All Things That Grow Have Roots

ne Young Savant—Meanwhile, an ice-crazed angler (now legendary) named Dave Genz was trying to figure out a way to turn his obsession and knowledge about ice fishing into a career. “I’ve always had such a passion to ice-fish that I don’t even understand it. I absolutely love it and feel like I have to be out there on the ice, preferably every day,” Genz says.

“My dad and uncle Gene (Lease) were ahead of their time as far as the gear they used, along with their ice-fishing methodology. I simply expanded and expounded on the things they created and taught me, which eventually allowed me to make a living in the ice-fishing industry.”

Genz and his family were the originators of the Fish Trap flip-top shelter—today’s most popular design. “The first year we decided to try selling our Fish Trap shelters, my wife Patsy sewed a total of 5 canvas tops,” he explains. “The next year we convinced her to sit and stitch 20 more. But by season three, after I asked if she could hem about 80, she applied the brakes. To our surprise and my wife’s delight, we found a shop that could make as many as we wanted for less money.”

Meanwhile, Genz teamed with Stange at In-Fisherman to write several groundbreaking articles about new concepts in ice fishing. He also helped with In-Fisherman’s Ice Fishing Secrets book. “As payment for my contributions, they gave me free advertising space in the magazine. The combination of the ads and being featured in the magazine catapulted our business, formerly known as Ice Fishing Systems,” he claims. “Instantly we were shipping stuff all over the country as fast as we could get it out the door.”

Genz can also be credited for introducing anglers to the first ice-box (now the Genz Pack from Vexilar), which allowed anglers—for the first time ever—to bring their electronic flashers onto the ice. He’s invented several ice lures, too, like the FatBoy, Pounder, Genz Worm, and Genz Bug. And what about the first graphite ice rods, made available from Thorne Brothers? Yep, they were built for Genz to sell through his business. These are just the tangibles. His fishing concepts, observations, and methods continue to help all anglers find and catch fish.

Truthfully, you can still use a hand auger to drill a hole over a known spot and catch fish using a stick-pole, bobber, and some bait. But to evolve as an angler requires passion, knowledge, skill, and experience. Getting your mitts on the latest and greatest equipment—along with having a mental grip on the best ice-fishing methods—is going to enhance your ice-fishing days.

Evident throughout the pages of this season’s Ice Fishing Guide are the combined efforts of ardent ice-fishing messengers, businessmen, and ice-crazed anglers—like Stange, Grahl, and Genz—dedicated to ice fishing. We honor our deeply rooted passions, here.