A Return To Ice Fishing
Crankiness, exhaustion, and a filthy house are usually signs that we haven’t had a chance to go fishing. We get busy, we don’t get enough sleep, and we have no motivation to do anything. On Sunday, Darrell and I decided to fix these symptoms, ignore everything else, and hit the ice.
Driving south through thick flakes of snow, our moods began to lighten and a feeling on anticipation took over. I don’t care to admit how long it had been since I last wet a line; let’s just say I was overdue.
Ice that ice? And a fish? It’s about time!
Arriving at the lake I found myself falling into the familiar pattern of dressing for the ice. I added my fleece upper layer, pulled on my floater suit, stepped into my pillow-like Baffin Titan boots, strapped on my ice cleats, gathered my hat and gloves, and draped my ice picks around my neck. The routine is automatic and much loved. Despite my initial resistance to ice fishing, it now provides me with a wonderful mechanism for relaxing.
While exclaiming that he really enjoyed leaving the hut at home and having only the small sled to pull around, Darrell started drilling some test holes. Yes, there were other anglers on the ice, and I had heard reports of 12-inches of ice, but we don’t relax until we’ve checked for ourselves. The new auger with sharp blades sliced through the ice efficiently, leaving a pile of ice chips to be cleared away. Deciding the ice was safe for us, we continued walking out.
My first venture onto the ice each year always finds me a little apprehensive. I edge around pressure cracks, scan the ice constantly for signs of weakness, and make sure my ice picks are out from under my layers of clothing so I can reach them quickly. After a few outings I’ll settle down, though I never really trust the ice.
I was so excited to be out there that I actually took the auger from Darrell and started drilling holes. I don’t normally offer to drill holes with the manual auger. We kept drilling until we found solid lines on the fish finder, indicating a school of crappie. Then we set it up rods and started fishing.
Some days the crappie bite is on fire and you can do no wrong. Some days you have to cycle through different presentations before they start biting. And other times, the little buggers do nothing more than check out your lure and swim away. That was the type of day we had on this outing. Despite seeing them come in on the finder, it was difficult to convert those lines into bites.
Lack of bites did nothing to dampen my enthusiasm. The longer I was out there, the more I realized just how much I had missed ice fishing. We drilled holes, watched finders, changed lures, changed techniques, chatted about fishing, and just enjoyed the outing.
Darrell managed to get rid of the skunk and land a few crappie, nothing big, but they were very much welcomed after such a long break from the water. Fishing fast and aggressive really didn’t work, only the finesse stuff fished slowly could coax a bite. For what it’s worth, it was mid-afternoon before we got to the lake, and it had clearly seen a lot of action that weekend (although mid-afternoon is usually a great time on this lake). Maybe they were slow for everyone, maybe it was just us. I didn’t care.Before leaving home I had told Darrell we would have to leave the lake at a certain time. We left at least an hour after the stated time, and I was the last one to pack up. I have no willpower when it comes to fishing.
Now that we’ve been back on the ice, I can’t wait to get out again. I’m hopeful that our weekends will again involve multiple fishing trips and the smiles that come from a day on the water. This Saturday I’ll be on Lake Simcoe (for the first time!), helping with the Ice Fishing 101 for Women seminar – it should be a great event. And Sunday…well, the appeal of chasing slab crappie through the ice usually takes over, so I’m guessing a lake with crappie in it might be in our plans.
The crankiness and exhaustion have abated, and the house is actually a little cleaner. Ahh, ice fishing…I love it!
argosgirl
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Sounds like that was fun
Thanks, it was! Ice fishing is great!