With winter comes snow and with snow comes ice and with ice comes ice fishing.

In the middle of the Austin Mill Pond, two small houses sat on the frozen white pond Friday. Laughter from inside escaped the tarp-like walls and for a moment it appeared as if the small houses would fly away with the wind.

In some far away tropical culture, the ritual, sport, hobby or whatever one might call it, could be seen as something completely unheard of -- and even deranged.

But not here, not in Minnesota, not in this latitude. For in places like Minnesota, people adapt and make the best of the cold climate.

For the last 20 years, Kent Gerlach, for just about every winter weekend, has sat in the middle of a lake for numerous hours and patiently waited for a fish to bite on small hyper-attractive shiny minnows that wiggle around in the same exact spot.

"I love ice fishing. I do it for the same reasons some people bake cookies or do any other hobby. This is my hobby," Gerlach said.

Inside the tent, his friend Randy Berry and Randy's two sons, Travis, 12, and Dustin, 13, sat around holes in the ice, sharing the affinity for the activity.

The wind beat on the walls of the tent making the bottom of the lake creak as if it were cracking. The two men and two children didn't seem scared, but rather, quite comfortable.

A small heater kept the four occupants of the ice house warm and a fish locater and depth finder announced the presence of fish with a moving needle.

Though temperatures have been warmer than usual, the lake has managed to freeze making a nine- to 10-inch thick layer of ice.

Incidents of at least 40 cars, and snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, other vehicles and fish houses falling through the ice have been reported by the Department of Natural Resources. The recommended thickness by the DNR to support a person is four inches. For a snowmobile is five inches, for a car is 12 inches and for a truck is 12 to 15 inches.

"It took a while this year for the ice to get here this winter," Randy said, as he looked into the hole in the ice that went down 14 feet to the bottom of the pond.

By noon the men and two children had managed to catch two northerns, one crappie and a bass since they had arrived two hours earlier. They did not keep the fish, but threw them back in the water.

"It's kind of defying the elements because it can be 10 below and you're out here," Gerlach said.

At times like this, when the weather has not been conducive to the activity, Gerlach and others who ice fish, use a long metal stick and a poker to test the thickness of the ice.

Berry has taken his sons along for the last couple of years.

"It is fun. It gives us something to do," Travis said.

Conversation is interrupted by an Ice Auger, the oversized drill-like machine burrowed into the pond making perfectly round holes on the sheet of ice.

The three men outside, with no tent, prepared their hooks and lines to begin fishing.

"It's a little warmer today," said Brad Mondeel as he crouched down to fix his fishing line. His uncle John, dad Carl Mondeel and he drove from Hollandale to fish.

"We'll probably be out here until one of us says, 'It's too cold, let's go," John said.

With no tent, the three men braved the cold until around 5 p.m., catching a bass and a crappie and missing plenty more.

-- The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Roxana Orellana can be reached at 434-2214 or by e-mail at :mailto:roxana.orellana@austindailyherald.com