It’s been a lot of years since we have seen good fishing ice on the rivers. The three-week Arctic blast which slammed the Midwest finally put fishable ice on the rivers and brought memories of some good times as a kid.

When I was a boy, we had a streak of “old fashion” winters with bitter cold producing lots of days of thick fishable ice on Big Flatrock River. By fishable ice, we aren’t talking about small, light-line ice fishing poles with tiny jigs and waxworms for bait. No… we are talking about the old time art of snaring suckers.

The snaring holes we chopped with an axe were usually 18” x 24” and positioned over the deeper water of the fishing hole. Small driver holes were staggered back and forth from the top of the hole to within 20 feet or so above the snaring holes. Several driver holes were cut below the snaring holes so the school of fish could be driven back upstream under the snaring holes. The smaller holes were just big enough to allow a driver to shove a stick into the water make some splashes and drive the school of suckers in the direction of the snaring holes.

Squatted over the snaring holes, the anglers snaring the suckers would be equipped with three of four short tree branches with a fine copper wire attached. The copper wire would be in a loop or a noose and have an opening about 4 or 5 inches.

The object was to let a sucker swim partially through the noose. As soon as the head of the fish cleared the noose, the fisherman would give the limb a sharp jerk and pull the fish out and onto the ice. The light copper wire noose would be tight around the fish and look similar to a rubber band tight around a hot dog.

As soon as the fish was on the ice, the angler picked up another snare and prepared to snatch another sucker from the school. Once the school of fish passed, the angler undid the nooses, reformed the loops and dropped the fish into a bucket.

The drivers would start again at the top of the hole and slowly drive the school back in the direction of the snaring holes.

You cannot imagine what fun it is to snatch an unsuspecting 2-pound white sucker out of the water. It is all a kid can do to keep from whooping with glee… but noise would scare the fish. Quiet, stealthy perseverance is what it takes to snare a mess of suckers.

Suckers, despite being a bony fish, are excellent table fare when properly prepared. Scale, cut off the head and remove the entails. The next step is important as suckers are full of tiny fine bones.

Take a sharp fillet knife and cut into the flesh down to the rib bones about ¼-inch apart with the cut running the length of the fish. Make multiple cuts lengthwise spaced about ¼ of an inch apart. Once you have finished making the lengthwise cuts, make cuts crossway from top to bottom. The process is called “scoring” and allows the hot frying oil to penetrate and dissolve the tiny bones.

Rolled in egg and dredged in cornmeal, the fish should be fried up “crispy”; they are delicious. As an extra preventative measure for the fine bones, we always had big slices of buttered homemade bread to make sure there wasn’t a problem.

One of my favorite treats as a kid was getting to eat the crispy fried tails of the suckers. I would eat mine and then gather up the bony remains from the rest of the dinner plates to snack on the tails. For me, they were like crunchy, fish tasting potato chips.

Care needs to be taken when on river ice. River ice is a lot more dangerous and variable in thickness than ice on a pond or a lake. Faster currents will reduce ice thickness while the still flowing areas of the river will hold the thickest ice. Dangerous areas are at the heads of holes of water and the tail waters flowing from the bottom of the hole. The increase in water speed keeps ice minimal at best. The rule is check… check… check, and never assume you are on safe ice.

Shed hunting season

White-tailed deer provide more than tasty venison and magnificent sights. They also help create a scavenger hunt for shed antlers every winter. Through summer, male deer grow a new set of antlers in preparation for the fall breeding season or the “rut.” After the rut, the bucks’ testosterone levels decline and trigger the dropping of their antlers. The antler growth cycle repeats in the late summer as bucks begin growing new antlers in velvet. While shedding antlers each winter, bucks scatter thousands of these “prizes” across Indiana, and they may be picked up by anyone who finds them.

The best time to search for antlers is shortly after bucks shed but before spring green-up covers them and makes them difficult to see. Most bucks in Indiana shed antlers in February or March. Shed hunters should search where bucks spend the most time in late winter, which includes places with food sources and areas with bedding cover. These areas include crop fields, areas with oak trees, food plots and bramble thickets, old fields, or logged areas. As with any other outdoor activity, shed hunters need to acquire landowner permission before entering private property. Try the fun outdoor activity as winter turns to spring to get exercise, explore and find some new home décor.

I once had a prized beagle named Skippy who would retrieve shed antlers and bring them to me.

To find a Fish & Wildlife property near you to shed hunt, visit on.IN.gov/dfwproperties. Remember to contact the property manager for permission prior to collecting sheds on a state park property or state-managed lake. Please note to legally pick up antlers still attached to a skull, you need a permit issued by local law enforcement or a conservation officer.

Upcoming waterfowl watching opportunities

For outdoor lovers interested in watching waterfowl, February and March are excellent times to find a variety of geese in the state. Greater white-fronted geese, snow geese and Ross’s geese (collectively known as “light geese”) are starting their journey to the Arctic tundra of northern Canada and Alaska, where they will breed and raise young.

Luckily for us, we can catch a glimpse of their remarkable journey in Indiana. Keep an eye and ear out for the migration marvel. It often looks like a massive white tornado with black-tipped wings and emits a nearly deafening but thrilling surround sound of honking and yips.

Snow and Ross’s geese often congregate along the lower Wabash River, moving from open water to cornfields as they store energy for the long flight. Large flocks are also common at Goose Pond Fish & Wildlife Area (FWA) this time of year. White-fronted geese can be seen at some of our northern wetland properties such as Kankakee, Willow Slough and LaSalle FWAs. In the lower half of the state, they often stop over at Goose Pond and Hovey Lake FWAs.

To find the most recent sightings of all types of geese and ducks on our state properties, check our weekly waterfowl counts.

Readers can contact the author by writing to this publication, or e-mail to jackspaulding@hughes.net. Spaulding’s books, “The Best of Spaulding Outdoors,” and his latest, “The Coon Hunter And The Kid,” are available from Amazon.com.