OutdoorNebraska

December 2019 • Nebraskaland 53 Kids on Ice By Justin Haag A s with any outdoors activity, there are special considerations to be made when taking kids ice fi shing. When fi shing with kids any time of year, one should remember that the goal is to create good memories and life- long anglers. Their comfort and safety are important. The bottom line is, if the kids don't have a lot of fun when they're young, it's going to be harder to keep them interested or get them to go later on. Make sure you're making the trip about them and not yourself, and be prepared to leave and try it again another day if things turn out to be miserable for whatever reason. A wise man once said there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing. For ice anglers of any age I'd put a good pair of insulated, waterproof snow boots at the top of the list, followed closely by bibs or snow pants, a heavy coat, hat and gloves. One should dress in layers, as sweating in that big heavy coat when temperatures rise isn't much fun either. Especially when taking inexperienced kids, I love calm sunny days when the ice is thick and temps reach the 50s. For families without a lot of equipment, I highly suggest making your fi rst trips on those days. Through the years I've accumulated a stash of gear that has helped make fi shing during some pretty nasty days comfortable – or at least bearable. Thanks to ice huts and heaters, my family and I have comfortably fi shed without a coat while Old Man Winter was raging outside the shanty. When the kids were little, I was happy to spend hour upon hour fi shing lakes with dinky perch, bluegills and crappies at Panhandle lakes other anglers often avoided. We'd often have the place to ourselves and there was enough action to keep the kids interested all day. Thanks to all of those small fi sh, they gained great experience putting bait on the hooks and taking fi sh off them – not to mention the time-honored tradition of kissing fi sh before dropping them back down the hole. The smiles on their faces were plenty trophy enough for me. N Opposite: William Marx of Gretna is all smiles as he holds a rainbow trout from the pond at Ponca State Park. Above: Sawyer Haag holds a yellow perch he caught at Box Butte Reservoir. PHOTO LEFT BY JEFF KURRUS, PHOTO RIGHT BY JUSTIN HAAG Starting a kid on the ice is a great choice for creating a lifelong angler. There are just a few additional considerations to make the experience safe, and memorable, for everyone.

• Cover