Beat The Winter Blues: Beginner’s Guide To Ice Fishing

Winter doesn’t need to sideline your energy or your joy. We open the cabin door to ice fishing as a practical antidote to seasonal affective disorder, laying out a simple, confident plan for your first day on hard water: the exact starter gear that won’t drain your wallet, the ice thickness rules that keep you safe, and the rescue drills that turn fear into muscle memory. You’ll understand what to wear, what to carry, and how to move across the ice like someone who belongs there.

In this solo episode, we also unpack the living roots of the sport, from Inuit and Ojibwe innovations to traditions on Chagan Lake and beyond. That heritage reframes modern ice fishing as a cross-cultural skill that still puts food on the table while building community and resilience. 

Chapters

0:48 Modern Ice Fishing Snapshot

2:31 Beginner Barriers We’ll Solve

4:15 Essential Gear On A Budget

6:11 Safety Fundamentals And Ice Checks

7:32 Cold Water Survival Pro Tips

10:32 Culture, Etiquette, And Language

11:28 Indigenous Roots And Global History

14:34 World’s Best Ice Fishing Destinations

16:46 Mental Health And Community Benefits

If winter has felt heavy, this guide gives you sunlight, movement, and connection in one habit. You’ll leave with a checklist for rods, augers, ice picks, and sleds; a crystal-clear walkthrough of the 1-10-1 cold-water survival principle; and a culture primer that helps you speak the language on day one. 

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Chapters

• 0:00 Free Wellness Ebook Announcement
• 0:48 Modern Ice Fishing Snapshot
• 2:12 Show Mission And Today’s Focus
• 2:31 Beginner Barriers We’ll Solve
• 4:15 Essential Gear On A Budget
• 6:11 Safety Fundamentals And Ice Checks
• 7:32 Cold Water Survival Pro Tips
• 10:32 Culture, Etiquette, And Language
• 11:28 Indigenous Roots And Global History
• 14:34 World’s Best Ice Fishing Destinations
• 16:08 Catch And Release Ethics
• 16:46 Mental Health And Community Benefits
• 17:36 Weekly X Spaces Community Invite
• 18:17 Magnesium Story And Rooted In
• 20:45 Ready Hour Partner For Adventures
• 21:41 Health Disclaimer And Close

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Hey Wellness Warriors, Antoinette Lee here, host of New Normal Big Life. The moment you've been waiting for is live. New Normal Big Life 2025 Grit Fueled Wellness Revolution. The official companion ebook to our biggest, boldest season yet is out now and it's 100% free. This isn't some fluffy recap, it's a battle plan. Every game-changing guest quote, every pro tip and wellness warrior takeaway, plus brand new science and step-by-step action plans that turn what you heard on the podcast into real results in your body, mind, and life. Three powerhouse chapters, 41 episodes distilled, zero medical gatekeeping, all actionable grit. Claim your free copy right now in less than 20 seconds. Subscribe at nnbl.blog. When you grab the ebook, you also unlock weekly expert drops straight to your inbox in 2026. First access to new episodes, exclusive brand new behind-the-scenes warrior updates for me. 2025 proved you're done being dismissed. 2026 is your year to rise stronger, clearer, and unstoppable. Download your free copy now at nnbl.blog. If you've already subscribed, your copy is on the way to your inbox. Let's make 2026 the year medicine catches up to you. See you inside the book and on the next episode. Imagine this, it's 20 below. The lake is locked under a foot of crystal clear ice, and somewhere down in that silent frozen world, a 10-pound northern pike, panfish, walleye, or arctic char is circling your bait while you're sipping hot coffee in a heated pop-up shack, laughing with friends or family. That's modern ice fishing. What started as a raw survival skill, indigenous peoples and early hunters chiseling holes through ice to feed their families in the dead of winter has exploded into one of the most addictive winter sports on the planet, and I'm a huge fan for five years now. Millions of us now choose flags popping on tip-ups and sonar flashes on screens, all from the middle of a frozen lake. Hi friends, welcome to the New Normal Big Life podcast. We bring you natural news and stories about nature that we hope will inspire you to get outside an adventure, along with a step-by-step plan to help you practice what you've learned and create your own new normal and live the biggest life you can dream. I'm your host, Antoinette Lee, the Wellness Warrior. Today we're talking about how ice fishing crushes seasonal affective disorder and it's your ultimate beginner's guide. But here's the problem most beginners face. Walking onto the ice for the first time feels overwhelming. Too much gear, too many unspoken rules, and a nagging fear you're about to do something dangerously wrong or just look like a total rookie. We're fixing that. This season we're stripping away the intimidation and handing you the exact roadmap every new ice angler needs. The must-have gear that won't break the bank, the hard-won etiquette that keeps you safe and welcomed by the locals, and the powerful global indigenous history of the sport most people have never heard of. By the time you're done listening, you'll be ready to drill your first hole into a frozen lake and pull out an icy cold fish with confidence and maybe even catch the biggest fish of your life under the ice. Ready to turn winter into your new favorites fishing season? Let's get you on the hard water. But first, here's a programming note. If you listen to the podcast regularly, you know that I always include an adventure story. But this episode includes many micro adventure stories, so we'll skip the formal adventure segment for this episode. But we'll be back next time with a brand new adventure just for you. In case you missed our first installment of this three-part series, catch our episode on Nature's Secret to Avoiding the Wintertime Blues or Seasonal Affective Disorder, sad, and how to get started winter hiking, cross-country skiing, and ski juring. Be sure to give that episode a listen, leave us a star rating and review wherever you get your podcast, and share it with a friend. Here's what you need to know about ice fishing essential gear. Ice fishing is a calorie-burning, strength conditioning, and mobility powerhouse activity. Unfortunately, the average cost to get started, not including ice fishing lessons from a fishing guide, is about$800. But the gear, apparel, and equipment could last more than five years with proper upkeep, and you can find significantly discounted and gently used gear at local consignment shops or online. Here's a list of the essential beginner ice angler gears. You'll need safety equipment, ice picks, emergency mylar blanket, throwbag or rope, boot cleats to minimize slipping, a whistle to get attention in case of an emergency. You'll need an auger, either a manual, gas-powered or electric tool used for drilling holes in the ice. You'll need an ice fishing rod and reel, which is shorter than a standard rod. You'll need fishing line hooks, weights, jig heads, lures. The size, shape, and colors depend on the type of fish you want to catch and the rules specific to the body of water where you are fishing. You'll also want waterproof boots. My favorites are Baffin boots. They are Arctic rated and lightweight. I love them. I even hike a mile in my Baffin boots, and I think you'll love them too. So waterproof boots, warm clothing, dress in layers that you can add or remove. We cover this a lot in the previous episode in this series. You'll need a bucket for sitting on, storing fish that you caught if you plan on taking some home, and you'll need gear, like gloves, which are waterproof, lightweight, and warm. You'll also need an ice fishing sled to carry all of your equipment, like your spud bar for checking the ice for safety, live bait, which would be small worms or minnows, and all the rest of your gear. So here's what you need to know about ice fishing safety. First, always assume that unsafe ice conditions may exist and you could create a habit of checking the weather conditions, ice thickness reports, and barometric pressure, which impacts fish activity before you head out. If you are near mountain slopes, check the avalanche reports for the area. Next, adventure sports like ice fishing have some risks. Beginner ice anglers should remember to go fishing with a buddy and tell one or more people where you are going, the route you are taking, and what time you will check in to tell them you are safely at home. If you do not contact them and they cannot reach you at the check-in time, they will send help. I still practice this all the time. Lastly, always jab your spud bar into the ice to check that it's solid and firm. An experienced ice angler will tell you that clear ice is the safest. Milky ice is typically where ice has gone through freezing and thawing or recent snow froze to the ice. However, four inches of ice is considered minimally safe to walk on, but at least six inches is better for an inexperienced ice angler. A beginner ice angler can drill a few test holes to measure the thickness before venturing too far out on the ice. This is what you should do if you ever find yourself falling through the ice. By practicing the steps that I just told you, this should not happen, but just in case it does, here's what to do. According to Dr. Gordon Giesbrecht, you have about 30 minutes before becoming hypothermic. But here is what you can do to survive a fall through the ice. Here's your pro tip. Remember the 110-1 principle. One minute to get control of your breathing, 10 minutes of meaningful movement to save yourself, and one hour before you become conscious, according to Dr. Gordon Giesbrecht. So suppose you have just fallen through the ice into the water. The cold water might send you into shock for one to three minutes. Know that you have time, so control your breathing and do not panic. Here's another pro tip: rescue measures are unnecessary when you understand ice thickness, find reliable ice reports, and monitor the weather before going ice fishing and always remember to test it with your spud bar. Be sure to catch part three of the three-part series for a review of my favorite pop-up ice fishing shack. Quick heads up, wellness warriors. I don't let just anyone into this mic time. The only sponsors I ever bring on are products that I plan to use, personally use, swear by, and that have legitimately moved the needle on my health and my families. No fluff, no fillers, no junk. So if you're serious about leveling up your energy, sleep, recovery, skin, whatever your goal is, do not bounce early. Stay to the very end of this episode. I'm dropping some of my absolute ride or die brands and exactly how they've helped me feel unstoppable. These aren't random ads, they're tools I stake my name on. You'll thank me later. Keep it locked. We're going all the way to the finish line together. To save yourself, if you fall through the ice, spread your arms to your sides like a letter Y, tread water for a second to catch your breath, kick your legs up to the surface and pull yourself onto the ice in a similar way that you would pull yourself back onto your stand-up paddleboard. You can also have ice picks around your neck, which I do, keep ice picks around my neck, that you can jab into the ice as you pull yourself out of the water. You can also use the buddy system. A buddy can also throw you a length of rope or a throw bag. You want to reach for the rope, not the bag. Because if you reach for the bag, whatever length of rope that's contained in the bag, let's say it's 50 feet of rope, your rescuer will have to pull all 50 feet of rope. But if you grab just the rope, your rescuer only needs to pull the length of rope between you and the rescuer. So you want to reach for the rope, not the bag, throw it over your shoulder, any shoulder, turn away from your rescuer onto your back and kick while they pull you from the water. Finally, get out of your wet clothes, put on dry clothes, and get under an emergency blanket by a fire or into a heated vehicle as quickly as possible. Drinking a warm beverage can also help slowly raise your body temperature and prevent hypothermia. Here's another pro tip. Practice rescue drills with your fishing partner before you go ice fishing. Matt and I practice rescue drills in our yard every year before we hit the ice for the first time of the season. You want to know ice fishing culture because it's important to avoid becoming an annoyance to season anglers and to look less like a newbie. Like any affinity group anglers and ice anglers have a culture and language that's unique to the sport. Watching fishing shows and ice fishing videos on YouTube will help you learn the culture and the language if you don't have a friend or family member that can teach you. So let's learn a little bit about ice fishing and its origins. First, although historians are unclear where and when ice fishing began, the oldest carved lures dating back 2000 years were found among the Inuit, First Nation, and other indigenous peoples of Greenland, Canada, and the United States. Here's a pro tip. Fishing lures are artificial objects of various sizes and colors depending on the species and size of fish you want to catch. Lures are attached to a hook, tied to a fishing line, and made to look like and mimic the behavior of an injured smaller prey in the water. That's what attracts the fish. That and your jigging technique, of course. So let's go back to the origins of fishing. The tradition of ice fishing on Chagan Lake, Chagan Hu, in the Mongolian autonomous county of Ki Gorla, Songgyong City, Jilan Province of China, also claims a 2,000-year tradition of ice fishing, which lasts today. I apologize if I butchered those words. The Ojibwe peoples of the U.S. and Canada occupy land surrounding the Great Lakes region, which includes Ontario, Canada, Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, and Michigan in the United States. The Ojibwe, Chippeway, and Salto peoples used ice chisels to cut a hole in the ice and spear fishing techniques using dark houses and simple fishing rods. Winter fishing became more productive for the Ojibwe when they developed the jig and net technique, which allowed anglers to catch more fish in a shorter time on the ice. About 523 years ago, this gets into a little bit of maybe it's correct, maybe it's not, but I'll tell you the history anyway. About 520 years ago, European explorers learned about dark house ice fishing from the Ojibwe and brought the concept of ice fishing back to Europe around 1500, according to archaeologists. Next, the survival skill turn sport of ice fishing became a cross-cultural winter activity among indigenous folks and Europeans worldwide. However, since the Inuit people of Greenland, Canada, and Alaska also fished 2,000 years ago, some Europeans claim a 2,000-year ice fishing tradition. Although Greenland is geographically a part of the North American continent, it is politically and culturally associated with Europe. However, Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark. Here's a pro tip for the kiddos. Get your children excited about ice fishing while learning about Inuit culture with this fun at-home ice fishing activity that you can find as a link in the show description. As you can see, the origins of ice fishing have a complex heritage. If you catch the ice fishing bug and want to know the world's best places to ice fish, I've included it all here for you. If you ask three ice anglers, ice fishing men and women where to find the best ice fishing, you will likely get two lists. A third person would say it depends on the fish you want to catch. But according to Debbie Hansen of Take Me Fishing, here are the top six places in the world to ice fish. Kangerlusk Ford, Greenland for an extreme fishing adventure. Ice fishing for Arctic Char. This place is at the top of my list, even if I can't pronounce it, for an overseas ice fishing experience. Lake of the Woods, Ontario, Manitoba, Canada, and Minnesota, U.S. are renowned for catching walleye. Lake Simcoe, Ontario, Canada offers yellow perch, lake trout, northern pike, and whitefish. Lake Gogibick, Michigan, U.S., in Michigan's Upper Peninsula is a top lake for finding jumbo yellow perch. Devil's Lake, North Dakota, USA provides an abundance of walleye, northern pike, and white bass. Lena River in Siberia, you can find epic perch or roach on the 11th longest river in the world. Here's another pro tip. Practice catch and release fishing and treat the fish delicately when removing hooks. This practice allows you to enjoy the sport and return healthy fish to the lake for the next angler to catch. It is also a great way to help foster conditions for trophy-sized fish to flourish. If you catch and release it when it's an impressive size fish, if you put it back in the years to come, it'll be a giant trophy-sized fish that you can take a photo with, release it, and get a 3D printed mount of your fish. I want to encourage you to head over to the water for your mental health. Becoming a beginner ice angler is a great way to defend yourself against the winter blues or seasonal affective disorder. Worldwide deaths of despair, deaths due to suicide, drug overdose, and alcohol-related deaths are at record levels. According to the Institute for Family Studies, a Center for Disease Control report stated one in five millennials report having no friends, and 56% of Gen Zers report loneliness in the past 12 months, according to the Institute for Family Studies. In conclusion, you can get exercise, get exposure to sunlight, develop more resistance to cold conditions, and get outside and make friends or spend time with your family by learning how to ice fish, ski, cross-country ski, and ski jar. In conclusion, ice fishing is a fun winter sport that gets you outside, improves your winter resilience, and can put food on the table in an emergency. I hope this inspires you to get outside an adventure alone, but don't ice fish alone if you're new to ice angling, with friends, or the people you love most. Alright, wellness warriors, this is Antoinette Lee, your ride or die host, signing off for now, but I'm not letting you disappear on me. Every Wednesday at 10 a.m. Central, I'm pouring virtual coffee in the cabin on X Spaces, formerly Twitter, and I'm saving a seat just for you. We laugh, we argue, we unpack the latest episode, and we tackle whatever fire is burning in your world right now. No gatekeeping, no fake niceness, just real talk with real people wanting to connect and who are done being dismissed by the sick care system. Join us at 10 a.m. Central, 8 Pacific, 9 Mountain, 11 Eastern. The X Base link drops every Tuesday, so turn on notifications for NNBL blog right now so you never miss it. Raise your hand to jump on the mic, listen in the shadows, or just sip coffee with us. Every single option is welcome. 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