My ice fishing year was tough. The knee high snow made dragging the trap out difficult and with my motivation lacking a ton for getting out I think I managed 4 times out on the ice. Once for perch with Tony, Chevy, Andrew and Anthony, Rob and even the famed RJ made an appearance. From this trip I tagged along with Rob and Pat and met Brandun out for a few days on the ice at Quinte. As he usually does RJ predicted giants, but day one was well tough feeling the bites.
Actually day one was great for everybody but me. Everyone got into good numbers and good size, Brandun got his pb, I just couldn't buy a bite! Day two was much better for me, and a lot slower for everyone else. Funny how that works. I think from here saw me trudge in the slush twice on muskrat and that's about all I could take!
Beginning of the soft water season saw me doing some maintenance and upgrades on the boat. New bilge pumps and new leaf springs on the trailer which then was accompanied by new tires. Then I replaced all the bunks and carpeting. I also sold my old scotty riggers which had served me well over the last 8 years however I always disliked the way in which they cranked ( over the top as opposed to the side crank) I got the new cannon 5st riggers with pedestal mounts. Sweet riggers with a great retrieval speed.
From here it was time to hit the river for some crappie action. Hit the water with my dad, brother in-law, nephews and Owen. We had fairly good pickings for the few times we got out.
Bass opener was a little bit different for Tony and I this year. In fact it was more silver than usual. For some reason we decided to hit port hope early this year in hopes of timing it right. Well we didn't, we plugged away all day and only came up with this one fish. Still a great day out on the big lake!
My bass opener saw me out on the St.Lawrence with my buddy Phil. While we missed the prime temps for bedding fish, the one we did find was a dandy and my new pb at 5.9!
From here the order becomes a blurr. I remember taking a ride with my buddy Don for the first time in his new boat! Ran great and we even got a few casts in!
Spent a lot of time in the pool with the young lad. It was tough getting him out if it every night!
Squeaked in a few laker outings on Big R with Tony
I got my father in law out for a half day, and while no giants were caught I remember him saying I have never caught so many fish in a day, maybe my whole life!
Some random pics:
My buddy Rich got this dandy of a pike on the St.Lawrence while chucking cranks for smallies. This pic really doesn't do it justice!
Also spent the day aboard the LUND with Christine and RJ. I managed a few but Cope stole the show with a few of these beauts!
The one thing that was new to me was getting my young guy out in the boat. I think we had 5 trips out total. A few times with Don and his lads, and a couple of times with just the two of us. He was great and handled it far better and longer than I had expected. He is already asking to hit the ice and go out next year so lets hope his passion grows!
As much as I complain about not getting out on the water any more due to the little ones, there are ties where I do have a window of opportunity to get out, yet I stay home to take Owen to the park, or do something with the family even if its just playing in the backyard. Like I already said, Its amazing how fast they grow and I don't want to miss many of those moments! I do love my gremlins!
