Would anyone care for an introduction to ice fishing? The temperature of late has certainly suggested that such might be in order but the usual cartoon of a guy fishing through a hole in the ice can be far from the truth. As is the case with most things, there is a better way to indulge your passion for angling, despite the fact the water is frozen.In locations where ice fishing is a recognised pastime it is big business with all possible modern conveniences. The site usually consists of a hut (nothing too shabby, mind) with an ice floor with a suitable cut out. The hut is heated and can have luxuries such as flat screen television, a beer cooler (go figure) and easy chairs. There are often dozens, if not hundreds, of huts set out on the frozen surface of a lake. Chances are you can drive your truck or car just about to the front door.Best of all, they actually catch some decent-sized fish remember this is freshwater fishing, so something in the eight to ten pound range is more than respectable. Keeping the fish or fillets fresh should not be a problem….There is an actual tourist-oriented industry that specialises in ice-fishing in places like Minnesota, northern Ontario and even South Dakota. While most Bermudians are unlikely to revel in such proceedings, there is the occasional sport who wants to try something different. Just remember to bring your woollies!To up the temperature a few degrees (well, about 40, if the truth be told) and we are back to what passes for winter fishing in Bermuda. Not that there has been a whole lot of that this last week or so when the gales have dominated the proceedings.With the chill in the air, bottom-bouncing on the Banks is the standard operating procedure. For various reasons the preferred venue is Challenger although Argus can be just as good. One supposes that part of the argument is that Challenger is closer and allows for an hour or more extra fishing time.Then there are those who argue that the “morning feed” or first light fishing is best, closely contested by the “afternoon” or “evening” feed. To be honest, it doesn’t seem to make much difference as it is all a bit catch can at best. Drifting is the norm and the secret is to be able to get back over the area when the boat travels over a vein that yields up a few bites. The theory is that where you get some bites, there will be more fish. So, if you can travel over the same spot again, then you should get more bites. Shrewd operators will take into account any tidal motion in addition to the direction of the wind to determine where the boat was a few minutes before. The really sharp guys simply enter a waypoint into their GPS when they get some decent bites and then rely on the electronics to get them back to where they were.This technique actually works quite well on the so-called “floating fish”. Ambers and bonitas and gwelly tend to occur in schools or pairs if they are large, and will generally stick to a single area rather than follow a baited line that is moving away from where they are.If you think about it, they are where they are for some reason; be it bottom structure or a concentration of potential food. Who leaves a good thing to follow something that may eventually amount to nothing?And so it is with the fish: repeated drifts over the same location can produce multiple bites of decent bonitas or ambers, often in the 12 -14 pound range. It doesn’t take too many of those to fill up a fish box and you can count on the odd hind and a bunch of coneys to provide colour and variety.Trolling can be boring at the best of times and right now it will be. But, for the purist, there will be the occasional wahoo strike. The dolphin that were offshore will probably have decided that things are a bit too chilly and meandered off to find warmer waters but the wahoo and any yellowfin that have been in the vicinity will likely remain here through the wintry months. Actually, some large wahoo have been caught here in the winter with at least one record holder having been caught within a few days of Christmas. Large, as in ten pounds or better, mackerel (little tunny) have also made a statement during the so-called off-season and anyone hooking into one of those will definitely be amazed when the obviously forty pound Allison, turns into a twelve pound mackerel when boated. They can really pull!Blackfin tuna, despite being recognised as a tropical species, also spend their winters here, adding credence to the belief that they are a resident rather than migratory species in local waters. They can be chummed, as can yellowfin, along with robins and mackerel even at this time of the year but the problem is usually finding a clement tidal situation. Rough weather often upsets the ocean in such a fashion that it can take weeks to return to some sort of normality, and chumming in windward or changeable conditions tends to be unproductive.Reef fishing is close to home and the same species that inhabit the Banks will behave in pretty much the same manner. Ditto the problems with the currents for chumming and drifting is considerably more work. Anchoring up and balling down should get some results but there are less desirables such as chubs and breams that put in an appearance. In shallower channel waters turbots can be a welcome catch, provided cleaning or filleting them is not a deterrent.So the fishing is not at its best. Who cares, because you are probably not going to get offshore anyway? Even if the weather turned perfect for 48 hours, there are simply too many seasonal distractions and requirements to allow anyone the luxury of the eight to ten hours that a fishing expedition requires. And who wants to wash down a boat and get wet when the air temperature conjures up visions of snow or ice not us byes!For most of us, the next couple of weekends will consist of hectic shopping, decorating punctuated by partying, eating too much, imbibing too frequently and recovering. Given that it is that time of the year, the sportsman will have to rely on memories and dreams for Tight lines!!!