I busted open some of Kyle's holes and augered out some extras in different spots for myself. I set up my rods and waited for something to happen. This is where I would normally stew in my own thoughts, or come up with a grand scheme to rule the world. Instead, I was able to hang out with my pup. She was a kid in a candy store. There were geese to watch, lake water to drink, and an occasion minnow to sneak behind my back. I brought this pink kong ball we have that is super heavy out with me and heaved it as far as I could out into the middle of the lake. It would hit the ice, and bounce and roll for an easy additional 50 yards. I figured if this didn't wear her out, it would kill her. This spot was slower than I expected and I managed only one medium pike before noon. I did some rearranging and drilled some new holes and played the waiting game again. It was about two in the afternoon when the flags really starting picking up. I would throw, and run to the tipper. Lou got smart to the game and when she was finally starting to wear down, I would see a flag go up and start running. Lou would run around looking for the up flag and she would run as fast as she could out ahead of me to the tipper, where she would sit down next to it and wait for me to catch up. I would play the fish out and Lou of course would grab the tail when I pulled it out of the hole. She is so quick to pick stuff up it amazes me. Rachel thought it was going to be nightmare with hooks and line, but Lou listened well, and quick frankly made my day.
As the afternoon wore on, Lou and I were doing quite well for ourselves. We managed a number of decent pike, nothing huge, but all over 30". My arms was getting sore from all of the throwing, and I could see Lou was slowing down significantly. We were in a bit of a lull and I figured she was getting cold so I pulled out my stool and sat and watched flags and geese. Lou walked right up to me and asked to sit in my lap. For any dog owner you know what I mean when I say asked. She sat in my lap on and off for the final two hours between flags.
Though I did not manage another 40 incher, this was a wonderful day on the lake. I have always enjoyed ice fishing, but this late, season-transition ice fishing is by far my favorite. It's warm and sunny, there are geese and ducks everywhere, and I still get to ice fish. This was a great cap to a weird ice season. We caught some dandy fish, and we went home skunked far more than anticipated.
I am sure I could get on the ice now if I wanted, but baby Livermore continues his reign of terror in utero. Rachel and I spent the latter part of Friday the 23rd and the better part of Saturday the 24th in the hospital monitoring her blood pressure. It has been a bit of an issue thus far, and we are teetering on the tipping point with it. We were released and are hoping this little boy will cook just one more week....
Stay Tuned: shit's about to get real....
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