Ice Ice Fishin’
Drake, me, and a couple of buddies got on the ice for the first time this season today. The weather was nice, about 35, and the wind had lightened up which made it a terrific day to be out.
We set up an arc of tipups about 100 feet apart all around us, using circle hooks and dead bait, then got set up for panfish jigging. I had a bunch of custom ice flies I was dying to try so we put these on and tipped them with a small grub called a spike. One such fly, believe it or not, is a modified bonefish fly tied on a number 12 dry fly hook. Now I’ve got the fly purists and the saltwater guys laughing at me. Oh well, what’s new?
We caught about 15 or so nice bluegills and crappie, and one giant redear sunfish that had wonderful tropical colors. We released everything. Nothing hit on the tip ups, which was somewhat a surprise, as dead bait tipup fishing with circle hooks is pretty effective. Though we enjoyed each other’s company, laughed at each other and Drake, overall, I’d say it was a slow day. Several people who fished other lakes confirmed this the next day, saying their catch was down significantly.
Drake was his typical nutty self. We just got out of the car when he decided to run into the woods a bit. That would have been ok, but he ran right over a big a big burr bush, and ended up with several bunches on his crotch, belly, chest, and under his front leg pits. Don’t know if you’ve ever tried to get burrs off a golden retriever, but those babies burry in deep. I decided to get them out later, but he started biting, pulling, and swallowing them (dummy). I finally stopped him from that, and just in time, as he started coughing because the burrs were stuck in his throat! He finally got them washed down by eating ice chips.
He got his fish licks, and even stuck his nose in the ice hole up to his eyeballs and blew bubbles when we’d let the fish go. He actually loves ice fishing, and how he keeps from getting tangled in lines and stuff I’ll never know. Though you can count on Drake getting into some mischief every time, he’s awesome to have along, and adds so much to every outing. I’d never think about leaving him at home - even if it means spending an hour here and there cutting and combing burrs out of his fur.
