Okay guys, I'm a Hoosier but some of you are Northlanders. How do you fish in this extreme cold and how do the fish respond to the -15? Wow!

I don't know that the cold affects the fish a whole lot. A change in pressure will. Unless it is nice out, I use a portable fish house and a heater. I can fish better in the heated house and my gear works better. The reels and line work great in the house. The rods eyes do not ice up. Plus you do not have to keep the holes open. And you can take off all the heavy clothes. The only problem is you are not as likely to move once you are set up.

I wouldn't call -15 extreme cold, at least not for most of Minnesota. In northern MN thats just regular cold and happens rather frequently all winter long.

In those temps a good portable ice house and buddy heater will keep you fishing just fine. I just don't move around as much as I would if temps were above zero.

If you want to talk extreme cold then we're talking about the -30 range. In those temps really the only way to fish comfortably is inside a nice hard sided fish house with the heat on. I've spent many nights out on the ice in sleeper houses when temps were -30 to -35. Fishing in the house is just fine considering the inside of the house is probably 70 degrees. You do have to be more mindful of the trucks to make sure they start the next time you need it.

As for the bite I've caught lots of fish when its -30. Like most days the bite is usually dependent on weather systems coming or going so if the cold comes on the heals of a storm the bite can slow but its not really the cold that did it but rather the storm system.

being in a potable under 0 , isnt the best experience in the world add some wind and it gets worse, no floor worse again , yes if you have very good boots/gear it's doable , been there done that .
as far as catching fish in extreme conditions , as DW said more a pressure thing not temp , i have caught some very nice pike in -15+ conditions and eyes too.
good gear (permanent shack is a + for sure , doesnt need to be fancy just a shelter but you need a good vehicle for on and off the unbeat'n road ;) unless you want to hang with all the pan fisherman ?

The insulated pop ups keep pretty warm these days. As with nofish, I don't really move around when its that cold. Just find a spot and bank the house up well with snow and a good heater will keep you warm. I also agree I don't notice a difference in the bite. We were fishing up on hoist bay last year when it was -20 and the bite was very hot. We fished with tip ups out in the open but did have a hot tent to warm up in every now and then.

+1 to all the above.....I have a piece of closed cell foam for 2 people to place their feet on in the pop up. Makes a difference not having your boots on the ice for hours at a time. Keeping batteries for electronics warm can be hard also. Not bad once the shack warms up, but for travelling across the ice, I throw a hand warmer in the ice ducer kit next to the battery. Take the batteries off your drill augers too and keep them in the heated shack.(if you use those kind). Bank the snow up around your portable.....any draft or breeze through those kills your heat. Water temps dont vary much......like others said, it's barometric pressures. Leading edge of a low......I'm always checking my phone weather app to see what the pressure is doing.

If you have the right gear cold weather 0 degrees on up isn't too bad to fish in. It gets much colder then that and I'm starting to think ice tent. The major problem for me in colder weather & being outside is my rod tip freezing up. Like everyone it's the fronts that effect the bite not the cold.

I was always an impatient ice fisherman......no bites in twenty minutes and it's off to drill another hole. None of this power auger stuff for me.......no wonder I have highly developed shoulders ;-)

I remember one winter in the 70's where I ended up on my knees to finish drilling holes........gnarly winter.

mastertangler: "I was always an impatient ice fisherman......no bites in twenty minutes and it's off to drill another hole. None of this power auger stuff for me.......no wonder I have highly developed shoulders ;-)


I remember one winter in the 70's where I ended up on my knees to finish drilling holes........gnarly winter. "

An impatient ice fisherman is usually the one catching the most fish.

I usually start each time on the ice by picking out a spot on the map and drilling 10-20 holes that cover whatever bit of structure I may be fishing. I can then hop from hole to hole in search of fish. If i don't find them in those holes I drill 10-20 more and continue the process until I find them or run out of time. If I do find them then I have an idea of what depth they are at or how they are relating to the structure so I can more precisely drill more holes. That lets me move around and pick off the active fish or to stay on a school of fish that is moving up and down a break or moving from deep to shallow at prime time.

I also started with a hand auger but I've since wised up. I've hand drilled too many holes through 3 feet of ice. Now you couldn't pry my kdrill away from me.