New Years Day in Wisconsin (time with my son)...

[Black Dog]

As I grow older, not necessarily wiser, the thought of whooping it up on New Year’s Eve has become less and less appealing...  So when my youngest son, Austin, asked if I wanted to join him on New Year’s Day for a bit of ice fishing, I said yes.

My sweetie had spent the two days prior to New Years, on a quick overnight to The Dells (Casino time) with her son and extended family, so was pretty tired after getting home about two in the afternoon on New Year’s Eve.  I had played ‘Dog Sitter’ for her pooch, and was a bit tired myself.

For our little celebration, we ordered a pizza, and I was headed home by 9:45pm.  There was no need to party it up, and then deal with the 30 mile drive home, dodging the folks that had taken  part in Wisconsin’s number one sport (Drinking n driving).  Been there, done that, got quite a few t-Shirts  .  Home and in bed by 10:30.

Austin took care of having all the necessary equipment ready and loaded in to his truck, when he woke me up at 8:00 the next morning.  Quick shower, couple cups of coffee, donned my warmest outdoor gear, and we were off!

I’ve been ice fishing since my teens, and have imparted my wisdom on my son when it comes to safety.  Never in my life have I heard a lake ‘talking’ so loud…  Crack, ping, groan, echo, crunch   …  The sounds were quite foreboding. Creepy as those sounds were, those sounds were because of the ice being made (temps in the mid teens), and while quite weird, they were a good sign.  We used the spud to smack the ice as we moved further out from shore, and found that we had a good 6” of crystal clear ice  …  Again, creepy to see the weeds and fish below yer feet, but it was solid!

I poked a half dozen holes with my 40 year old Eskimo Power Auger, while Austin followed and set the ‘Tip-Ups’…





It didn’t take long to get our first ‘flag’, and while waiting to ‘set the hook’ we had the fortune to have a double header, as another flag went up.  Here is the result - Two small Pike…



Throughout the day, we caught and released 6 Northern Pike (20 – 30”), and one 16” Large Mouth Bass.  Here is a solid/thick 28”er, held by yours truly… 



We had a small propane heater to keep the shanty ‘unzipped’ warm, and had a good chance to have a few nice conversations.

All in all, a very fun day

2 dozen shiners - $6
Parking - $5
1 bottle of propane - $2.50
A day in the fresh air with my son – PRICELESS!!!

Black Dog

[Valkorado]

   Looks like a good day.  Almost makes me want get out on the frozen Blue Mesa again.  Then I remember the bone chilling cold.  A thermos full of hot buttered rum warms the core better than Shiners.

[HayHauler]

Awesome story.  Nothing finer than spending time with a son or daughter.  

Hay
Jimmyt

[Willow]

Excellent way to welcome the new year.   

[thedon]

Awesome, Steve, used to do ice fishing. Nice pic also. Tell Austin Hi from Barb and I

[R J]

Steve, is Austin the one who rode around yourr area with me in the Chevy Trike showing me the sights?

If so, I'd never of recognized him in a heart beat.

Glad ya had a fun day.

[Oss]

glad you have your priorities in proper order

Nice way to start the year Steve

thanks for the post and pics

Oss

[_Sheffjs_]

 

[wiggydotcom]

Very nice, Black Dog. You have your priorities in the right spot! 

[JimC]

Hey big guy.
I will be the first to say it YOU'R FRIGGIN NUTZ!

Only two parts of that story make sense to me, not hooping it up on new years, and spending quality time with your son. What makes no sense to me is how and where you chose for that quality time. Why would any grown, intelligent (questionable) man go out and sit on a humongous ice cube and try and catch fish that live in that sewer when they could have been at home in front of the fireplace?

(just pullin your chain)

Jim

[cookiedough]

good times, good story, thanks for sharing.

By the way,  what lake in WI were you on?  Looks to be a pretty small one with NO people around which are my favorite types of lakes to fish.  With Madison WI  lakes being so populated,  I don't enjoy those lakes as much as others being crowded 4-5' apart ice fishing. 

Any panfish action on that lake,  which is what I prefer??

I have dozens of fond memories fishing with my dad and older brother when younger.  Memories last a lifetime and something no one can take away from us. 

Don't worry, after this weeklong cold snap,  the bays and other smaller lakes will be frozen solid, except the still bigger lakes like Lake Mendota and Monona in Madison, etc. will still not be safe in the middle anyways, only bays safe.

[Black Dog]

Thanks for looking everyone...

We were fishing on Lake Kesus, a medium sized lake in SE Wisconsin, in the northern portion of Waukesha County.  One of the many reasons I chose to build my home where I did was the fact that I've got no less than 8 lakes within 15 minutes of home    All are good for fishing, with some being Walleye lakes, some Pike, some Bass, and two have given up Musky over 50" within the past few years   The reason the lake looks small in the pics, is that we were fishing a small bay in the western portion of the lake.  Kesus is known for having many 'springs', and can be dangerous for folks that don't know the lake.  There was quite a bit of open water (out towards the middle of the lake) visible from where we were.

RJ...  Austin has grown quite a bit since you were here with the Trike.  6'3" and north of 275    He still talks about that day 

The real temps have been -15 on Monday, -7 on Tuesday, -6 yesterday, and -10 this morning, as I've come in to work, and wind chills have been between -25 to -35 during the day (schools are closed today)...  With temps like that, I'm guessing that the 6" of ice we had on NYD, will be upwards of 10" bout now.

The next quality outing scheduled is gonna be Saturday, when we head to the shooting range with my brother and nephew (that is if I can locate the part of the lake we accidently dropped our guns through the ice fishing hole the other day  ) 

Black Dog