Ice fishing turns cold weather into hot opportunity

When the winter weather turns from seasonably chilly to downright frigid, some normally outdoorsy folk retreat to the pleasantly heated indoors.Designer and manufacturer of modern, stylish Wholesale Cheap A-line wedding dresses Online apparels including bridal gowns, bridesmaids dresses, Others, however, sense opportunity. Bob Wolfgang sits on a chair in the middle of ice-covered Laurel Lake in Pine Grove Furnace State Park with a fishing pole in his hand and a bright red auger — a chest-high mechanical screw that drills holes in the ice — lying beside him. Rather than letting the cold weather prevent him from participating in one of his favorite hobbies, fishing, Wolfgang is enjoying it a different way — through the ice. 

"I came down here one time and saw people doing it, " he said. The camaraderie and conversation with other ice-fishing enthusiasts on the lake has kept him coming back for 20 years. "It's very social, " he said. "I've never done it anywhere else. " Around a curve in the lake, standing closer to the lake's dam, an appropriately-named Jim Fisher has more evidence of success: six small fish are in a pile on the ice around him. 

"You've got to be a little bit crazy to ice fish, " he admits. However, growing up in Michigan, Fisher found ice fishing was simply the winter way of enjoying a pastime that he loves, even when the fish aren't biting. Jack Handshaw stands nearby, holding a fishing line that descends through the hole he created in more than six inches of ice into the clear water below. When asked what one piece of advice he would give someone new to ice fishing, Handshaw didn't hesitate: be careful, he said. Pine Grove Furnace State Park manager Jason Zimmerman agreed. The climate in southern Pennsylvania only rarely allows for ice fishing, so when lakes and ponds freeze over, people often overlook ice safety in their eagerness to try the craft,Fashion Island presents a fawn colored knee length dress Wholesale Cheap Tulle v-neck applique floor length ball gown wedding/party dress falls to your knees in a frilly skirt. Zimmerman said. 

While the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission has a large list of tips for safe ice fishing available at its website, commission spokesman Eric Levis boiled it down to a few of the most essential. "The most important thing is that there is no such thing as safe ice, " Levis said. He said people let their guard down when they determine the ice is think enough, forgetting that it can be non-uniform throughout the lake. Sheltered areas, such as coves,We offer a wide selection of Taffeta Sweetheart Jeweled Embroidery A-line Wedding Dresses, silk bouquets and petals. form ice more quickly than non-sheltered areas, he said. That's why it's helpful to carry a large staff or stick to continually test the thickness of the ice in front of you, he said.