Monday, February 8, 2010

ICE FISHING 101

First you do research for the ideal location, this happens to be Little Ossipee Lake in Waterboro, Maine. On this pond each person with a fishing license is allowed two holes to fish in... After backing your ice house on to the lake you hitch the"shack" to your snowmobile and tow till the perfect spot "magically" appears. Others drive their ice house out on to the lake- "oh lordy" did this made me nervous- the sound of "snap, crackle, pop" beneath my feet.
You put "hubby" to work with the much loved and well used antique auger...
you now have a perfect hole with a measured water depth of eight feet. The thickness of the ice measured a good foot and a half...
Somewhere along the way someone forgot to purchase the bait, no names need to be revealed...
Tristan arrives with "shiners," the bait of choice...
Megan baits the pink trap and now your task is complete and you're good to go...
Now some families bring four wheelers or snowmobiles to tow their kids around the ice, others have skates, and then there are those who get the fire going in the ice house, pull up chairs and just sit and enjoy the day. Now I have to admit I was once of the opinion that ice fishing was like watching "paint dry". Now however, I enjoy it for what it is, great family fun. When someone yells "flags up" it becomes quite exciting, those near run over to see what the catch is and others grab the binoculars attempting to remain inconspicuous. Next weekend is one of the many fishing derbies held each season. Entrants on this pond pay a fifteen dollar fee and have an opportunity to win the top prize of $3,500.00 dollars, not bad for a Sunday's enjoyment. Now if I would just learn to enjoy football, not!
Hope to see you on the ice and oh, don't forget to layer up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!







7 comments:

Eve said...

Now why would you drill a hole in perfectly good ice!!! That's like jumping out of a perfectly good airplane!
I think you might have to drag me out there Julie but I'd probably have a great time with y'all!!

Cedar ... said...

Same here only we call them a "shanty" instead of a shack. We "jigged" for fish, a wooden stick in each hand, jigging them up and down,... two or three hooks tied on each line. Love smelt. and perch. Thanks for reminding me of my childhood!

My Farmhouse Kitchen said...

i have never seen this in person...it looks so MAINE..
i lOVE it...thanks for taking us along...

stay warm

best,
kary
xxxx

Osage Bluff Quilter said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog. You are now entered in the giveaway.
Hubby and I loved the ice fishing story. Here in Mid-Missouri it's something you don't get to do every year. However this year it's been done. I am the ghost writer on his blog so check out his ice fishing. http://osagebluffblacksmith.blogspot.com/2010/01/just-another-day-in-retirement.html

They use wax worms. This year they were very expensive, due to the freeze, they kept freezing at the supplier. So they were air flighted in at $18 for a butter size container.
Please come back and visit.

A New England Life said...

That's some good ol' ice fishin alright, but I'm with Eve on this one!

Glad you got out there and had a nice time Julie. The ice is pretty thick isn't it! I know exactly what you mean though about the snap, crackle, pop ... freaky!

Unknown said...

What an interesting and informative post. I have to admit, I don't think this has ever appealed to me before but it does look rather fun!

Be well ~Andrea~

Rural Rambler said...

Brrrr Julie! I am such a fair weather gal. I'd really have to work up some incentive to get out there for that. If there were good munchies in the cute little red shack with the fire then well OK count me in :) Fun post on something I know nothing about and it is always great to learn about new things! And what a nice family day.