Ice fishing in canoe country......now that would be awesome. As a former ice addict it is only something I occasionally reminisce about now as I sit at this very moment in short sleeves and shorts watching the palm trees gently sway in the breeze ;).

Surely you jest about the box of shells and rifle to ward off bears which are hibernating and wolves which are fat and sassy after eating their fill of deer. I like the idea of a 22 though to maybe plink a grouse and have a redneck "surf and turf".

I'm thinking I wouldn't need no stinkin shanty (although I certainly liked mine back in the day) but a heated sleeping tent would be the cats meow. But with the right gear and a few above zero nights a fellow could go hardcore and just pitch a tent.

Lots of Crown land a fellow could go to as well. Places hard to get to in the summer and not to fer off the road might be the idea in the winter......just trudge right over the swamp. Sounds great to me........lots of nifty gear now to. In the old days we would bushwhack into some pothole and start drilling holes and checking depths......lots and lots of holes. If I didn't get a bite in 15 minutes I was off drilling another hole. In 1975 I remember drilling holes on my hands and knees.....I had "Popeye" forearms and some pretty stout shoulders by spring that year. Those were the days, lots of fun!