Ice fishing end game...

Matty and Malice

In an act of hope and dire circumstance, I called my bait dealer inquiring about the availability of any bait as Washington County found spring these past few weeks that brought seasonal temperatures and more rain than I would have wanted.  Fortunately, he had some left and suggested that if I had any more plans for this season to get what I needed for there would be no more bait after this weekend.

Late afternoon flag, no dice...

This effort was put into play by my buddy Matt Diesel who had invited me to his camp on Upper Lead Mountain Pond for a slow day of fishing accommodated by food, drink, cribbage, and some storytelling.  My contribution to this jaunt of adventure was to bring my ATV, bait, and whatever I thought critical for the procurement of a good time.

One hard view to take...

We settled into camp early in the morning and quickly got the traps into the ice.  Over a foot of ice subsided the cautionary tactics and the Yamaha Big Bear allowed for a variety of long range set ups.  Unfortunately there would be no fish for our efforts, only a good day with a good buddy.




As the day wore on we shared a barrage of lies and half truths, and then opted to get the new shack off the ice.  When all was said and done, our evening slowly broke down with fire grilled steaks, pan fried onions & mushrooms, and canned green beans.  With around 12 hours of fishing to our credit, we lounged around and then quickly called it an evening.  Morning would arrive in a few hours and a cold snap with the advent of the Supermoon seemed to ward off any interest in an early strike on the lake.  For that, I threw in the towel for the 2011 season...

My two final ice fishing jaunts ended with goose eggs but just to be on the ice well into the month of March offered two more days of enjoyment and relaxation.  I'm not going to wish the summer away, but the anticipation of the upcoming hunting and ice fishing season is already building.

Take care,
Downeast Duck Hunter