If you spot someone ice fishing in late December, you can deduce three things:

■The angler really likes to ice fish.

■The angler is trying to get the last few days out of a soon-to-expire New Hampshire fishing license.

■A sudden cold spell has delivered enough ice for fishing to be safe.

Two or three days of subfreezing temperatures can glaze over a lake in a hurry. The shallow areas freeze first and that’s good, because trout will come into the shallows to feed in the cooler water. This works for ice anglers, because they can stay near shore and not have to worry about going through the ice.

On the Sunday before Christmas day, I discovered a father and son ice fishing just off the Mascoma Lake boat launch. They had set up on the southwestern side of Shaker Bridge. I figured if they were brave enough to trudge onto the ice, I could muster the courage to walk out there to get their story.

Enfield residents Richard Tucker, 64, and his son Michael, 35, immediately reassured me that there were five or six inches of ice in the cove, more than enough for an angler to be reasonably secure. They had already caught a 12-inch brown trout on a live minnow, a great start for the outing.

The weather was perfect for ice fishing. A break in the cold snap raised outdoor temperatures into the 30s. A sunny sky and the absence of wind created conditions that allowed the Tuckers to leave the tent and the heater at home.

“It doesn’t get any better than this,” said the elder Tucker. “We can just sit out here in the open and enjoy the day.”

Like many ice anglers, the Tuckers have abandoned the old-fashioned bobhouse for the more versatile tent structure.

A bobhouse is built from heavier materials. It has to be transported to the lake and then dragged onto the ice, a cumbersome task. A tent can be transported in the back of a truck, easily carried onto ice and erected in a few minutes.

“You can fish more places if you use a tent,” Michael told me. “You aren’t stuck at just one lake.”

The Tuckers got an early start on the season by performing routine maintenance on their gear. They wanted to make sure the line was not frayed. The spool on the tip-ups had to turn easily. And the most important part — the fluorocarbon leader needed to be replaced before hitting the ice.

In addition to the traditional tip-up rig, the Tuckers were using something that was new to me: the Jaw Jacker. I had never heard of a Jaw Jacker before, but then I am not much of an ice fisherman. However, I am always enthusiastic to learn anything new about fishing.

The Jaw Jacker looks a little like the kind of jack you’d find in the trunk of a car. The device is designed to hold a traditional jigging rod over a hole in the ice. It can be rigged with a lure, a minnow or a combination of the two.

Three things make the Jaw Jacker unique:

■It jigs the lure automatically, bringing it up and down so the angler doesn’t have to sit over the hole and jig by hand.

■When the fish strikes, the device sets the hook automatically.

■Since the hook set is quick, the fish is hooked in the mouth, making it easy for catch and release.

I watched the Jaw Jacker jigging mechanically, hoping that another trout would clobber the bait so that I could see the end result of the process.

But alas, the trout didn’t seem to want to bite with me watching. I have that kind of iffy relationship with trout. Either I skunk out, or I catch my limit.

The Tuckers have been fishing local waters for years. When I asked if they had any advice, they replied that they always brought along a hand augur in case something went wrong with their battery powered augur. They got stuck once before when the automatic augur broke down and they had no way to drill holes. A day of fishing got ruined by a technical glitch.

As winter sports go, ice fishing is very family-friendly. In addition to setting tip-ups and jigging rods, there are other activities to be enjoyed by those who do not necessarily like fishing. Snow can be cleared away from the ice to form a smooth surface for skating or hockey. Cross country skiing is also an option. Add lunch, and you have a winter picnic.

And don’t forget — the 2019 fishing license expired on Dec. 31, so be sure to get a new one before you venture out.

Coleman Stokes can be reached at stokecoles@gmail.com.