The day started before first light. It was 19 degrees with no wind. Still. Quiet. I arrived early to prepare for the day's charter. I wanted everything to be set up by the time my guests arrived.
After suiting up in all my warm clothing, I loaded up the sled with all the comfort items - shelter, heater, chairs, etc., as well as the tip ups and auger. I pulled the sled out to the point and began setting up. Someone had fished here the day before but it didn't matter. I knew this was the spot.
First I drilled three holes close together, for the jigging poles and Vexilar flasher unit. Then I set up the shelter over the holes, put up chairs, got the heater and flasher ready, and rigged some jigging poles. On to the tip ups. On this lake, we are permitted six lines per angler. So in addition to the jigging poles, I was setting up ten tip ups. Each hole was drilled and the depth checked. A fish hit my depth sounder at the first hole. A very good sign!
Each tip up was made ready and laid out next to the hole. Once I was satisfied everything was set, I walked back to the truck to load the sled with the bait and rest of gear, and wait for my guests. Cleats, safety picks, and handwarmers were easy to access.
Ralph, Sonya, and Ruger (dog) were right on time and ready to go. After they waxed the dog's paws, took care of the liability waivers, and had a short safety briefing, we got right on the ice.
With everything already set up, we were into fish in no time. The first bass hit as I was showing them how to set the first tip up. From there, the action was pretty steady for the whole four hours we were out. There was a lull in the action when the sun went behind the clouds. But that turned out to be an opportune time to jig for yellow perch, which provided action while waiting for the largemouth bass and pickerel.
All in all, many fish were caught. We didn't keep track of the total but took pictures of the nicer bass. The biggest fish we weighed was 4.6lbs! A real bruiser.
We all had a good time. Even Ruger had a blast chasing his frisbee! Special thanks to Ralph and Sonya for a great day. It was a pleasure. I love this job and the wonderful people I get to take out. I hope they'll be back again.
The weather was comfortable, the fish were biting, everyone had fun. It really was a perfect day on the ice...
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