Panfish Ice fishing fun with kids.
Posted on February 22nd, 2014
I had a chance to ice fish with just over 20-kids from a fishing club ran by the Faith Christian Reformed Church, Burlington, ON today on a small lake for panfish.
Temperatures were above zero, but the wind blew strong & there was significant water on the ice surface.
I cut about 25-holes through almost 4′ of ice using a Normark 6″ manual auger to ensure we covered the water properly and that all of the kids would have fun catching panfish.
The kids were all equipped with a shallow spool of 6 lb. test line, a small plastic bobber and a 1/16 oz. jig. Our bait of choice was live wax worms.
I started by having a pep-talk with everyone and than showing them how we would be fishing. As soon as the kids started fishing the action was hot with some of the children catching as many as 17-fish!
Some of the bluegill were eating size, but all of the fish were release unharmed.
After a few hours of fishing some of the parents/helpers started a nice fire on shore, hooked-up a propane heater and prepared some delicious hot chili. Everyone enjoyed the shorelunch and than it was time to head home.
[nggallery id=920]We all had a great time, the weather cooperated and the main think is that the kids had a safe and excellent time catching fish! For many of them it was their first time ice fishing. I have to give a special thanks to Angela Lee who operates Pete’s Bait & Tackle for helping us out with the kids fishing rigs and bait.
