First trip out, January 22..this date had been set, but this also was the day of Chicago's first big snow storm in a long time.
As I drove up the expressway through horizontally blowing snow and followed the tire grooves cut by previous cars, I thought of Chevy
Chase's words as he stood at the edge of the pool in the movie Vacation - "this is crazy, this is crazy.." Driving wasn't nearly as
bad as I thought, since most people were smart and stayed home ;o)
Paul drills some holes while Scott checks the depths
As you can see we were in white out conditions - you can barely make out the treeline on the other side of the lake. With the
snow quickly piling up in drifts, we picked an area that had produced in the past, but more importantly was as close as possible. No
motorized vehicle of any sort is allowed on the ice, so we pulled the heavy sled with the shelter and gear, maybe fifty feet at a time,
which pretty much just plowed through the snow >_<; The wind also managed to blast snow into every open crevice around your hood and jacket.
Scott and Paul further assess the location - "we ain't moving"
A rare break in the blizzard, as Paul enjoys a beer. But a peek to the right shows it's coming back!
Actual sunshine! Note the holes and lines icing up
Unfortunately the fish were not cooperating, and with the conditions we did not have the wherewithal to search for them. Maybe it was
fortunate that things were quiet, otherwise we would have stayed too long. The trip back was brutal, as the snow was higher and the
wind seemed to be directly in our faces. Burned out quadriceps and burned out lungs, whoo hoo! Oh well, in another couple of weeks..
February 5, "The Pre-Super Bowl Ice Fishing Jamboree.." A mere two weeks after the blizzard, we had seen some of the
mildest weather, with temperatures in the 50'sF, including this day. All of that snow insulated the ice pretty well from the sun,
and we still had more than enough solid thickness underfoot.
A bluebird day, with lots of sun, warmth and SLUSH
Mark B's son Christopher with the first fish, a nice walleye
The first decent fish was caught on a tipup right when we arrived, as Mark and his son were the first there and were setup. Unfortunately,
this walleye would not be joined by more, but that's okay.
Livewell slash insta-cooler™
Paul deftly drilled a hole where just the tip penetrated through to the lake, filling the hole with fresh cold water. Then a few more
shallower holes were fired in and voila! Instant live well and cooler. Beverages were popped in as needed for super cooling, especially
useful with the warm sun.
Ross with his first ice-caught fish, a wee perchie
Mark D's daughter Hope with her first ice perch
Tim drills another hole (can't have too many ;o)
Tipup and jigging pole
A second hole was drilled near some of the tipups for light spike and jig setups. Sometimes a suspended and swimming large shiner
attracts other fish, an ideal location for dropping down a light rig. Resulted in lots of mini perch - darn things never got much
larger than the shiners <_<
Adults looking at the flags, kids running around - everybody is finally settled in
Scott going double-barreled with two jigging rods - kind of washed out but I like the desolate look
Myself and Paul enjoying a mid-day soda
Late afternoon shadows and silhouettes
The warm sun made for true comfort. It also created a lot of surface water and slush - unfortunately some of the kids had boots
that didn't quite keep the water out. The resulting soakers made for a shorter day for the youngun's.
The best story of the day was yet to come - John had a large shiner and jig set up with a rod holder and his best ice spinning
outfit. However, he had it set with a closed bail and a tight drag. Suddenly he let out a loud, long, blue string of invectives
that was heard clean around the lake (lucky the kids were already gone ;o), as he watched his setup, holder and all, disappear down
the hole! Paul sprung into action and got his underwater camera - to our amazement we were able to see the rod. Trouble was figuring
out exactly where it was sitting. After six or seven new holes, Paul lowered a weighted treble hook down the right hole, as he skillfully
snagged the rod. Whoa, the fish is still on! After John reached down into the icy water for his ice rod, he was so elated that he handed
it to Paul and said "take it, the fish is yours dude!" Paul gladly battled and reeled in..
..a nice 27~28 inch pike, with jig firmly in the corner of its mouth
John got to at least hold the fish too
Retrieving the rod is one thing, but we were all pretty thrilled about the fish, which was quickly slid back into the deep. And John
is pretty sold on underwater cameras too.
Scott with the last fish of the day, another nice pike
Well fellas, when the spool was quickly emptying, I just knew that..
The last fish was caught on a crappie minnow and jig. Scott had the line wrapped around an empty bottle and through the dark just
happened to glance over and noticed the bottle was down. A quick grab of the rod and fish on.
By then we were pretty spent and called it a day, a great day at that. Until next time..
|
