Family Day Fishing
Family Day here in Ontario is one of those weird holidays – some places are closed, some are open, This year I was one of those lucky people with the day off, but Darrell was not. Since I wasn’t going to have the major part of my family with me, I had planned to spend the day working from home and catching up on paperwork. A few technical glitches later and I felt my motivation waver as the sun began to beckon me.
The sun proved too alluring and outside I went. After spending a couple of hours with the horses and playing with the dogs, my thoughts turned to the inevitable – I wanted to be out fishing. Fortunately, Darrell felt the same way, and after a few texts we agreed to hit the ice when he got home. Since it was Family Day, we decided to include some other members of our family, our two dogs.
Molly and Jack getting ready for their first fishing trip of the year.
We don’t normally take Jack and Molly ice fishing because a typical day on the ice for us is just too long for them to be out in the cold. In fact, this was Molly’s first trip out on the ice and I had no idea what to expect from her.
Knowing the dogs could be a handful, we decided to go old-scho0l for this trip – a couple of buckets, two fishing rods each, a fish finder, and a small selection of lures. Taking that gear, plus the auger, was easier than dragging the hut out while trying to keep the dogs and their leashes from tangling us up.
Traditionally, going old-school means using the ubiquitous 5-gallon white bucket. I don't have any of those. I do, however, have lots of flat-backed horse buckets.
Darrell getting settled in for an evening of fishing.
Right from the start, Molly was thrilled with the wide-open space to run. She was even more excited when she started sniffing around holes from earlier in the day. I think she may have found some leftover bait. The sound of the auger drilling holes spooked her at first, and she made sure to avoid the snowmobile that was running across the lake. I knew she was feeling relaxed when she started drinking out of the hole Darrell was fishing in.
Jack settled down quickly, as was expected. He enjoys sitting beside the hole and waiting for a fish to be pulled out. Unfortunately, he was disappointed on that count tonight. Despite several hits and some action on the fish finder, no fish agreed to be caught tonight.
Night fishing for crappie is definitely an area I need to work on. While I can find them on this lake during the day, once the sun starts going down I can’t seem to buy a good bite. It’s something to work on and hopefully I’ll figure it out soon enough.
Despite the lack of fish, it was a great night on the ice with my family. Molly and Jack spent their time chasing each other and running from hole to hole, and when I decided to lay down on the ice to look at the stars, I was greeted by two crazy puppies jumping on top of me and giving me kisses. All-in-all, my Family Day turned into a great day with my family, out on the ice doing what we like to do best.
argosgirl
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It’s good that you got out with the “kids” for a while. I love dogs out on the ice, trying to lick the scales off a perch, chasing off gulls etc., but I often worry about them getting hooked up.
Jack has gotten hooked a time or two, usually while on the boat. Fortunately, he’s a great patient and lets us get the hook out and keep on fishing. Molly would be less accepting. I was careful to keep the hooks in the bucket, under the gloves, or in the water.