A Day of Fishing

On my day off, I was selected to go fishing with the scientists. The group is the Petzel group that consists of a dad and his daughters. He is studying the glycol protein levels in the fish and how this level keeps the fish warm in the 28.5 degree F water. Our job was to catch as many fish as we could in the allotted time.


We rode in a piston bully across the ice about 22 miles away. The piston Bully can only travel at about 12 mph so it took almost 1.5 hours to get there. The actual one I rode in did not have the trailer on the back. The cab can hold 6 people and gear. It has 2 bench seats in the back so it's kind of like riding while sprawling out on a couch.
We went with the 2 daughters, Anne and Jill. We also had a gal from the NSF, a guy from vehicle maintenance, Trish from the fire house and myself.




It was really windy but clear. Trish and I tried to get the wind to hold us up while leaning into it. We almost made it 45 degrees. They say it was 25 degrees F above with a 20-30 knot wind. The wind chill took it to about -30 degrees F.





First we had to drill 2 new holes. The drill makes a 4 foot hole in the ice. They drive a loader across the hole to move all the snow and ice away, then drag the hut over the top.

We drilled a total of 4 holes but keep hitting some rocks before we make it through the ice.

We ended up fishing at a place called Cape Evens. It sits out on the ice and will only be accessible for about 2 more weeks before the ice melts. I was hoping to get another chance to fish, but the project ends Dec 2.




While they were moving the huts, we walked to Cape Evens Hut where Shackelton's group lived for almost a year. The cross is dedicated to another group of men who did not survive.

There is a shack at the bottom of the hill but is considered a historical site and we are not allowed to go there without a guide.

Fishing out here is like ice fishing in MN except there is no hockey or football game on and we were not allowed to bring any beer. We use a barbed hook and 2 nuts as weights. The bottom is only about 13 feet down. These particular fish are bottom feeders.

Inside the ice hut we caught about 25 fish. The were all pretty small, under 10 inches but it was what the scientists wanted. They are some kind of cod species and really are quite ugly. They end up going back to the lab alive where they take blood samples and eventually are dissected. We use the dissected parts as bait.

I also caught a star fish. We put the star fish back. They say they have never had anyone actually hook a star fish.

As we were leaving, the jelly fish started arriving in the hole. This made for a great day off!