove cut in each end and the line wrapped around the rod from end to end. No reels ever, always hand-lining;
- I remember laying on a piece of cardboard with a black piece of canvas over top of me so I could see down the hole. Eventually my dad got an ice fishing tent - very rudimentary aluminum frame with black canvas and it was a pain in butt to setup;
- always Russian hooks with 2 maggots for perch;
- for pike, a big red devil with a piece of red flag tape on the hook as an attractant. I don’t remember putting a minnow or smaller on the end ever.
- no braided line, always mono. Still somehow managed to land pike
- my dad would fill a thermos full of raw weiners and pour boiling water over them before we left home. By lunchtime they were perfectly cooked and hot dogs done in this fashion seemed to be the staple for almost every outing.

My parents would take my sister and I on “the big ice fishing trip” once per year (outside of the occasional day trips) and make the drive from Edmonton to North Buck. It was a 2-day event and after the first day of fishing we always stayed at the Boyle Hotel. It was a big deal for us to get to eat supper at the hotel restaurant and I distinctly remember ordering fries and gravy there almost every time we went - after all this trip was a treat for us so we went “crazy”. Haha. We would fish the next day and go home from there and would literally come home with a couple 5gallon pails of jumbo perch every time. We did this trip many years in a row and I will never forget it.

Someone mentioned big whites at wabamun - I too remember doing day trips with with our immediate and extended family there where the adults would be just pounding the jumbos all day. We have lots of old photos of rows of really big whites from Wab.


Fishing is still a great pastime but it’s not the same that’s for sure. Everything is more complicated now and very likely overthought….


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Stinky Buffalo]

Fishing is still a great pastime but it’s not the same that’s for sure. Everything is more complicated now and very likely overthought….


Indeed, I feel the same way.

[crazynewf]

Oh, the good old days. Spend 2 hours chopping a hole with an axe, stick with a line and a hook. Didn't need anything fancy. Lucky ones had a chainsaw.

[North40Rules]

Oh, the good old days. Spend 2 hours chopping a hole with an axe, stick with a line and a hook. Didn't need anything fancy. Lucky ones had a chainsaw.

Remember using these back in the 60s,?

https://i.imgur.com/BiUxtCQ.jpg

[AlbertanGP]

Oh, the good old days. Spend 2 hours chopping a hole with an axe, stick with a line and a hook. Didn't need anything fancy. Lucky ones had a chainsaw.

Since we're telling stories about the old days, this reminds me of a good one.

My best friend in Ft. Mac in junior high in the 80's was a rich American. His dad was a huge outdoorsmen and their basement in Dickinsfield was full of trophy mounts. His Dad "bought" a lake in NW Saskatchewan and we used to fly in materials in a twin otter to build the cabin (it was fancy...Don Getty was up back in the day). Anyways, one day we decided to go ice fishing and my friend ran the auger into the sand. His dad was a big, mean SOB and he went back to the camp and got a chainsaw and cut a hole about 5' X 5'. After getting close to going through, he sent his son down into the 3-4' hole to finish it off with a spud bar. His son...my friend...was crying because he was scared he was going to fall in the lake in the middle of nowhere. His dad didn't care for his son's soft demeanor, so he grabbed him with one hand and yarded him out of the hole back up onto the ice, grabbed the spud bar and gave it one good whack and half the hole was open. *And then* he tore into his son for five minutes about being such a $%^ing baby in front of all of us. I don't think my friend much cared. He was just happy to be alive. Man I miss those days when parenting wasn't all about participation ribbons...

Anyways, I don't think we even caught a fish that day. But the monsters that live in that lake...

[KegRiver]

My first ice fishing experience was on Pigeon Lake.

The year was 1970 and I was in high school at the time. I had a buddy that liked to go fishing and he had a car. I didn't. So he invited me to go ice fishing with him and away we went.

I don't remember much about that trip. It was so long ago and everything was so new to me. I was still trying to adapt to city living and trying to fit in where I really did not.

I remember we drove around the south side of the Lake and out onto a point of land. Then walked half a mile out onto the lake. Buddy drilled some holes and proceeded to show me how to fish through a hole in the ice.

We caught some Perch and a couple of White fish. A recall looking at those fish and thinking they were too small to be worth the effort.
But I enjoyed my bud's company so I had a good time anyway.

That trip did nothing to inspire me to go ice fishing again so the next time I went ice fishing was in 2009.

By then the fish population in the Peace River had collapsed and Perch looked like they were worth the effort.

Not a compelling story I know, but it is all that I remember of ice fishing in the past.

[dodger]

Remember using these back in the 60s,?

https://i.imgur.com/BiUxtCQ.jpg

You rich people had the nice gear ^^^. We used a 2X4 with a couple nails on each end to wrap our line. Plus we had to chop holes with our fingernails uphill. No lie !!

Dodger.

[North40Rules]

You rich people had the nice gear ^^^. We used a 2X4 with a couple nails on each end to wrap our line. Plus we had to chop holes with our fingernails uphill. No lie !!

Dodger.

Tell me about the fingernail uphill deal, trying to get a visual? lol

[Sooner]

Laying on a piece of cardboard with a dark blanket or coat over your head at Fallis. Watching down a 6 inch hole and watch the whites inhale your hook only to spit them out on the set.


At least now I can sit in a warm tent, look down a 8 inch or bigger hole and be comfortable when I watch them spit out a hook. Man I never was lucky with lake whites. Put me on the river and look out.

[AlbertanGP]

All I really remember of Wabamun whites from decades ago is a bathtub full of scales and wife that was NOT impressed. :bad_boys_20:

[EZM]

Ah yes, the days before power augers, heated tents and electronics.

I have fond memories of this as a kid in the 80's. Seems like my dad could drill a hole as fast as a power auger with the Swedish hand crank auger.

We would have a fire out on the ice to stay warm and sit on buckets and use sticks for tip us and for jigging. No store bought fancy gear.

[Bushleague]

One of my neighbors has been ice fishing since he was a toddler. Because he was small his dad wrapped line around a paint stir stick for him. He still uses this method at about 70 years old(or close to it). Said he never felt the need to change over to a rod.

I still use these quite a bit, I seem to go through ice fishing reels faster than just about any other piece of fishing gear, so I've reverted back to using "Jigging sticks" quite a bit.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50839082441_8fda496cfe_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2kstA1a)DSCF1877 (https://flic.kr/p/2kstA1a) by [/url], on Flickr

I still use homemade tip-ups quite a lot too, though my homemade tip-ups have definitely evolved a bit.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49688691136_62d8b1068b_k.jpg (https://www.flickr.com/photos/153108294@N08/)DSCF1389 (https://flic.kr/p/2iGPwKj) by , on Flickr


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49688157168_d37944aad4_k.jpg (https://www.flickr.com/photos/153108294@N08/)DSCF1388 (https://flic.kr/p/2iGLN1Y) by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/153108294@N08/], on Flickr

[TROLLER]

I must be the only old guy who remembers when we would fish with 3 lines. Can't remember exactly when it changed to two, but that is part of aging. Memory ain't what it used to be.:)

We used to fish Horse Fly, Fincastle and all the lakes around the Taber area.

[AlbertanGP]

That's a very nice variation of the windlass tip-up. How big is the fan that catches the wind? It's hard to tell in those pictures. :happy0034:

[Bushleague]

That's a very nice variation of the windlass tip-up. How big is the fan that catches the wind? It's hard to tell in those pictures. :happy0034:

About 3" by 3" I think, they are just cardboard squares I cut out of beer boxes that slip on to the banding as needed, so I have different sizes to work in different wind conditions.

[Moosetalker]

I remember freezing my butt of in the mid 70s early 80s mainly because I worked up a huge sweat hand cutting 8" holes with the ol Mora-Bora hand auger.

Mid 80s a friend sold me an old Tecumseh post hole Auger So I took a piece of pipe drilled it to fit the power head and the Bottom of the Mora Auger That bugger would make holes faster than any of the newer augers I have owned since the day it died last ice fishing trip in 94.

Soft porous spring ice was its Nemesis it would screw in super fast not cut unless you held it back An 18" pipewrench was always in the fishing gear bucket.