Over the last few weeks, let's just say I've struggled with icefishing - - either getting skunked entirely or landing just a few lackluster fish.
Then there are days like today, when the constellations align, the fates smile upon me, and I have a banner day on the ice.
I started out on North Pond in the Savoy State Forest, arriving a little before 10 AM.
The weather was intermittently cloudy and sunny, with temps in the low to mid 40's, and a light breeze that picked up as the day went on.
There were even a couple of brief periods where it sprinkled (in the morning) and later sleeted (in the afternoon).
The ice was a surprisingly solid 16" thick, although it started melting as the day went on.
I set up my three tip ups, and a dead stick, and jigged around the pond, landing a 12" rainbow on a Swedish pimple (the 1st time I've used one) toward the back center around 11 AM.
About 12 noon, another fisherman from Adams arrived, and set up, jigging in a shanty, about 100 yards out from the left center,
I brought out the chuck wagon, and cooked a gourmet meal (pork cutlets grilled in sri racha sauce, with a side of kim chi, and a sauce pan of "saag paneer" - - an Indian dish with spinach and cottage cheese) for lunch, washed down with a bottle of Anchor Brewing Company special ale, followed by an apple, and then a hot pot of coffee, while listening to my radio and reading a few chapters of my latest book (Eastern Philosophy by Kevin Burns).
After that, I got out my cross-country skiis and did a couple circuits around the pond, before resuming jigging.
My neighbor across the pond came out of his shanty at one point to show me the crappie that he had just jigged up on a hali jig (the first crappie I've ever heard of anyone catching one there).
He also reported landing a rainbow and a brookie earlier in the day.
I didn't have any flags or strikes on my dead stick, but I did reel in another (11") rainbow out of a hole not far from the first one I caught.
A little before 3 PM, my neighbor left, and I followed him off the pond shortly thereafter.
On my drive home, I stopped at Burnett's Pond about 3:20 PM and walked down, where I found Dale D and his girlfriend Liza already out jigging for perch.
We chatted and fished together for the next hour and a half.
During that time, I landed three pickerel (the biggest 18") - - two on tip ups and one on a dead stick - - plus several perch (two on tip ups and the rest jigging).
I also saw an otter gamboling about along the opposite shore about 100 yards away.
It was only the second otter I've ever seen in the wild, and the first I've ever seen at Burnett's.
All in all, a most satisfying day.
