It’s hard to imagine a place unfamiliar to most people in this day and age of instant access to boundless information and even virtual reality.

For the most part, we are been-there-done-that people. Few experiences are beyond our reach.

But for Tyler Woak, the opportunity is fast approaching for him to experience again his passion for otherworldly fishing with a level of joy that few can even begin to appreciate – and that’s impressive for a young man who literally lives and breathes fishing.

Woak is a man who could go fishing every day and never tire of it. He’s fished this year from the waves of Lake Erie to the waters of Ohio and Pennsylvania to the cypress-lined lakes of Central Florida where he joined Destin DeMarion to earn fourth place in the B.A.S.S. Team Championship.

Success comes often for Woak, but it is ice fishing that really lights his fire. We asked him, “Why?”

“Out on the ice is a whole world nobody knows about,” Woak said. “Some days, it’s a lot of work and I don’t catch anything, and I wonder, ‘Why am I doing this?’ But when I land on them in the middle of winter, I say, ‘Man, this is what it’s all about.'”

He loves ice fishing near home in Niles and out on the white expanse of frozen Lake Erie.

“We go out to Catawba Island and take two steps out on the lake and you don’t know if you’re on the moon or whatever. Stepping foot on a great lake is the most unbelievable thing I know. It’s special, more so than any other kind of fishing.”

Woak has a unique perspective about the work and risks associated with ice fishing.

“For me, the real feeling is like when somebody looks out their door and thinks, ‘There’s no way somebody is fishing today.’ We have a good group of guys I fish with, like Tony Baragona, who is 83, and any time I feel a little sore and he says he’s going, I’m going. He taught me how to fish in bad weather. Also Rick Henninger, Nathan DiGiacobbe and Shawn Gross. It’s us versus everybody else out there.”

Woak’s fascination with ice fishing began around age 12 when his father, Y-103 Classic Rock DJ Fred Woak, took him to Mosquito Lake in February.

“To me, the first time I saw ice fishing, I was amazed. I didn’t know you could fish in the winter. I always assumed when the fall bite was done it was over, but, really, a lot of times when the ice gets on, they really start feeding again.”

Young Woak was itching to get out on the ice.

“Dad got me an ice rod and introduced me to his friend Rick Henninger (Fish & Field Report publisher). We went to Pymatuning. That first time, pulling the sled out there, it hit me: This is fishing. I loved the cold, the silence, and the sense of openness and adventure. We drilled a hole, dropped a line, and the first fish was a 14-inch crappie. That totally opened up a new world for me: This is what I want to do.”

Winter waned and as spring progressed to summer, Woak longed for the next ice-up.

“I kept thinking in the back of my mind, ‘I want to get out on the ice.’ It’s great when everybody is catching them in the summer, but when you walk out in 0 degrees, you really feel you’re accomplishing something. When nobody else is out there, we’re catching them.

“Crappies are my jam but I also like going for walleyes. I catch some nice largemouths, too.”

As one would guess, Woak is looking ahead to the upcoming ice season.

“A lot of people think they are diehard anglers – I’m the biggest fisherman ever – but when you’re out there on the ice, it’s like you’re the last man standing. It’s an unreal feeling. It really is my adrenaline factor.”

Jack Wollitz is the author of “The Common Angler,” a book that explores the “Why” behind anglers’ passion for fishing. To contact Jack, email him at jackbbaass@gmail.com.