Throwing in the towel

[bigfoot86]

Well I was fortunate to get out a couple times this year but my back has kept me from doin ANYTHING for the most part.  Tomorrow I'm goin in for back surgery after trying injections and physical therapy and nothing helping.  So I guess in a sense I threw in the towel a little bit ago knowing my body wasn't gonna allow it til something got done.  I been in agonizing pain using a cane or walker to get around lately and I'm not even 40 yet! 

Kinda odd that the first year in my life I really couldn't get out ice fishing which I love so much, is the year with the warmer winter weather pattern for our area.  Hopefully I get fixed up and start feeling better.  By that time ice season will be long gone but praying next year we'll get one of the best ice seasons we had in a while.🙏

[RuttNutt]

Sorry to hear that Bigfoot! Well, like you say- better this year than a nice frigid banner ice year! Good luck with the surgery and you should be all healed up for next ice season. Next year's gotta be better than this one! 

[Spider1]

hey rutt, you ready to throw in the towel yet?!

[RuttNutt]

HELL NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   

Might have to activate OPERATION ICE DINGY this coming weekend! 

[bigfoot86]

Sorry to hear that Bigfoot! Well, like you say- better this year than a nice frigid banner ice year! Good luck with the surgery and you should be all healed up for next ice season. Next year's gotta be better than this one! 

Thanks RuttNutt.  I do hope we getting a strong and maybe extended ice season next year.  If I was in good shape I would have at least traveled to find good ice but this year has definitely been a rough one for a lot of people

[capt.crappie]

The drawbacks of making the  drive up North to ice fish. Besides the money spent on gas. Is hoping you catch enough fish to make the trip even worth while. Over the years. I have been to prompton, duck harbor , long pond , upper woods and shohola . All  them lakes several times. And never really caught anything worth raving about. The only two places that ever impressed me. Were pecks pond and white oak. And  they were both drained and wil lnot have the quality fishing they were. I'm my lifetime. I see the pictures of the fish caught at the other lakes by local guys like spider and ruttnutt,  Hochimo  etc. Etc but the local guys know them lakes. Its their back door.  They know the spots.  I have never been to promised land & would like to go there sometime.

[builder]

You need to follow me to New York and buckets full of perch for Gofish

[builder]

Bigfoot you’re too young for back problems. Hope you’re gonna be ok my friend. Next season we have to get the Capt and Perry and make a New York run

[builder]

Nez  is heading up to Chaumont Bay for some of those walleyes so big you can ride them around

[bigfoot86]

Bigfoot you’re too young for back problems. Hope you’re gonna be ok my friend. Next season we have to get the Capt and Perry and make a New York run

Thanks builder....yea I know.  I hope it helps this pain, haven't slept throughout a whole night if I could sleep at all for a couple months now.  Hopefully ready to go at it hard again next season!

[appleorangefish2]

The drawbacks of making the  drive up North to ice fish. Besides the money spent on gas. Is hoping you catch enough fish to make the trip even worth while.

if you enjoy the winter that's enough to make the trip worth it by itself. I like to bring a pair a skates and scoot around since that's a more fun way to warm up if you're not having any luck.

Plus up in NEPA there's a large enough variety of lakes close to each other that if you make the drive up and the deeper ones aren't frozen, you can hit up the shallower ones like toby and gouldsboro and they'll be good to go.

[capt.crappie]

if you enjoy the winter that's enough to make the trip worth it by itself. I like to bring a pair a skates and scoot around since that's a more fun way to warm up if you're not having any luck.

Plus up in NEPA there's a large enough variety of lakes close to each other that if you make the drive up and the deeper ones aren't frozen, you can hit up the shallower ones like toby and gouldsboro and they'll be good to go.

If you think so. For me. Been there done that. Its not worth it unless I'm bringing home a bucket full of fish 

[stanpjr]

Just wanted to remind the guys talking about Canada, border is closed and will probably be most of this year also. Good news is there is a lot of ice in Ny state if you gotta hard water fish.

[ddgst7]

I don't think that High point ice is going anywhere

[gallitzinice]

In about ten to twenty years the guys from the northeast corner of the state will understand what the one from the southwest who started the thread was saying.  I grew up south of Pittsburgh and frozen lakes and streams were the winter routine then, now the exception. I've lived in the Laurel Highlands much of my adult life.  Thirty years ago the number of lakes that had fishable ice and the length of season was absolutely greater than now. Yes, someone will recall a year or two that doesn't fit that trend and there will be an occasional frigid year in the future where the old conditions return. But the reality is ice fishing opportunities have decreased and will continue to do so, and that trend will extend to northeast PA. Being willing or unwilling (a personal choice) to drive two hours or ten hours to follow the ice doesn't change that. 

   

[fisher 74]

Or the weather will enter a cooling phase again, and we will get longer ice seasons!