IN THE UPSTAIRS ROOM of a small town southern Minnesota bar, I found myself drawn to the neon beer signs decorating the dark walls underscored by corrugated tin. The signs add an element of kitschy art to this space at The R Bar in Randolph where a group gathered for a holiday work party, Randy and I among them.
Next to the slim cooler holding an assortment of mass-produced beers and a few other drinks, I spotted neon signage that is about as Minnesotan as it gets—a bundled up ice fisherman pulling a fish through a hole in the ice, beer beside him.
Winter in Minnesota, if this would be a typical winter, finds anglers pulling fish houses onto lakes or sitting on overturned 5-gallon buckets to fish through holes drilled in the ice. But this has not been a usual winter here with temps (before this week) above normal and many lakes remaining open rather than frozen over. Several weeks ago, 122 anglers had to be rescued after ice broke away from the shore on Upper Red Lake in northern Minnesota. Following that, law enforcement officials restricted motorized vehicles from driving onto the lake until the ice consistently thickens to support motor vehicle traffic.
I recognize this all sounds a bit odd to anyone unfamiliar with ice fishing. Vehicles, and we’re not talking just recreational vehicles, we’re talking mostly pick-up trucks, are driven onto the ice as anglers head for the hot fishing spots on our frozen lakes.
I myself engaged in the sport of ice fishing some 40 years ago, pre-children. Randy and I would sit inside his friend Jerry’s small ice shack warmed by a portable heater, play cards, drink beer and drop our lines into holes drilled through the ice. As the hours passed, we watched for our bobbers to tip in the frigid lake water, indicating a bite. I don’t remember catching many fish. But I recall the unsettling noise of cracking ice as Randy drove his Chevy pick-up truck across the icy lake and as we huddled inside the tight ice fishing hut.
Much has changed through the decades. Fish houses have grown in size to almost mini cabins complete with kitchens and bunks to sleep overnight. This is a serious sport, big business in Minnesota. Of course, for those with more limited resources, tent-like pop-up portable fish houses remain an affordable option as does sitting on a cooler or a bucket under the winter sky.
I doubt I will ever return to ice fishing. It doesn’t appeal to me like it did those winters, oh, so long ago. And I don’t trust the ice like I did back in the day when I was younger, less prone to considering ice thickness and safety. I’ve lived enough Minnesota winters to believe the warning, “No ice is ever completely safe.”
But I still celebrate ice fishing and its importance in Minnesota. It’s a favorite winter pastime/sport, especially for guys who seem intent on bonding over beers. It’s an important part of tradition and of our economy.
And, on this January evening, ice fishing is also an art form. I found it, here in The R Bar, the neon image of an ice fisherman glowing in this space of pool tables, tabletop shuffleboard, dart boards, high-top tables, a shiny wood-grain bar top, and a slim cooler holding Minnesota-made Grain Belt and other beer. This is winter in Minnesota, defined not by the light snow falling outside the bar, but by a neon symbol of fishing through a hole drilled in a frozen lake.
© Copyright 2024 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
it is a very special undertaking and it looks so cozy these days. in northern Michigan it’s still popular, but I’ve never tried it. as close as I’ve come was walking across a lake at midnight under a full moon on ny eve a few years back (with very thick ice), and it was amazing
Walking across a frozen late under a full moon sounds absolutely beautiful. I figured Michigan folks were also ice anglers.
yes, absolutely and I’ll never forget the ice walk
Thin ice, no thank you. 🙂
One Minnesotan has already lost his life this year while driving an ATV on ice that was too thin.
That’s awful! 😦
These tragedies on the ice occur several times each winter in Minnesota, sadly.
At your suggestion, I watched “Grumpy Old Men” to gain a little insight into ice fishing (and Buffalo plaid). Said fishing seems to be as much a part of Minnesota’s sense of self as are “cold” and “snow.” But I’ll leave the actual doing of it to others. 😉
I’m glad you watched “Grumpy Old Men,” which features ice fishing and, as you note, buffalo plaid. I assume you’ve purchased some buffalo plaid in an effort to blend in and also to stay warm. Ice fishing isn’t for everyone.
Love the ice fishing neon sign. Made me look up to see if there are any neon sign museums…none in MN but Ohio and Las Vegas.
Fun to know you went ice fishing once upon a time….
I wanted to steal that neon ice fishing sign off the wall of the R Bar. Owner Nate told me a lot of people want that sign. It’s just so Minnesotan and I also really like the art a lot. Yes, once upon a time I ice fished.
When I first moved to Wisconsin in 1994, I truly thought that the neighbor’s kids (contemporaries with me) were pulling my leg when they were talking about ice fishing. “That’s not a thing,” I thought, “well, maybe in Alaska!”
But yet the conversation continued…without the usual side glances that might indicate a joke. They were serious. I wondered what the heck I’d gotten myself into moving to the Midwest!!!
I didn’t know you lived in Wisconsin before Minnesota. Or perhaps I forgot. Now you live on a lake with easy access to fishing. Have you tried ice fishing? I’m guessing not.
No, ma’am! But I’d go visit an ice house if anyone were to ever invite me!
My parents moved to WI after Pan Am went bankrupt. Dad flew a medical helicopter out of Duluth for a few years but they lived east of Superior, WI. I stayed with them for about a year prior to going to Bethel seminary.
Your Wisconsin story now seems familiar. So, yes, you’ve told me. I simply forgot.
I bet there’s someone in Worthington willing to invite you into their fish house.
I bet I could wrangle an invite if I so desired, yes! But not this year,
I doubt. Ice is not safe at all yet this year.
Ice conditions should improve after this cold weather.