We Went Ice Fishing

So we finally got some safe ice, and went fishing on December 31,2008 and had a ball. It was pretty cold out there but we had our ice shelter and heater. So all was good. I would say there were about 50 or 60 people out on the ice. The ice was 4 1/2 inches thick and plenty safe. We went to a lake in Morroco Indiana that we like to fish during the warm weather as well. It's called J. C. Murphey Lake or Willow Slough. Why it has 2 names is beyond me. We always call it Willow Slough. So being that we also fish this lake during the warm weather we had an idea where we wanted to fish. Willow Slough has massive amounts of lily pads which of course the fish love. The back side of the lake has the most lily pads so that's where we went. When you look at a lake that is frozen it looks so much different than in the warm weather, it's almost like you are on a different lake. However we have been ice fishing this lake for at least 20 years which helps when deciding where to drill your holes. We settled on a spot and my husband drilled the holes using an ice auger and got the shelter ready while I cleared the holes of the ice chips from the drilling and got the heater going. By this time we were more than ready to get into the shelter, out of the wind and into the warmth. The little heater we have is very old but works well and soon we were taking off our coats inside the shelter. Being warm can greatly improve the whole ice fishing experience. Hard water fishermen are a hardy bunch but everyone gets cold eventually. We fished for about 3 hours and ended up catching 4 bluegills. Not our best trip on the ice for sure but we still had fun. You won't catch fish if you don't try. And every fishermen knows that some days you just don't catch anything. We had talked to others on the ice and some did better and some did worse than us. A conservation officer came by to check fishing licenses and told us that the fishermen on the front side of the lake were doing pretty good. Figures we always seem to be in the wrong place. But we had fun and it was our first trip on the hard water so we had fun anyway. It is also great quality time spent with my husband. My girlfriend has a 14 year old son who just loves to fish. So I told him I would take him if the ice was safe during his Christmas vacation. And time was running out. So on New Years Day my husband and I took Nate out on the ice for his first time ever on the hard water. As soon as he stepped on the ice he said, " I have never walked on a lake before".  Now he had. I was pleased that I was able to give him this experience. He had a ball. The weather was brutal that day. It finally got to about 5 degrees that day but that didn't stop the ice fishermen. We were on the front end of the lake and there were at least 50 shelters out there and many more fishermen who didn't have shelters. How they lasted I will never know. The wind was howling making it even more bitter out there. After about an hour we still hadn't caught anything and I was getting anxious wanting Nate to catch his first fish out of the ice. Finally he caught the first fish of the day on his new ice fishing rod. I was thrilled and so was he. We ended up staying on the ice for about 4 hours and between us we caught 6 fish. A good day. On the way home I asked Nate if he had a good time and if he would like to try this again. I received a resounding YES. Excellent a new ice fishermen is born.