Learning is a Life Long Endeavor

The beauty of fishing is that there is always something to learn. The learning or "discovery" is perhaps fishing¿s secret to addicting so many people. When we look at the big scope of fishing, it becomes pretty obvious that everyone knows something. Everybody is an expert at something if they spend anytime outside. Take a look at ice fishing for example. There are people who are really comfortable fishing with tip ups for example catching walleye on a certain river at certain times of the year. There are other anglers who are very comfortable site fishing for blue gills on a particular lake. The list of species and tactics when we just talk about ice fishing is endless. Look around, people who spend a lot of time ice fishing are a dime a dozen and everybody knows something, everybody has that comfort zone where they feel like they are the experts.

Sooner or later however, your curiosity comes to a dead end if you pigeon hole yourself to your "comfort zone." One of the most enjoyable aspects of ice fishing for me is learning new tactics, figuring out new fish, learning new lakes, etc. The more experiences we can draw from, the better prepared we are. When it comes to learning, I am at a disadvantage in a way because I am "pigeon holed" to one lake all winter, Devils Lake North Dakota where I am on the staff of the Perch Patrol Guide Service. Even though I am tied to one lake making a living (I am not complaining¿ Devils Lake is a great place to be tied) There is so much of the lake to learn and the lake is always changing so in a sense, we are fishing a new lake each winter. While most of our time is spent chasing perch, we do mix things up with walleye and pike to keep the winters interesting. The real advantage to being a guide however isn¿t being on the water everyday, it¿s the huge variety of approaches and tactics that the clients bring to the table.

If I had more time, I could travel to every frozen lake in the country and fish with anglers that are adept at catching fish on those lakes. What happens to me is the reverse but the effects are just the same. I get people who come from all over the country with many different fishing styles. My Fish Trap literally becomes a melting pot for ideas on how to catch fish from just about every corner of the ice belt. I get hand liners from the East, I get to see their rods, watch them apply what they know while they try and incorporate my input into their game plan. The next crew might be a bunch of die hard cheese heads who just use tip ups on the lakes they fish back home and a few more tricks are picked up on tip ups. Every state, every region has something to offer. Some unique little wrinkle. Some places, people kink the line for a strike indicator, other places insist on spring bobbers. We can always tell the guys who are from Minnesota because do that thing called the "pound." When we do get away to fish Minnesota or beyond, they know who we are and where we are from because we fish out of our pickups and have all of our electronics mounted on the dashes. You know somebody is from Wisconsin when their ice fishing jacket, bibs and hat is all blaze orange, they have a bucket full of rods with the big Swiss reels and they keep asking you if you ever use "wigglers."

All jokes aside, that is what I love about guiding. I get to meet people from all over the country who love to ice fish. Whether they are a beginner or expert, they all bring something to the table. Some little wrinkle or tip that evolved to catch fish where they live and can be applied to catch fish where I live. Besides getting humbled and looking like a total idiot, there are some good reasons to watch, listen and learn from other anglers no matter how much we think we know already. There aren¿t enough days in the winter to try and learn everything ourselves and other anglers who have much different strengths or areas of expertise force us out of that hideous "comfort zone" I referred to at the beginning of this article. People who can¿t see past their own little world are indeed experts of that little world but there is much more to be had. So many more fish, so much more to learn. Pity the pour souls who do not agree for they are so ignorant they might come off as arrogant.

I must admit however that there is one place I won¿t go, a dark and gloomy place. Do you know what a crappie rig is? This contraption has wire arms in which three or more mono leaders spread out from the main line. Each leader has a hook. The bottom of this rig usually has a big bell sinker for getting to the bottom fast and three to five hooks. A minnow is attached to each hook. I cringe when I see these setups. I hate them, I don¿t want to learn about them, call me the ignorant soul who comes off as arrogant for not recognizing the joy of reeling in three fish at once. I don¿t care. You don¿t feel much of a bite because no perch in Devils Lake is big enough to move a three-ounce bell sinker stuck in the muck so you just check the rig from time to time and sometimes, a real hungry fish swallowed the hook. Even with the crappie rig, however, there must be a time and place for them somewhere, perhaps the Great Lakes where depth and current make conventional tackle worthless.

Always something to learn and either going somewhere else, or fishing with somebody from somewhere else is as good as it gets for learning something new. There is that saying, "when in Rome, do as the Romans do." That¿s a good point, just remember to try what the Romans do when you get back home. This melting pot mentality is exactly why I believe the Ice Team Trap Attacks have gotten so popular over the past few years. Granted, people are fishing for money and sure, there are always some egos. But there is a larger intangible reason why people will travel so far. Let¿s get real, the chances of winning aren¿t real good. There are plenty of damn good fishermen at each event. Somebody is going to win but there is something more to the events. People are coming from all corners of the ice belt because they want to see how other anglers fish. If you don¿t sight fish where you live for example, you might find yourself talking to and watching sight fishermen. There are people who are adept at finding fish in weeds, others anglers excel at finding fish suspended over open water. Other anglers might be skilled with picking out fish in the mud by using a Vexilar, for example. Everybody has that little niche, something to offer, some little experience that is unique. Everybody has their equipment set up a little differently; Fish Traps are customized for different styles of fishing. The flame gets hot, the kettle gets stirred and the brew starts to boil. Every angler is a different ingredient. What¿s most important is that every angler comes home with new ideas. The wheels start to turn again. Everybody learns something. If you really like to ice fish, learning something new is the catalyst for really enjoying every second on the ice. This why I enjoy guiding as much as I do and exactly why Ice Team and the Trap Attacks have attracted such a following of die hard ice anglers.

Editors Note: More information on Ice Team and the Trap Attacks can be found at www.iceteam.com. The author, Jason Mitchell is a member of the Perch Patrol Guide Service on Devils Lake, North Dakota. The Perch Patrol can be reached by calling 701-351-3474 or www.perchpatrol.com.

Captions for photos:

16.jpeg: Learning something new is what makes ice fishing interesting. Pictured is a customer of Devils Lake's Perch Patrol with some huge perch.

jasonmitchell.jpeg: The author, Jason Mitchell makes a living guiding anglers from all over the country on Devils Lake, North Dakota. More information can be found at www.perchpatrol.com.

11.jpeg: Dave Genz started Ice Team's Trap Attacks several years ago. These events are one of the best places to learn more about ice fishing.