It's No Good Til It's In the Pan

Way up here in northcentral WI., ice fishing is a big sport, family fun, survival of the fittest. First, it takes desire, next warm, very warm clothes, head to toe and boots that will keep those tootsies toasty throughout your ice fishing day.

I love to eat the fish that are caught, I will gladly fry them up the way you want them, but I am not particularly excited about sitting on a bucket in the middle of a snow-covered lake, wetting a line down a little 4 to 8 inch hole in the ice, just to catch a fish. Call me crazy, but I do not care to freeze like a popsicle in a matter of minutes, in fact, I guess it really isn't fair to make an assessment since I never, not once,have ice fished.........so, I sent my son. He loves to go.

This was yesterday's minimal catch,........today, his uncle went along and they fished two different lakes and threw back the only keeper........but, as they say, it was the company, the stories, the nice day of 28 degrees and exploring a couple small lakes they could walk to the fishing hole.......of course, now they had to drill those fishing holes with a hand auger. After all, they just walked a mile to get to the lake., then to the middle it. Good thing it was only about 42 acres. That's an easy trek, normally, but factor in carrying your supplies, tip-ups, jig poles, bait, folding camp chairs, backpack of water, thermos of beef broth, survival kit, (just in case), and a snack or two for the afternoon.

Uncle took the lead, since the nephew had offspring, as he said, throwing nephew the truck keys, just in case he went through the ice. Yikes. Afterall, these were lakes with springs in them, even open water along the edges. Out in the center of the lake, the water depth was 20-some feet, but thank goodness, there was 14 inches of safe ice to hand-auger through.....exhausted from the walk and the excitement of the day, the holes drilled, let the fishing begin.

The remainder of the photos are from the 'net', internet, not fish net. The picture above and below are a pretty accurate scene of what the boys did today, walked out onto the lake, drilled a hole with the hand auger, set a tip-up, or used a jig-pole and fished.
These two fellas are just 'nuts,' idiots, but very dedicated to the end of the melt. It even looks as tho they have a pretty good tan going on yet, too. Can you believe this? And to think there actually are some die-hards out there.
In the middle of winter, in the middle of nowhere, when there is not a blade of green grass to see or a leaf on the trees, this is one of the chosen ' good times ' up north.

A Fisheree, whether for a good cause, or just for fun, is not an uncommon event waiting for spring thaw. You must understand, our winters can go as long as 6 months.......so, pull up a chair or a bucket, scoop the ice crystals out of your freshly drilled hole, and fish awhile.

Go to upnorthwithmel.blogspot.com and check out the upcoming JDWarrior Fisheree, a fisheree for a good cause, for Suicide Awareness. It will just take you a second to get to UpNorthWithMel. She's my sis, and does a great job putting this event on with the rest of her hubby's family. Then, get in the truck or your car and take a drive to the event....don't forget your snowboots, warm clothes and that jig pole.

Yessiree, this is fishin'

I love this cartoonage~~~it reminds me of the GrandLoves~~~LOL
Even the birds~
and the dog get into the act~~~~I'll git'em fer'ya
Now, put me in one of these log cabin ice shacks and maybe I won't notice I'm on a lake of ice.....
or something like this for a quick get-away~~~
But there ya have it, My Fear Factor
Are we having fun yet?
How about now?
There is a deadline, as to when ice shacks, vehicles and people, have to be off of the ice depending on the rate of spring thaw, but there is always one out there that the rule just doesn't seem to apply. Then it's their responsibility to remove the sunken obstacle out of the northern waters by another deadline, that comes along with a hefty fine for not paying attention in the first place.

I'm so glad our guys, so far, have not had to learn the hard way.

Seriously, get out there and play in the winter air. So, if you are squeamish about going on the ice, no matter how thick it is, go sledding, skiing, cross-country skiing, skating, snow-shoeing, hiking, heck, just build a snowman or build a fort or an igloo. Whatever you do, get outside. Breathe the fresh, cold air. Go fishing through the ice, I'm going to try it this year. Dad used to say the fish are no good until they're in the frypan. He was right.

Thanks for listening to me carry on and on and on.

Do check out Mel's blog about the Suicide Awareness Fisheree at www.upnorthwithmel.blogspot.com

and

BlessYourHeart