Got a call from my pal John last week. He’d been talking to my brother in law who told him the fish were biting at his pond so we should come out and go ice fishing.
I explained to John that that’s why I don’t talk to my brother in law during Winter. Because he would want me to go ice fishing. John was persistent about this though. He said he got a ice fishing hut to keep us out of the cold and he would buy the beer. That he was buying the beer was enough to convince me to try ice fishing but it was nice that he was bringing the fishing hut also.
So John picks me up the next day and 40 minutes later we’re unpacking our gear. Just two poles, a cup of worms and some small jigs. And of course John’s ice fishing hut which I was wondering where it was.
John pulls this little nylon bag, about the same size as an umbrella case that portable umbrellas come in from under the front seat of his truck. I thought this is weird. Is that something he got from Bass Pro Shop to help us do battle with the mighty bluegill? My excitement turned to bewilderment when John said the little nylon bag held the fishing hut.
I asked John how two guys that are 6 foot 2 and weigh 500 lbs. between them are going to fit into this thing that didn’t look much bigger than a ziplock sandwich bag. John told me not to worry. The picture on the advertisement showed three big guys looking out of it and smiling. We should be able to get in there and out of the cold wind with room to spare.
Apparently the guys pictured in this thing weren’t as big as John thought because after pulling the hut out of it’s bag it was obvious John was had. It was basically a “lean to” about four feet high and four feet tall. So we scrapped the idea of fishing in warmth and comfort. Besides, we had beer and my brother in law already had holes drilled in the ice.
Aside from watching John comically try to get his bait through the holes in the ice because he use a cane pole that is about nine feet long, things went pretty well the rest of the day. My brother in law showed up after a couple hours and by then John and I had caught eight nice Crappie and Bluegill. My brother in law said he had a big mess of fish he’d caught during the week and invited our families to come out that evening and he’d fry them up. I’m not a big fish eater but why not? And not only did I end up having a great time ice fishing, they tasted damn good also. I’m glad I tried ice fishing. Although I thought I wouldn’t like it, what was I out for trying. A couple hours maybe? But now I can’t wait to go ice fishing again.
