As customary with most NJ OWL outings, the week before the trip we watched the weather carefully. We wished for temperatures that would result in ice thick enough to be able to support us but not so cold that we risked frostbite and be forced to cancel the one opportunity we had. When it looked like Mother Nature would cooperate, we began to question our sanity, after all most people would be curling up indoors with a favorite book and a steaming cup of coffee on a frigid January day. Outdoors women would not let the chance to don our warmest layers and have a close encounter with a fish.

The rush was on! The experts had decided the ice was thick enough and the temperatures would not be too cold to risk frostbite! Excitement mixed with trepidation. Some of us scramble to get fishing licenses at the last minute, all the time wondering if there are crazier people than us, who would be out there checking for these licenses!

We all meet at Lake Musconetcong ready to be instructed in the finer details of ice fishing by Keith Griglak. Keith has a fisheries degree from Cook College and established and was president of the first college chapter of Trout Unlimited in the US.

Also on hand was Keith’s father, Joe, who demonstrated how to set up the tip-ups. A tip-up is basically a self standing frame with a reel, line and hook that can be set over a hole. Tip-ups must be labeled with the name of the person who it belongs to, because regulations only permit 5 lines per person.

Once we covered the basics of ice rods, which are short and soft action, Keith explained what types of bait we would be using, "mousies" (a larval form of a fly) was the choice for this day. We promptly baited our jigs and tip-ups. Keith demonstrated the use of a power auger, a gas powered hand held drill, which will be used to make the hole in the ice. He explained that if you slow the power of drill when it breaks through the ice it will save you from getting splashed. An important point since staying dry is key to staying warm. Using the auger was not as difficult as it appeared at first. The other option for making the holes is a combination of a hand auger and a "spud" a device resembling a chisel at the end of a pole that is used to punch the ice in a circular pattern until you break through the ice.

At last, we began fishing and within a short time we were catching fish! Yellow perch and bluegills and even one chain pickerel - the excitement could have melted the ice! I had often seen people looking frozen on the ice sitting on their buckets staring into the holes waiting for the fish to come along.