WINTER WONDERLAND
By Bob Chochola
My partner and I were all geared up to go ice fishing. Snow suits, boots, insulated gloves, ice rods, and auger to drill holes in some frozen pond – plans were set and we were stoked. After all, I had never been ice fishing before and the thought of this new adventure gave me goose bumps.
WINTER WONDERLAND
By Bob Chochola
My partner and I were all geared up to go ice fishing. Snow suits, boots, insulated gloves, ice rods, and auger to drill holes in some frozen pond – plans were set and we were stoked. After all, I had never been ice fishing before and the thought of this new adventure gave me goose bumps.
My well seasoned partner is a veteran of this bizarre winter pass time. You see, I’ve always been a “store the gear ‘til next year” kind of a guy. Never really felt the need to stand over a hole in the ice and shiver. Besides, how good could it be? A cold front passes through in July dropping the thermometer from 85 degrees to 73 degrees and it seems the fish all get lock jaw for a day or two. Do they really bite under 8-inches of ice? Do they even move when it’s that cold?
I was assured fish do indeed bite under the ice and that I had been missing out all these years, it seems, on some very good fun. I learned that one of our friends had pulled a 43-inch muskie through the ice not long before and that northern pike are a scream, because they try to jump out of the water during the fight (like they always do) and slam head-first into the ice. Cool!
