This morning I ice fished Lake Ashmere (in Hinsdale/Peru) with Mogli and his girlfriend Tiffany.
It was sunny but cold (about 10 degrees) and there was a fairly stiff wind the whole time (which picked up in the afternoon).
Fortunately, ice conditions were good - - about 6 inches of good ice, generally covered in about 3" of snow - - with only a few slushy patches.
We arrived about 10:45 AM & hiked across the Lake toward the dam (where small mouth are supposed to lurk) and were in position about 11:15 AM.
Apart from some walkers, we essentially had the Lake to ourselves - - although we did see a few guys were leaving as we got onto the Lake.
Fishing action was sporadic.
We had a fair number of flags, but our flag-to-fish ratio (particularly my own) wasn't great, although we did end up catching some fish.
I ended up with one decent (for Ashmere) 9" perch and a 17"pickerel (both on tip ups), while Mogli hauled in three or four perch (also on tip ups).
But Tiffany was the one who caught the big fish of the day (a 2+ pound large mouth bass) while jigging, as well as a perch (also while jigging).
In addition to the fishing, we also had a pleasant lunch - - steak, kim chi, a sauce pan of Dal Makhani and another of Paneer Makhani, some fruit (apples/clementines), cocoa roasted almonds, beer (me Guiness /Mogli & Tiffany Sea Dog) and a hot toddy (lemon ginger tea with honey and rum).
A pair of EPO's (a man and a woman) hiked across the Lake to check our licenses around 1 PM and chatted for awhile.
We eventually started picking up our gear around 3:30 PM and were back at our cars to drive home about 4:45 PM (just as the sun was setting).
