Ice Fishermen: Some Like It Cold

PUEBLO, Colo. —  It’s cold out there. The wind’s blowing, the days are short and the house is nice and warm.

Let’s go fishing!

That’s what excavation contractor Rick Jerman says. Since 1979, the lifelong Puebloan has hit the ice, cut a hole and probed the abyss for fish and fun.

“I really enjoy it,” said Jerman, 47. “In the middle of the summer, I’m waiting for December.”

Jerman, who fishes year-round and not just on ice, said the activity affords him a little psychological jump on winter: something to look forward to rather than dreading the cold, dark months.

He fishes within a couple hours’ drive of Pueblo, in the San Luis Valley, at Eleven Mile Reservoir and in South Park.

“It’s uncrowded, as you might expect,” he said. “And you can catch a lot larger fish, and have cold storage right there.”

He catches salmon, trout and pike, but returns most of them to the icy depths.

Jerman said it’s not an expensive hobby as some might think.

“You have to have warm clothing, and I use the same lures, same as always,” he said. “I have a power auger, and that’s the way to go. I started out digging my holes with sharpened bars, but when you’re talking 2 feet of ice, that takes some time.”

The state mandates no more than a 10-inch-wide hole, Jerman said, and his auger cuts an 8-inch hole. This year, he purchased a shelter.

“It makes it nicer,” Jerman said. “It can get real nasty, and with this I can take the kids.”

But, he said, when the temperature is in the teens and the there’s no wind, it can be nice on the ice.

“When it’s nice and the ice is clear, I lay out a blanket and watch the fish swim beneath the surface,” he said. “It gives you an idea how fish behave.

“You’re more or less invisible to them. They don’t get spooked or anything.”

Tony Marfitano owns T&M; Sporting Goods on Lakeview, basically a “fishing shop,” he said.

Ice fishing is a rapidly expanding sport. “It’s growing a hell of a lot; it picks up more and more each year.”

Marfitano said there are 1,000 ice fishers in Pueblo, “minimum.”

“You use a light line, four pounds maximum,” said Marfitano. “For bait, not too much, mainly a little jig, grub worms, give the fish a little something to warm to, a little odor.”

He said shelters are de rigueur, because, “That wind is colder than heck.

“But it’s really a popular sport here.”