冬季来冰上垂钓

Beat Winter Boredom by Fishing on Ice

Standing on an icy lake. Watching a 10-inch hole all day. Waiting for a fish to bite. It’s a popular entertainment in colder climates in places like the Adirondack Mountains注1.

More than 1，700 competitors spread out across the icy expanse[广阔的区域] of the Hudson River in New York recently. They were there for the seventh annual Walleye Challenge. Contests[竞赛活动] like this that offer cash for big catches are common around the country. This competition combines fish， fun and money.

Participants on the southern Adirondack lake bored[钻孔] holes at dawn and stayed until dark. They kept an eye on their fishing holes from inside windblown tents and comfortable trailers[拖车式活动房屋]. Some simply stood outside amid single-digit[个位数] temperatures.

“This is where it’s at，” said Tim Delaney. He was with his wife， Tina， and their sons. “You’ve got to live the winter and be outside and enjoy it to the fullest or it’s going to be a long winter.”

Ice fishing is often associated with the Great Lakes注2 region， but it is also popular across the higher latitudes. The American Sportfishing[垂钓] Association says there were 1.9 million ice anglers[钓鱼者] in 2011. That is a 12 percent increase from five years earlier. Contests are a way to bring ice fishing lovers together.

The all-day competition offered cash prizes totaling $1，649 for the biggest catches within an hour plus big-ticket[高价的] prizes like a snowmobile[雪地摩托车] and off-road vehicles[越野车]. Though ice fishing is popular all winter， the competition is an extra incentive[诱因] for people to go out.

“It grew into a monster， basically.” Stutzke said.

Fishing holes have little orange flags that whip up[挥动] when a line is pulled. But pulling in a fish takes skill. Bruce kneeled on the ice with the line in his hand. He pulled it in with his bare hands， and then let the fish run out[生命耗尽]. He finally landed a 32-inch northern pike[北梭鱼].

“They’ve got a mouthful of teeth. They’ll snap[咬住] a line with one shake of the head. You can tire them out[使……筋疲力尽] and just slowly bring them in，” Bruce said.

The cash prizes are nice and the competition has the atmosphere of a big party on ice. Even the cold bites more than the fish， few seem to complain.

“The brain gets frozen a little bit， I think， but nah，” Dave Pleasant said with a laugh. “We have fun just coming out and getting together and fishing.”

站在冰湖上，一整天看着那10英寸的小洞，等待鱼儿上钩。在像阿迪朗达克山脉那样寒冷的地方，这是个很受欢迎的娱乐活动。

近日，有一千七百多名参赛者遍布纽约那大面积结冰的哈得孙河。他们在那里准备参加第七届年度大眼鱼钓鱼挑战赛，钓到最多鱼的选手就能赢得奖金。而像这样的比赛，在全国各地很常见。这个钓鱼比赛既能让你体会到乐趣，又能让你抱得奖金归。

天刚亮，参赛者们就在南阿迪朗达克湖钻洞，在那里一直待到天黑。他们在防风帐篷或舒适的活动房屋里密切留意着洞里的情况。而有些参赛者就直接在温度只有个位数的室外站着。

“这就是乐趣所在啊，”蒂姆・德莱尼说。他带上了妻子蒂娜以及他们的儿子。“在冬天，你就要到外面去尽情享受，否则这个冬天对你来说会十分漫长。”

冰上垂钓往往会和五大湖区联系在一起，不过在高纬度地区，它也很受欢迎。美国钓鱼运动协会统计称，2011年有190万名冰上垂钓者。相比五年前，数量上增长了12%。比赛给冰上垂钓爱好者们提供了一个相聚的机会。

这个全天比赛会奖励一小时内捕获最多的垂钓者1649美元以及机动雪橇和越野车等价值不菲的大奖。尽管冰上垂钓本身在整个冬天都是很受欢迎的活动，但这个比赛无疑给大家的外出提供了又一动力。

“总的来说，比赛一年比一年盛大。”施图茨克说道。

当鱼线被鱼拉动的时候，钓鱼洞上那橙色的小旗子就会摇晃起来。可把鱼拉上来也是需要技巧的。布鲁斯手抓鱼线，跪在冰面上，徒手就把鱼拉了上来，然后任由它元气耗尽。最后，他成功钓到了一条32英寸长的北梭鱼。

“北梭鱼满口都是牙。它们只要甩一甩头，就会把鱼线咬断。所以你要做的就是消耗它们的体力，然后慢慢地把它们拉上来。”布鲁斯说。

奖金很丰厚，而比赛就像冰上派对一样。尽管天气寒冷、也少有鱼儿上钩，但似乎没多少人会抱怨。

“我觉得大脑似乎有点结冰了，”戴夫・普莱曾特笑着说。“但我们出来聚在一起钓鱼真的很有趣。”

注1：阿迪朗达克山脉是美国纽约州东北部的一处山地，位于圣罗伦斯河（北）、莫华克河谷（南）、安大略湖（西）和尚普兰湖-乔治湖（东）之间。最高点为马西山，是纽约州的第一高峰。

注2：即北美五大湖，世界最大的淡水湖群，由北美洲的苏必利尔湖、密歇根湖、休伦湖、伊利湖和安大略湖等五个相连湖泊组成，又称大湖，有“北美大陆地中海”之称。