Lake Winnipisauki is not often kind to fisherman... she can be a fickle lady and dislikes giving up her bounty..
saturday was a perfect day as ice fishing days go... I picked up two old friends ( life long) at 4:30 Am... and met up with two new friends( realativly new) in Alton...

As the day light ascened on the day.. we set our tip ups in locatiions that had, in the distant past been very good to us ( the last few years, the location has been baren)...the ice had broken up and reformed several times from the looks of the terrain... there was about 4" of snow ( and more falling) as we drilled hole in water depth from 4-8' in ice that varied greatly from 6" in some areas.. to 24" with a hollow layer of slush inbetween...

we shared omlets..pots and thermoses of coffee... venison tips wrapped in bacon....and venison back straps with a sprinkle of Franks red hot( beware if you hit a hot grill pan..it will singe your nostrils)...as well as copius war stories...

oh yea and we caught a few fish...Brian ( night shift) and I each caught tagged rainbows ( 3 weeks to early unfortunatly for the derby) which we released.. in an act of good faith for a return favor at the derby.. the tally at the end of the day was 4 rainbows and two salmon.. we could have called it a day at noon.. but even though it was cold and snowy... the combination of bieng with good friends.. having a full belly made for a good day... we left just shy of darkness..
It was a great day to be alive!

Brians last rinbow.. note the tag... Dan took a great vidio of the fight..

Sounds like a great day with good folks. I've never been ice fishing but it looks cool.

Joe... you sure had a great weekend... great day on the ice and a win by the Pats... great stuff

it was great except for the ride home that took over 3 hours.. a trip that usualy takes me an hour and forty five minues..

Nice...thats what its all about.

sounds like a great day, never been ice fishing myself.

as far as putting franks into a hot pan, yes it will make you cough and tear up if your too close.

We have a burger at work with grilled jalapenos and it always gets me!!

sounds like a great day, never been ice fishing myself.

as far as putting franks into a hot pan, yes it will make you cough and tear up if your too close.

We have a burger at work with grilled jalapenos and it always gets me!!

kinda like burnt plastic! still love it though..

Nice , and wicked fish !!
I see a fatty :)

Saturday was an absolute blast. The scenario in which I caught the tagged fish is the reason I switched from warm water species to trout. Over the course of 30 minutes, that fish ate half of a jar of eggs, spit the hook twice, and broke me off once. All visible through a six inch diameter window. Once hooked (for the fourth time), it battled for a good 5 minutes before I finally iced the critter. One of my best fights to date. :jump1:

To work on a fish for that long, watch it behave in its own environment, hook it and lose it multiple times, and then actually ice it rivals any adrenaline rush I've ever experienced while bowhunting giant deer. The difference is that all your friends are standing next to you cheering you on.

...Definitely a good day to be alive

Nice Joe not much ice down here yet
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That is awesome...... Cool pics! I'm starting to think the ponds will never freeze down here!

Joe you look way to comfortable

i know what ya mean about grueling eyes locked on bad roads
3 hour drives.

I'm starting to think the ponds will never freeze down here!

X2

sounds like a great day, never been ice fishing myself.

as far as putting franks into a hot pan, yes it will make you cough and tear up if your too close.

We have a burger at work with grilled jalapenos and it always gets me!!

Chris come to the Bombas on the 11th. I have your gear fully covered including bait. Just bring something nice to grub on! I miss your face.

Nice pics. By this time last year I think i had about 20 trout through the ice. (In RI) This year doesn't look that promising.

Nice pics. By this time last year I think i had about 20 trout through the ice. (In RI) This year doesn't look that promising.

At this point I am ready to mount my tip ups on inner tubes and float them across the pond!