I ice fished Cheshire Lake (2nd Lake - - along the western shore about 1/2 way south of the causeway) with my friend Brian from 9 AM to 4 PM today.
The weather was ideal - - sunny, blue skies, little to no wind, with temps ranging from 24 (when we arrived) to 38 degrees (when we left).
There weas about 5 inches of snow over 8 inches of ice.
Fishing overall was solid albeit not spectacular.
We caught about a dozen fish - - a mix of sunfish, perch, pickerel and bass - - on a mix of jigging, dead sticking and tip ups.
Nothing big, but it was fun nonetheless.
There were lots and lots of fishermen out there, but (as far as I could tell) no one seemed to be catching impressive sizes or numbers of fish.
Lunch was pleasant - - a beef-and-vegetable stir fry (with a dash dandelion wine, sofrito, recaito and sriracha), cholle (an Indian curry dish), an apple, a bottle of Guiness, a pot of coffee and a rasperry paczki - - followed by a Don Lugo cigar.
The most memorable moment of the day (at least for me) was around 3 PM.
I was jigging on a relatively light rod-and-reel combo set up for perch, sunfish or small bass (using a ball jig baited with a nightcrawler segment), when something absolutely slammed the end of my line.
A half minute long fight ensued before the fish finally snapped my line. (Frankly, I was surprised I was able to play him that long).
From the way it fought, I assume the fish was either a really big (5+ pound) bass or maybe even a pike.
Whatever the critter was, it will haunt my dreams for nights to come.