Ice Fishing with Kids

This may seem like common sense, but the first thing you must do is keep your kids warm! A cold kid is an unhappy kid, and an unhappy kid ends your fishing trip early. I know, I know, you are going out on ice...but this does not equal cold. You can be toasty warm with temperatures below freezing!

The most important thing to do is LAYER!!!!!

Start with a high quality moisture-wicking underlayer. I DO NOT MEAN the cotton long underwear that you buy from Wal-mart for $6.00. Spend some money on this, it's worth it. Believe it or not, a kid can work up a sweat playing hard in the snow and ice. You do not want this sweat on their body when they stop moving for a few minutes...that's when the cold sets in. A wicking underlayer gets this sweat away from their body, keeping them dry, keeping them warm.

Finish the underlayer with good old fashioned wool socks. I like Smartwool the best, they come in great patterns, they aren't itchy at all, and again, they keep 'em warm.

So you have your kids in great underlayers. Excellent! The next step is outer layers and a few tricks to keep 'em dry...

Step 1: Good Boots!! When in doubt on this one, buy Canadian. Sorel and Kamik are both fantastic boots. Look for ones that fit snugly, have great traction, waterproof uppers and insulated inners. A drawstring or velcro enclosure will help them stay on.

Good boots are so important, but even the best Kamik or Sorrel boots won't keep your child's feet completely dry when they are wading in a pool of icy water as my child sooften does. This simple trick will help! Save your bread bags. When dressing your child for the ice, put a bread bag on each foot over the sock before you put the boots on. Voila!! 100% dry feet!

The other place that the snow gets into is the crevice between the mitten and the jacket. To prevent this, invest in mittens with a cuff so they can be tucked under the jacket. Even the best mittens do come out though, and the best thing I have found to prevent cold hands is pulling a regular pair of socks over the mitten. I like the fuzzy slipper socks from Old Navy the best, they are stretchy, stay put and come in great patterns.

Finally, when trying to keep snow out of snowsuits, DUCT TAPE is your friend!! No guarantee about the stickiness coming off when your adventure is over...but a mitten duct taped to a jacket is going nowhere, and that snow is staying out!

Food on the ice is so, so important. Moving on snow and ice burns a lot of energy, as does staying warm. Lots of snacks keep the kids and the fun going.

The easiest thing to bring if good old fashioned trail mix. You can add whatever you want and customize it to your children's tastes. I tend to make this in bulk, store it in a tupperware cereal container, and always have it on hand to grab.

Here are some suggestions for your own fantastic GORP ("good old raisins and peanuts",[7] "granola, oats, raisins, and peanuts", or "gobs of raw protein).

raisins
peanuts
cheerios
granola
puffed wheat cereal
m&ms
Kix
chocolate chips
butterscotch chips
craisins and other dried fruit
pretzel sticks
bagel chips
Chex
...and whatever else you can think of.

Of course you can get fancier if you are spending the day on the ice. Cooking while ice fishing can be just like cooking while camplng. Bring out a camp stove and cook away.

In actuality, the least exciting thing about ice fishing is the fishing. My husband and yours may disagree, but in order to raise a kid who loves ice fishing you have to provide activities other than fishing.

Snowshoes are an easy hit, my daughter began to do it whan she was only 2. You can pick up snowshoes for kids for as low as $25.00. Try playing tag, having races to the tip-ups, or even set up an obstacle course on the ice. Bring a sled and the kids can tow each other while snowshoing.

If the ice is snow free, an easy activity is skating. There is nothing like pond skating!

A kick sled is a great toy for the ice. They can help you carry the gear out, then play around with it. Cross country skis and a pulk for the littlest fishers can be a lot of fun as well.

A Bob House will buy you at least an hour on the ice...guaranteed! Whether you purchase an easy pop up or you create a great one on your own, it is well worth the trouble.