Holiday Adventures

Spent some time with family over the holidays, not much family and not much time, but some.  One thing I know for sure during this whole coronavirus thing, I am safe in the field or on the water!

So, I spent some time chasing roosters.  No, I did not see many, but some.  I did see a lot in a few spots where I could not hunt, naturally, but it is great knowing they are there!  Anyway, I finally was in the right place when one rooster made a break for it:

I spent most of my holiday time-off waiting for fishable ice.  I wish we would have had some sooner, but after checking many times, my kids and I finally got on the ice!  My “New Year” does not begin until the first ice fishing trip.  This year it was right after the calendar “New Year”.

Some people note New Year’s babies; for me it is the New Year’s fish.  I am picky about which particular fish gets the designation of “New Year’s fish”.  It has to be representative, but should also be notable.  This New Year’s Day it was mostly bluegills.  This one might as well be the New Year’s Fish, 2021:

The bite was typical for first ice, for the most part.  The fish were active and wanted to eat.  Then things slowed a bit, but my son mixed in some variety:

We found 4-5 inches of ice, but also some slushy spots that were not as thick.  If you are venturing out, be very careful!

Hopefully, that was just the start of a very long ice-fishing season.  I keep hoping for more cold in the forecast!

No fish were harmed in the making of this blog post.  You’re welcome.

The pheasant was fried!