The Ice Fishing MA is board

Author Topic: Goals for next year  (Read 1484 times)

Offline SkunkLuvver

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Goals for next year
« on: Mar 05, 2018, 09:23 PM »
Now that the local season is pretty much over (still ice on Barton’s!) im in that nostalgic phase thinking about things that went well and want to do again and things that didn’t go so well so wanna work on for next year.

The single best moment of my ice fishing season was when a guy and his 10 yr old kid came out on the ice to see what we were doing out there. It happened that we were standing on a mixed school of pumpkin seed, bluegill and crappie. They come over and I show the kid the flasher and how it worked and proceeded to pull up a few bluegill. He seemed pretty excited about it so I asked him if he ever caught a fish before... answer was a meek “nope”.
Finding that intolerable I hand him my jig rod and showed him how it worked. He lowered the jig down the hole like I showed him and a second later the tip twitches and he pulls up his first pumpkinseed. The look on his face said it all.
He was under dressed for the conditions but little dude hung out for over an hour pulling in fish after fish even losing one that I’m pretty sure was a decent bass. It wasn’t until he was completely shivering that I took the rod back and suggested his dad go buy him cocoa.

I don’t have kids of my own (getting major pressure from the lady though) but next year I’m going to be inviting all my friends with kids the right age to come out for an hour or two to catch their first fish. I’ve never left the ice feeling as good as I did that day.

Other than that, I’ll be planning my Champlain trip earlier in the season than I did this year and vow not to lose as many sounders down the hole.
(And make it to the Barton’s gathering... where there’s still ice (just sayin) ;))

Curious what other folks took away from their season.. highlights, lessons learned, whatevs’.

Offline Cabo-Roosterfish

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Re: Goals for next year
« Reply #1 on: Mar 06, 2018, 09:27 AM »
That's awesome! I bet thaat kid smiled all the way home, freezing cold or not... and told all his buddies how many fish he caught. Great stuff!!

Offline fishermantim

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Re: Goals for next year
« Reply #2 on: Mar 06, 2018, 10:22 AM »
That's one reason I ALWAYS bring extra rods.

I have had the privilege of introducing kids to ice fishing on a number of occasions.
Some were relatives, some were friends' kids and some were just some kids that wanted to see what I was doing.

All of them left having caught some fish!

My goal will probably be to have a kid catch his own personal best fish!

Oh, and get it on camera!!!
"I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy" - the Existential Blues

I am a legend in my own mind!

Offline THE JIGGER

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Re: Goals for next year
« Reply #3 on: Mar 06, 2018, 10:51 AM »
That's one reason I ALWAYS bring extra rods.

I have had the privilege of introducing kids to ice fishing on a number of occasions.
Some were relatives, some were friends' kids and some were just some kids that wanted to see what I was doing.

All of them left having caught some fish!

My goal will probably be to have a kid catch his own personal best fish!

Oh, and get it on camera!!!

Do you do that with senior citizens? ;D ;D
MA

Offline Jschumacher

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Re: Goals for next year
« Reply #4 on: Mar 06, 2018, 11:11 AM »
Great job with the kid :thumbsup: :thumbsup: hopefully that will stick with him and he continues to fish. I hate seeing todays youth stuck on all the electronics. Unless the electronics are a flasher, underwater camera or something. Can never have enough electronics for the ice ;D
Hard water Tight lines Flags up. Doesn't get any better than that

Member of the G.O.D.S

Offline SkunkLuvver

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Re: Goals for next year
« Reply #5 on: Mar 06, 2018, 11:54 AM »
Update: Barton’s isn’t safe after all.. I checked it in the dark last night so didn’t venture very far. My buddy went back today and while the ice is tight to shore (somehow) it’s pretty much toast there.
Sorry to get peoples hopes up :tipup:

Offline Just one more

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Re: Goals for next year
« Reply #6 on: Mar 06, 2018, 01:51 PM »
That was one of the best post I've read on here, and I've read quite a few! Passing your passion for the outdoors and ice fishing to someone else, young or small is a great gift. You know that's why you were smiling all the way home!


Offline Cautholdin

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Re: Goals for next year
« Reply #7 on: Mar 06, 2018, 01:54 PM »
First post but have been following all of you with great nostalgia.  I retired to  north of Charlotte NC 14 years ago with no regrets, but still have the fondest memories of my fishing excursions with my kids an later grandkids in central Ma. And Champlain. However----the memories and photographs will always s bring back those great times
Had a boat docked for years on Quinsig and loved that lake and all the fun we had.  My greatest love wa seeing the kids catch their first and then the great times we had years thereafter as thy grew up. 

Saw Skunklovers beautiful post and had to respond.

Offline ActiveTrapChecker

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Re: Goals for next year
« Reply #8 on: Mar 06, 2018, 02:40 PM »
Set a season high for number of days spent on the hard water with my 10 year old (she will be 11 mid next season).

Offline TRIPLE S

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Re: Goals for next year
« Reply #9 on: Mar 06, 2018, 03:43 PM »
My boys are 15 & 13 started them fishing at a very young age 2 & 3. I grew up on a lake  and still have the house that i grew up in we don't live there  but are there most weekends Thats all my boys want to do is go fishing 24/7 . They don't care what there catching bass ,trout.pike, or panfish. I spend a lot of time fishing with them they love going. They have some of the best fishing gear money can buy they take very good care of it. We try to do 5 to 6 trips a year weather its ice fishing the Winnie derby up state N Y to lake Onteiro salmon and lake trout, or to the White MT fishing the rivers, and the spring trip to Winnie smallie fishing And then there's the canal for night striper's. If we are not on a trip we are fishing local waters. My dad was not a fishermen but he would take me fishing all the time and sit in his chair and read his news paper. So I learned a lot from the old timers that would take there time and show me how to catch fish. I had some of my good buddies get hooked on drugs not me got hooked on fishing Keep your kids out on the water not on the street. The great outdoors is ours to use so go fishing, hunting, camping and take someone with you

Offline SkunkLuvver

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Re: Goals for next year
« Reply #10 on: Mar 06, 2018, 10:42 PM »
Thanks for the great responses everyone.

My nephews are a bit young but I took them out for a couple hours for their first time this summer. It poured rain and we caught nothing but they had a blast. Funnily enough my sister had bought the oldest one (4) a ‘kids’ rod and when she unveiled it it was totally an ice jigging rod. Turns out they actually cast pretty okay. He insisted on casting it himself but was kind enough to let me help.





Offline Jack978

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Re: Goals for next year
« Reply #11 on: Mar 07, 2018, 04:21 PM »
That's a really nice thing you did for that kid.  Some adults act like kids shouldn't get a chance but everyone who fishes started with that first one.  I didn't get to take any kids out but I did get to introduce a seasoned soft water fisherman to the hard water.  He is an Air Force guy originally from Memphis so never did any ice fishing.  I invited him over and showed him how and it took off from there.  His first fish was a 19 inch rainbow on a jigging rod and then  after a few hits and spits a 16 incher on a tip up.  His wife (from Arkansas) was a bit worried about him being on the ice for the first time but after we texted her a picture she calmed down a bit.  Any way he enjoyed it and perhaps next year we can get a few other people out walking on water too. Somehow the guys from Louisiana, Texas and the other states in the deep south miss the chance to fish all winter when they get stationed here near what they describe as the Artic.

 



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