Fishing the WildSide on ICE

For the first time ever in the history of television, there will be a fishing show dedicated solely to the rapidly growing sport of ice fishing. Who better to bring that to the world than Chip Leer, Jeremy Smith and the rest of the Fishing the WildSide crew?

The program is called ‘Fishing the WildSide ON ICE’ and it will broadcast from October through December. “It gives me chills that we are the first company ever to take ice fishing to a full slate of shows,” Leer said, not making a pun with the ‘chills’ comment.

Ice fishing has gone from something a handful of companies thought about on the side, to a major sport full of exciting new developments and products on an annual basis. There are anglers and companies today that focus solely on the sport of ice fishing, which was unheard of just a decade ago.

The time has come for ice fishing to be presented to the world and Fishing the WildSide will do it in a way like no other. The show is a celebration of how far the sport has come and the crew at Fishing the WildSide is honored and excited to be the ones to stand up and show the world the excitement around ice fishing.

The world will truly be tuned in to the program because in addition to airing on Fox Sports Net North, the show will air on the American Forces Network which has 1,000 outlets in more than 175 countries and U.S. territories, and on board U.S. Navy ships. Our country’s servicemen and women will be able to watch Fishing the WildSide ON ICE wherever they are stationed including the deserts of Iraq.

Ice Fishing the WildSide will focus on targeting and following a variety of fish species from early ice to the spring thaw. Viewers will see ice fishing is more than just chasing bluegills on the pond around the corner.

More and more people are traveling across the continent these days to chase their ice fishing fantasies, much like open water fishing. Fishing shows featuring tropical species have created a lot of interest in those species and locations, and Leer said the same thing can be done with ice fishing.

Sure there will be plenty of segments on walleye, crappie and bluegill--the staples of ice fishing. But there will also be segments on the trophies of ice fishing including the king of the ice, the lake trout.

Criss-crossing the continent is fun to watch, but in the end, viewers want to know how to do it themselves and this will be a focus of the program. Fishing is fishing, ice or open water, and the program will demonstrate how the viewers can go out and have a ton of success on the ice.

The production quality of the show is phenomenal utilizing underwater footage and spectacular videography. Our production team is exceptional and includes Jason Lund, Theresa Timmerman and Irv Schreiner. They are true masters of the trade when it comes to camera work and video editing. Special guests on the show include industry experts, professional ice anglers and local experts from a variety of destinations. Similar to the Fishing the WildSide program, the show is broken into two main fishing segments with short educational vignettes.

The show will also highlight the latest and greatest tools of the trade in the ice fishing world. Sponsors of the show include MarCum Technologies, StrikeMaster Ice Augers, Otter Outdoors, Northland Fishing Tackle, BIOSONIX, Berkley Gulp!, and Berkley Trilene.
I'm not sure if any of you saw this show, but it's pretty good. Beats watching HGTV!

Fishing the WildSide ON ICE will debut Sunday October 2, 2005 at 11:30 AM CST on FSN (Fox Sports Net North), and continue Sunday’s at 11:30AM CST through December. Additional airtimes and networks listed at www.fishingthewildside.com

“Fishing the WildSide ON ICE is simply answering the call for something that I think was inevitable—it’s time to show the world that we aren’t living in the dark ages and that ice fishing is anything but an antiquated sport that’s done because we are cold and bored,” Leer said.

To learn more about Fishing the WildSide and for air times of Fishing the WildSide ON ICE visit us at www.fishingthewildside.com. We encourage you to drop us a line and offer your input on the show and what you would like to see in the future.

The world is watching.