


I'm, ah, ......a little "rusty" with the report thingy, .........so please "bear" with me, ....

Today, .....will be remembered, ....passed down from father to son, ....for generations.....

Skooter went ice fishing, ....and didn't turn to ice...

I was full of anticipation, ......I was finally going to wet a line this year, ....spent hours scrubbing off the drywall dust, .....and liberally applied "Finny Friends" cologne.....

It was an early start, ....picking up Shane at 5:00

On to Trafalger rd., .....to grab Martin, ......and then heading for our date with some "whities", ...and "greasers".....

The trip up was uneventful, ....just catching up on what everybody had been up to over the winter, ...and the strategy for today, .....

We stopped at "smokeys" before we headed out....

The experts, ....still discussing todays strategy


We get there and get ready....
We are ushered out to the limo for the trip out....

A pic of the outside, ....streamlined or what, ....just don't try to turn on a dime....

Never been in a hut before, .....it was, ......"different"

If the hole had been round, ....it would sort of remind me of sitting around a toilet bowl and fishing for ...........er, ...luckily, ......they were rectangular.


We got set up and started to fish, .....if sitting staring at a little wierd shaped piece of wood that wobbles, ....can be called fishing....

Martin decided to find out if his lighter floats, .....it didn't, .....I had visions of all these fish sitting down there, ....staring at our minnows, ....and smoking up a storm instead.

One expert preparing our strategy.....

The other expert preparing, ...........never mind

Time was just "flying by".........as well as fifty million sleds, atv's, suv's, vans, trucks, ....two pizza delivery cars and a street sweeper, .....the only thing that we didn't see was a boat,


There were more people out there than at a fire sale at Walmart....

The experts discussing our strategy for the day, ....again


Lot's of action outside, ....the fishing was, ....just a smidgen "slow"
I knew things were not good when I heard some "snickering" and wondered where it was coming from.....

Our little friend kept spinning webs on our setups, ...spiders are pretty smart....

The limo came back to check on us....and drilled a hole outside, ....not sure if the crying had any influence or not......
Ya just gotta know that I brought my secret weapon....

I wasn't getting any action with that, .....so, ......I thought I'd put a little addition on, ......just incase there were a few "hens" swimming around down there.....

That didn't work either, .....and thought, .....well hell, ....it's not long enough.....

That didn't work either, ...and thought, ...well hell, .....it's upside down, ....

That was basically the extent of my strategy for today.....

Back on shore, ....celebrating my freedom, ....waders are neat, ...but not for 9 hrs straight, .....

So, ...to make a long story short, .....I think......

My supper tonite....

Well, .........I guess it's time to wrap up my ice fishing season.....


It was a day to remember, ....my first outing this year, ....hooking up with a couple of good friends, .....the weather, .....well, ...after looking at that other pic of me, ....'nuff said....
It was also a learning experience....

I learned that, .....it's not always minus 20 when you ice fish....
I learned that, ....downriggers are not designed for ice fishing....
I learned that, .....with waders on, ....ya gotta "start" a little earlier when you feel the need...
I learned that, ....you gotta start even earlier when you have a float coat on, ...over the waders....
I learned that, ....you need somewhere to hang the float coat, ...before ya even think about the waders...
I learned that, ......This can be a real "pi$$ off"
I learned that, ....there are "limo's", .....and then there are "limo's"
I learned that, .....kalbossa is not a "universal" bait, ...but it still tastes good...
I learned that, ....even the best laid plans, do not necessarily result in fish
I learned that, .....Shane is a "used" car salesman, .....a good "used" car salesman....
I learned that, ....Martin buys cheap lighters....
Thanks for the fun day guys, .....I needed a little "scratch" for my "itch"

It's just about time to get the boat wet I think.....


skooter