let me know how this reads-giving a speech on ice fishing:
I love ice fishing. i could stand up here for hours on the subject..but since this speech is timed and the objective for speech 3 is get to the point, i boiled my interest in this sport down to 3 talking points. You may not be asking me if you can come with the next time I go, but my intension is that by the end of this speech you will gain insight as to why I love to ice fish.
Opportunity plays a big hand in my love for ice fishing. If you live in Arizona, you may not get the opportunity to ice fish. Growing up from Michigan, 5 miles away from Lake St. Clair, one of the greatest fisheries in the world, cold winters and good fishing opened up plenty of opportunities to be introduced and participate in the sport.. When I moved to Ohio from Michigan I thought that my ice fishing days were numbered at best.. But after some investigating, there is good ice to fish on in Ohio and plenty of options to boot. It helps to have an awesome wife that allows the opportunity to ice fish as well.
Access. With opportunity comes access. Access to God's country. Now you can access God's country when it's warm out too, don't get me wrong. But for an angler without a boat, access is limited to how far and accurate you can cast a bait. It's frustrating to know that if you could just get you bait a little bit farther out, or around that tree, then...then you would be in the hot spot. During the 3 months in Ohio that you can ice fish, you can access those spots and more. Assuming safe ice is present, you can walk anywhere you want to...and the kicker is you aren't walking on land...your walking on water. As a Christian, this is pretty cool. Even as a non Christian, I remember it being pretty cool as well. Access to fish in God's country is the 2nd reason why I love ice fishing.
And my third and final reason as to why I love ice fishing is success. Without success initially and throughout the time frame that I have participated in this sport, my interest would have surely dropped from loved, to like, to did it while I was young but don't do it now. I have been blessed with a good mentor to show me the ropes when I was 15, and success from then on. I am now a Pro-Staffer for IceFishOhio.com and took 2nd place in my first ice fishing tournament. Success has made me love this sport as much as I do today.
In conclusion, when given the opportunity, the access, and some success, you too may become in love with ice fishing.
