Wednesday, November 23, 2011

A New Season Begins

It's here, early ice on Henry's Lake.  Fishing is always stellar just after the lake first caps, but it can be a bit sketchy with newly formed ice.  Today we trekked a fair distance to a secluded section of the lake, using a pick axe along the way to check the thickness.  The area we traversed and fished, as far as we could tell, was a uniform 3 to 4 inches thick.  However, there was an annoying 2 inches of slush/water on the ice where the fishing was good.  We ended the day with plenty fish brought to hand, and our boots full of water.  Didn't see that coming, fortunately it was a remarkably warm day.  We didn't even set up the Quickfish 6 until the afternoon, which we only did for a place to bask in extra comfort. 

All in all it was an awesome kick off to the ice fishing season.  The only bad part is that I have so little time to get away to fish it when it's hot.  I have a 7:45am chemistry class to thank for that. 

Cutties, hybrids, and brookies... oh my!




There is something about watching the fish and seeing the take that gets your adrenaline going.  I wish I had gotten it on video but I was a bit preoccupied.  We are pretty spoiled to have ice fishing shelters that are so easy to set up and portable.

 Nothing beats the pattern of a brookies back.  It's almost primal.











The sun setting to an excellent day.  I can't wait to get my 4yr old on the ice and hooked into some Henry's goodness.  It will be soon, I will MAKE time for it to happen, even if chemistry has to take the backseat for the day.