Using different techniques than those employed during the warmer months, anglers actually might discover ice fishing offers better action and catches than summer fishing. Ice fishing requires no fishing pole. If the fish is larger than 8 inches, which is entirely possible on Lake Champlain and other large lakes in the region, the angler encounters the perplexing problem of getting a large, wiggling albeit slightly sluggish fish through the smaller hole. Ice fishermen are a hardy lot. This challenge is compounded by the fact that ice fishing is not a solitary sport like fly fishing.
Anglers tend to congregate in shacks or shanties at the better fishing spots on the lake.
In these heated shanties, which feature many of the comforts of home stoves, beds and portable TVs a group of friends talk, play cards or whatever to pass the time until the flag signals an event. The group then meanders out of the shanty to watch the contest between angler and fish unfold. Since the shanties are near each other, and everyone watches the others tip-ups, the little group can become a large crowd. Everyone in the crowd offers suggestions on how to get the potentially large fish through the small hole. The answer may not be as important as how the angler can retell the tale of the momentous struggle, given all those witnesses.