Here is a funny story about the fish. On Monday we had an ice fishing competition where everyone placed one tip-up. My mom gave us the instructions to go "straight out in front of the cabin about 20 yards, so I can see it from the window and don't need binoculars to see that the flag is up." So we started there and then headed to deeper water, with everyone randomly choosing locations that were within view of the cabin. The first day Joe caught a 20 inch Walleye. Knowing our luck of catching 1 fish every few days, he was sure he won.
On Tuesday John & Joe left their tip-ups in their last location. The day prior they moved my mom's to deeper water, figuring there was no way she would catch a fish in 4 feet of water when the ice was at least a foot thick. She wanted hers returned to its original location, so we did that to keep her happy. The boys headed home, and my dad and Nelli went to visit with a neighbor down the road.
About 20 minutes after everyone left, 2 flags were up. Zoey and I headed out to check them - it was a false alarm so we reset them. At this point we noticed 2 fisherman by the island watching us - they clearly serious fishermen as they had lots of gear and were constantly moving their poles from ice hole to ice hole. Being it was so cold they were rotating who was by the fire on the island and who was checking the lines. I headed back to the warmth of the cabin, but by the time I got inside my mom's tip-up flag was back up. I returned to reset it again - figuring the wind was to blame. To my surprise (and her's) there was a 20 inch northern on the line. I reeled it in, unhooked it and quickly headed up to the cabin with Zoey following proudly. We took a picture, put it in the sink and returned upstairs to find that another flag was up. Figuring it was a false alarm since we NEVER caught 2 fish in one day, I reluctantly headed back out into the cold. I noticed the fishermen were again watching very closely as I checked the line and reeled in our second 20 inch Northern. Again Zoey and I quickly reeled it in and bolted back to the cabin with the fish (I noticed one of the fishermen had started coming across the lake towards us - but I was too cold to stay and chat). We took another picture, added it to the sink and then returned to reading a book. About 40 minutes later I happened to look out the window and notice flag number 3 was up. Again reluctant to deal with the freezing weather, I headed out again. The second I stepped on the shore one of the fishermen jumped on his ATV and was quickly making his way to the tip-up. As Zoey and I got closer I could tell he was surprised to see that a girl was currently outfishing him. After I said hello he commented "This flag has been up for about 20 minutes, did you fall asleep in there or something?" I informed him I was actually reading a book. He groaned. "Did you set these up? You must know where the fish are. This must be a good spot huh?" I shrugged - I don't know. We just choose the location based on where you can see the tip-ups from the cabin window without having to go outside in the cold. We used to put them in different spots and send the dog out to check them, but she is getting older. Another groan. "So, do you know of any good fishing spots on the lake?" I shrugged - apparently right here. Silence. He informed me he was sent here due to really good fishing. I then informed him that he was misguided - that the Lower & Middle (where their cabin was close to) had much better fishing then our lake. But I told him he could use our fishing holes as I was too cold to reset the tip-ups. He just shook his head. Needless to say, they quickly packed up their gear & headed home shortly after our discussion. Joe, John, & my dad were all bummed they missed the excitement and my mom claims her fish was the biggest and therefore she won the competition. She also thinks she would have had 2 fish had Joe & John not moved her tip-up during the first day.
Here are the pictures - enjoy! We all wish it was closer to ND so we could convince you all to join us up there for a winter weekend! Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas & Happy New Year!
Joe with Monday's catch
My mom's fish
Proof that fish do exist in our lake - even though very few have any luck catching them in the summer!
Our tree gets shorter every year... Next year we we'll aim for ceiling height
Zoey tuckered out after the big fishing day
- Posted by Anna
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