Flatlander

On thin Ice

Mon, January 23, 2012

I have fished on 2.5 inches of ice before but I weighed less then, my personal minimum I am comfortable is 3 inches at that is only if there are several people and safety measures in place, for example some ice picks to pull myself out or rope handy and trust worthy fishing partners.  My comfort zone increases tenfold when it gets to 4 inches of ice and 6 inches is solid ground in my mind, still keeping safety measures in the back of my mind just in case.  Ice has got to be 6-8 inches minimum for me to make a solo trip on ice and I still take a long rope until it hits the 10 inch mark.

That being said yesterday was a pretty safe outing, there were a few times that Chef Todd, Mike Steffa and I got a bit too close and the ice groaned a bit,  I am guessing we were exerting 800 lbs in a less than 10 square foot area and that may be a too much on 3 inches so we spread out a bit and found better ice. I’ll let you figure out in your minds how the 800 lbs. divides out, but I’m probably at the bottom of the pile on that one.

I believe it’s the insulated camo that makes me look fat, remember this is my fish story

It didn’t take long to find a few fish with the help of the flashers

Mike Steffa and the Chef seem to have always had a fish on between the two of them

The Man, the myth, the legend Chef Todd helped me out with the finer points of ice fishing as he deer hunts about as much as I ice fish that is to say I am a rookie ice fisherman is an understatement.  The great thing about the outdoors is you don’t have to be the best at anything to still enjoy the time in God’s creation with friends.

I quickly got on to the flasher and with some instruction from Chris, the Chef’s friend who was nice enough to let us enjoy his pond and equipment. 

We caught lots of Bluegill, a couple Crappie and several Bass, many turn their nose up at Largemouth Bass but when the numbers need thinned, taken from under the ice and this size sure makes for tasty fillet’s.

To me there are three kinds of fishing that really trip my trigger, one being casting for big Pike and Muskie, two is fishing for Smallmouth in clear water, and the third is big Bluegill.  I was in heaven as we hoisted some nice thick gills through the hole.  They were state records or anything but super nice and enough to keep me excited.

Thanks to Todd, and Mike for a fun day on the hard water, and especially to Chris for his hospitality and generosity, it was second to none

It looks like it’s on dryer land as the heavy rains and warm temps may be devastating to the ice

Until next time, God bless
Matt Cheever ~ Flatlander

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