Here Fishy Fishy

When the weather started to cool off this past fall I started to get the itch for the ice fishing season. Fortunately the weather cooperated but unfortunately our family's busy schedule did not cooperate. We either had recitals, basketball tourneys, or other commitments that prohibited me from getting on the ice. That is just the way it goes sometimes.

After all the dust (and snow) settled we found a Sunday afternoon with not much going on. Cole and I decided to try it out for the first time this season. So we started to get all the supplies together and loaded in the van. I filled the auger and decided to start it up before we head onto the ice. Pull, sputter, pull, pull, pull. Expletive! Again and again. This was very frustrating since not more than 3 weeks earlier when I got all my gear organized and ready to go I had the beast running on the second pull. I tried and tried until I ripped and blistered piece of skin off my hand through my glove. By this time my neighbor had just opened his garage to start snow blowing his driveway when he saw me yanking on the auger cord. He came over and visited about ice fishing for a few minutes and told me to take his auger out. He said he wasn't gonna use it that day (he was going to the Vikings playoff game). Frustrated with my own used auger by now I accepted. So Cole and I finished loading up and headed off to get some bait.

We ended up at Forest Lake #2 off of Willows Point (Cole's choice since we've had luck here in the past). I pulled up to the lake access and noticed many trucks, cars and ATVs out on the ice. I don't like to bring my vehicles out on the ice (even when it is pretty thick). Its not that I have really nice vehicles but the fact that I cant afford to replace them. So Cole and I parked the van and unloaded the sled. We pulled the sled a few hundred yards out and randomly picked a spot to set up camp. It was pretty cold out there (1 above). I brought the Ice Cube and the propane heater. Once set up we started to get to the fun part...fishing. Right away we both had strikes but we both were rusty. It took us a while of feeding the fish until we caught on and caught one. It was not super busy but we continuously had something hitting our line. We sat out there talking, visiting and praying for the fish to bite. It was fun to be out with Cole and talk about a few things. Cole's feet started to get cold and he was getting hungry. I convinced him to stay out a little longer and we snagged a few more fish. It was getting even colder and colder. I remote started the van and after a little bit I sent him ahead of me while I finished the tear down of the house. That was one long cold walk back.

All in all we went home with 9 fish (5 crappies and 4 sunnies). We threw back at least as many as we kept. It was fun to finally get on the ice!