Ice fishing is a great way to keep the angling season going, and there are many different methods. Some ice anglers prefer to set up a fishing shack, while others will sit out in the open with their rods and ice jigs, braving the elements. However, a recent YouTube video posted by Sophai Fishing shows a different approach to rural ice fishing, yielding fantastic results.
In the video, two men are standing in front of an ice fishing hole with some sort of red coat or blanket covering the opening. The first man rapidly strikes the top of the covering with a pan. He yanks it off with just as much expedience, and the second man gets to work. By swirling the net around, he creates a whirlpool effect. In the video, the method yields quite the haul.
However, viewers were pretty skeptical of the practice, especially because the fish were so still. Most of the comments believed that the video is fake, and they either stocked the hole with dead fish or used some dynamite or other explosive to kill the fish first. One commenter writes, "Never seen fresh fish out of the water so perfectly still," sparking a long debate from other viewers. Many agreed some were confused, but a handful explained its theory. One comment said, "They have concussions. He knocked them out." Another commenter writes, "He's stunning the fish. It's what orcas do to eat large groups of fish."
Perhaps the best explanation comes from a viewer who broke the process down, writing, "I mean the ice over the water makes it so an impact on the water instead of dissipating into waves it transfers all the impact energy into the fishes causing them to be stunned. The orange jacket provides shade, and fishes think safety from above, so they would migrate there. It's literally like shooting fish in a barrel. Don't need to hit any fish it just stuns them, and they float to the top to be caught with a net."
They might be on to something, or they might be tricking us. What do you think?
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