By Joe Cermele

If you stop and think about it, many common American angling practices have been borrowed from other countries. Fly fishing has its origin in England. Many lures for muskie were copied from designs used by European pike anglers. Some of the most universal marlin tactics were derived from Australian methods. But now I say it's time we adopt the South Korean ice fishing strategy.

To be honest, I didn't even know it got cold enough to freeze massive bodies of water in South Korea. Not only was I mistaken, but people flock to the annual South Korean Ice Fishing Festival in numbers greater than Minnesota's Eelpout Festival. Now, any good ice fishing shindig in the U.S. usually features a polar plunge through a hole in the ice. Well, over in South Korea, not only do they jump in, they stay in and catch cherry salmon--a.k.a. mountain trout--by hand. When you watch this, please pay special attention to the gentleman who attempts to quiet his hand-caught trout by biting its head off. I don't know if that's standard procedure, but it's funny enough to send milk through your nose if you happen to be drinking it. Anyone up for trying this? - JC

Comments (11)

from buckhunter wrote 2 years 3 weeks ago

Dang that looks cold. Interesting rods they were using.

I think if the US adopts anything it should be the name "cherry salmon" which we could give to the lowly carp.

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from Bella wrote 2 years 3 weeks ago

Korea not cold! Guess you never heard of Frozen Chosen. Nothing stops the cold coming out of Siberia, when I was stationed over there I saw it get very cold indeed.
Still when I ice fish I'll stick with my tip ups. I drown much too easily.
But it do get very very cold in Korea, and Koreans love fish, I didn't know they loved it enough to do the polar bear swim for it though.

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from gdmtnbkr wrote 2 years 3 weeks ago

mmmmmm fish head, delicious!

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from idduckhntr wrote 2 years 3 weeks ago

Was that guy using a flyswatter for fishin pole?

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from seneca_slabs wrote 2 years 3 weeks ago

What a wild video! I like the guy eating the fish, i like mine a little more cooked!

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from cverstrate wrote 2 years 3 weeks ago

I'll stick to tip-ups, thank you.

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from MLH wrote 2 years 3 weeks ago

South Koreans do like to have fun, even in the face of annihilation from the north. I bet the cooked fish is pepared hot and hot (spicy) ... with a side of kimchi. Um, good. If they could breed fish to be naturally spicy they would.

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from Ruckweiler wrote 2 years 2 weeks ago

I just know that those guys who jumped in the water HAD to have loaded up on Winter Kimchee. My Dad was at Chosin Reservoir in 1950 and I was there in 1978 for cold weather training. Cold is what Koreans do.

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from Beekeeper wrote 2 years 2 weeks ago

Cold? What cold? Pass the Kimchee...

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from Drew Steven Knoop wrote 2 years 2 weeks ago

I've saw that same rod in stores, I always thought it was a fly swatter though.....

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from amsulli27 wrote 2 years 1 week ago

Awww man, I wanted to go to that so bad, but the boyfriend was on a field exercise and didn't want me going by myself...boo! I'm stationed here in Korea and I'd have to compare cold here to the Crazy Mountain Range in the dead of winter...less snow but more cold!

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from seneca_slabs wrote 2 years 3 weeks ago

What a wild video! I like the guy eating the fish, i like mine a little more cooked!

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from Drew Steven Knoop wrote 2 years 2 weeks ago

I've saw that same rod in stores, I always thought it was a fly swatter though.....

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from buckhunter wrote 2 years 3 weeks ago

Dang that looks cold. Interesting rods they were using.

I think if the US adopts anything it should be the name "cherry salmon" which we could give to the lowly carp.

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from Bella wrote 2 years 3 weeks ago

Korea not cold! Guess you never heard of Frozen Chosen. Nothing stops the cold coming out of Siberia, when I was stationed over there I saw it get very cold indeed.
Still when I ice fish I'll stick with my tip ups. I drown much too easily.
But it do get very very cold in Korea, and Koreans love fish, I didn't know they loved it enough to do the polar bear swim for it though.

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from gdmtnbkr wrote 2 years 3 weeks ago

mmmmmm fish head, delicious!

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from idduckhntr wrote 2 years 3 weeks ago

Was that guy using a flyswatter for fishin pole?

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from cverstrate wrote 2 years 3 weeks ago

I'll stick to tip-ups, thank you.

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from MLH wrote 2 years 3 weeks ago

South Koreans do like to have fun, even in the face of annihilation from the north. I bet the cooked fish is pepared hot and hot (spicy) ... with a side of kimchi. Um, good. If they could breed fish to be naturally spicy they would.

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from Ruckweiler wrote 2 years 2 weeks ago

I just know that those guys who jumped in the water HAD to have loaded up on Winter Kimchee. My Dad was at Chosin Reservoir in 1950 and I was there in 1978 for cold weather training. Cold is what Koreans do.

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from Beekeeper wrote 2 years 2 weeks ago

Cold? What cold? Pass the Kimchee...

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from amsulli27 wrote 2 years 1 week ago

Awww man, I wanted to go to that so bad, but the boyfriend was on a field exercise and didn't want me going by myself...boo! I'm stationed here in Korea and I'd have to compare cold here to the Crazy Mountain Range in the dead of winter...less snow but more cold!

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