Fishing Fun

    As the temperature continued to drop on Friday night my mind continued to spin about going ice fishing on Saturday morning.  It dipped down to negative 24 degrees before climbing its way back above zero around 7 AM.  Since I could hear Mike rummaging around in his fishing stuff I took a wild guess that we would still be going ice fishing no matter what the thermometer said.

     By the time everyone was loaded and ready to go the temperature had crept up to around 14 degrees and the sun was shining.  They say getting there is half the fun and when it comes to ice fishing I have to agree.  With Abby sitting behind me and a sled behind our machine we made our way across the frozen Saganaga Lake.  A few snow drifts on the lake and zero slush made for an uneventful ride to our fishing hole.  

  As soon as the snow machines were turned off everyone got to work.  Except for me, I just wanted an open hole and a rod in my hand.  I was jigging in no time and soon everyone was giving it their best shot.  After trying every hole for 5 minutes I decided the fish weren’t biting and joined Mike and the kids by the campfire near shore. 

     Out of the wind it was quite pleasant so we sat on snow couches and roasted brats in hopes of a shore lunch.  Pretty soon everyone had gathered for a bite to eat and enjoyed their beans and potatoes minus the fish.  I made the executive decision I would be leaving to head home.  That was until Justin got a fish on. 

   Hope renewed I headed back out to a hole to try my luck again.  Others returned to holes and before long my brother-in-law John had a fish on and on the ice.  Justin had another bite and I was getting anxious.  I moved to a hole closer to them and jigged with all of the heart and soul I had.  It didn’t seem to matter what I did because those fish had a preference for Justin and John’s holes.  Resigned to that fact I again decided to be on my way and that time we did leave.

     My sister with my niece on the back of her machine and me with Abby on mine pulling the sled we retraced our path and made it back home.  When the rest of the crew returned we learned John indeed had the lucky hole and was able to hook into a 3rd Lake Trout that he was generous enough to let Josh reel in.  Josh was ecstatic of course as was everyone else to see his happy face.

     The temperature warmed up to 31 degrees and the day turned out to be a perfect one for fishing.  I may not have caught a fish but I nabbed another experience for the memory bank, a day of fishing fun.