One of my favorite winter pastimes is spearing for pike. Some call it “Norweigen Television and others describe it as “Duck Hunting through a Chimney”. Once in the darkhouse the hole in the floor glows from all of the surrounding light on the ice. Spear Holes are usually about 2 foot by 3 foot so you have a fairly narrow of window of opportunity to bring a pike into the hole to spear. To me spearing for pike is much more like hunting than it is fishing, you have to be patient, quite and move slowly to position the spear above the fish to get a shot. Sometimes the skirt just outside the hole, sometimes they zip by too fast for a shot and other times they creep in allowing you a chance to spear them.
The first time I was introduced to spearing it was from a classmate in college, one day while talking ice fishing he told me about darkhouse spearing and how to do it. I asked him to take me but he didn’t have a house so I went to work and built a 4 foot by 6 foot darkhouse with a rectangular hole in the floor, it was put together in haste but seemed to fit the bill. I placed it out on lake Bemidji and invited my friend to join me. He showed me the basics cutting a hole, setting up decoys and how to throw the spear. After that day I was hooked and spent many hours in between my classes staring down the hole of that spear shack. I’m a fish nut so the big draw was not only the chance to spear a nice pike but to watch minnows, crayfish and a variety fish swim through and get a glimpse of their underwater world.
Spearing can be done from a darkhouse, most are nothing special just a wooden box with no windows and a hole in the floor and a wood or propane stove for heat. It can also be done from a portable iceshelter with all of the windows closed up to keep light from penetrating. Holes can be cut with augers, ice saws and a chainsaw with vegetable oil for bar lube. I like to set up along a break line on the outside of a weed edge where pike will roam in search of prey, green weeds will attract bait and pike are sure to be nearby. I usually set up fairly shallow so I can see the bottom especially if it’s murky water. Once the hole is cut you can either push the block under the ice and out of the way or pull it out and leave it on the ice, I prefer to pull the block with a pair of tongs or by hand and set it outside the house. Next get all of the ice out of hole using an ice scoop, mesh net or strainer. I like to use a live sucker on a harness for the decoy as well as a wooden decoy to jig. The live sucker adds some realism and will get nervous as a pike approaches giving me an indication when and where the pike may come from. The wooden decoy gets jigged in circles and can attract curious fish from a distance, once they show up I stop jigging the wooden decoy and slowly grab my spear and place it vertically in position. A decent spear should have some weight to it and is usually 5 to 7 sharp tines wide with an eyelet to tie a rope and fasten it to the wall. As a beginner you don’t really need to throw the spear as much as releasing it to let gravity take over, with enough practice, you can do angled shots but I prefer a sure thing when it’s in the hole. Try to stick the fish just behind the head and through the gills for a lethal shot, leave the spear upright holding onto the rope, the fish may thrash around and by holding the spear upright you can keep it pinned to the bottom until it’s run out of steam. Carefully lift the spear and fish back up, throw it on the ice or in a bucket and celebrate your catch! Here in west central MN we can keep 10 smaller pike up to 22″ or two fish over 26″ in the 10 fish bag limit or one “oops” fish between 22 and 26″
A few things to keep in mind, it’s dark under the ice so we try to keep our dark house devoid of any light, even the smallest shaft of light can spook a wary pike. Don’t make any loud noises or sudden movements and even a drop of water on the surface can alarm a fish so I like to keep my spear head resting on a lip of ice on the edge of the hole underwater. Some pike may dart in a grab your decoy and I have even pulled the back in the hole and speared them at point blank. My job is to “protect the decoy at all costs.” After removing your spear house mark your hole by placing a branch upright so someone doesn’t accidentally step into a large hole.
I like to fillet my pike using by taking the slab of back meat off to expose the “y” bones and then fillet each side, I cut the strip of “y” bones out and freeze them in water until I get enough to make a batch of pickled pike, the vinegar dissolves the bones and they make for tasty treat.
Spearing through the ice spans back for many generations and is a unique and enjoyable way to spend some time on the ice. If you are looking to give spearing a try it might be best to rent a spear house for a day and if you’d like to learn more about the sport check out the MN Darkhouse and Angling association http://mndarkhouse.org// or go to one of their local shows in Grand Rapids, Alexandria or Perham MN to see the finest decoy carvings in the nation and to talk spearing with master craftsman and avid spearfisherman.
