But catching fish is only part of the deal. You see, I don't catch a lot of fish through the ice, but I have a lot of fun attempting to do so simply because much of my ice fishing is done with the publisher of this magazine, Scott Haddow.
Scott's near dangerous obsession with speckled trout and his determination to get back into the nastiest, most desolate spots he can find, has led to all sorts of adventures. In fact, at least a couple of trips didn't even include any actual fishing, as winter outings with Scott are more like ice adventures than ice fishing trips.
So let's call it what it is;, ice adventuring. You just bring ice fishing gear with you. It may or may not be required, depending on the adventure.
One of our first outings found us on a back lake on a beautiful day where a blazing sun warmed us to the point where we had our jackets off while we searched the small lake for willing trout.
We came up empty handed, but were happy to have spent a gorgeous day outside. Satisfied the trout were not going to cooperate, we packed up in the late afternoon, jumped on Scott's snowmachine and moments later plowed into a massive slushpile that had formed under the snow during the warm afternoon.
Scott tried to keep us on top of it, but it was a losing battle and we dismounted into near knee-deep water.
It took hours to get out, the work was exhausting, and at one point I scanned the shoreline for a spot to spend the night.
But we made it somehow, soaked inside and out, with some daylight to spare. I was sore for days.
While he seems to be over the affliction now, Scott used to have to be on the lake before daybreak, no matter what. That peaked one winter, when we hiked into our location in the pitch dark and arrived so early that we spent a full hour in the darkness before we even got a hint of a sunrise. In -31C weather. So dark we couldn't even drill a hole and set a line. For an hour. And we still left fishless.
Another classic trip was a late March outing to one of Scott's favourite lakes. The weather was warming, but Scott was determined to get me and our buddy Jeff Crowell into some trout as the bite had been hot.
Circumstances led to only one sled being available, so Scott told us his plan to drive his all-wheel drive SUV on a snowmobile trail to get there. He had done it before, no problem.
We were at least six kilometres up the trail and enjoying a great guided tour by our host until one slip put us off the trail.