ice fishing

[Richard Lyon]

Stolen from a story on Slate about Ice Fishing

Then Tom told us his favorite recent ice-fishing story. On a warmish day a young father was sitting by an open hole, pulling up dinner while his 3-year-old son played nearby on the ice. The father was hitting fish after fish, and he would unhook them and toss them behind him. As each one landed, the little boy carefully picked it up, walked to the next open hole, and put it back. "Finally the guy finished, turned around, and saw he had no fish," said Tom. "I never laughed so hard."

[LCronkite]

My favorite ice fishing story was told on a Johnny Carson show many years ago:
Seems there were 2 guys ice fishing in this little shack on the ice and the old guy was catching fish like crazy while the younger fellow wasn't catching a thing.
Finally the young man asked, "I've been sitting here all morning watching you catch fish and I haven't caught a thing. How do you do it?"
The older fisherman mumbled something and the young guy said, "I'm sorry, I didn't hear what you said. Why are you catching all these fish and I haven't even got a nibble?"
Again the senior fisherman mumbled something and the other man said, "Hey can you speak up! I'd like to know why you're catching fish and here I sit right next to you fishing out of an adjacent hole and not catching a thing?"
This time the old guy put his hand to his mouth and spit into it and said, very clearly, "You've got to keep your bait warm!"