Day two of our iced excursion was set on Indian Springs. We headed straight for the point where I caught my giant pike last year, and there were perch in the deep. With the water clarity at an astounding crystal clear, I knew we were going to have our work cut out for us. I managed a medium pike on my rod, but that was it. Even with our minefield of tip-ups there was nothing happening. We went on a head-hunt for cloudy water, as that is where fish were being caught out here. We finally settled on the location that Adam and Paul found luck the week before. We managed two pike on tippers, but again, that was it.
We relocated to a point of cattails in hopes of finding some fish in the weeds. With 5ft of water right up to the weed edge, I thought we had found a jackpot. Instead, we didn't so much as move a fish. It was finally decided that setting up the warm tent, drinking, and enjoying the camaraderie would suite us much better for such a slow day. As we made our way back to the main bay I noticed a flag up near our first set. my Iowa flag tipper was left behind at the first place we stayed, and miraculously, there was a fish on it! After cleaning up that mess, we finally got to setting up our tent on the road in the bay and setting some lines. 5 tippers and each a line in the tent was plenty for our last hoorah for the day. The fishing was super slow, but we could see clear to the bottom in the clear water and it was like watching TV. It wasn't 30 minutes into our set up and Ethan starts carrying on about something. What I didn't realize was he had watched a huge pike come out of nowhere, stop at his bait, and proceed to suck it right in!!! Ethan was fishing with one of those ultra-light hand reel deals and I didn't know how this was going to go. We moved gear out of the way and I positioned myself near the hole. In the fracas, she had hooked Michael's line, came loose from Michael's line, and had swam around almost every hole in the hut. I knew she was big, but this was a stout fish indeed. Every run, Ethan feathered like a pro. When she came up for her final run, Ethan was careful to turn her into the hole without ripping out the hook, and I was able to grab ahold of her and the rest is history!!
At 36 inches and 11 pounds, this was our second best fish to come out of Indian Springs. In fact, when all was said and done, Ethan decided this fish was by far big enough to put on the wall!!! This was about as good as it gets for fish through the ice on an ultra-light. We reveled in it's magnificence for the remainder of the afternoon without so much as a nibble and none of us really cared all that much.
As the snowstorm converged on us, we collected our gear and headed back to base camp for venison, steak, French fries, green beans, and whiskey.
Again, the evening was supposed to be the guys helping me hang slabs and antlers in the basement, but instead turned into unsuccessfully fighting off sleep. It was borderline painful trying to stay awake. We eventually called it an evening, and Nick and I pulled the plug on the idea of fishing in the morning as there were a few things I needed help with and they needed to get on the road at a decent time.
This trip was by far more enjoyable and productive than I could have wished for. Yes, it was exhausting, but in the most therapeutic way possible. I don't get to see these three stooges very often, but every time we can get together we have a great time. I highly doubt we will ever be able to replicate this adventure, but if it happens again, I am sure we will find a way to entertain ourselves.
Stay Tuned
