So, as you may remember, we went to bed late Thursday, and got up EARLY Friday.
During the whole trip, I was so confused how everyone was just continuing on with their normal lives with all the snow on the ground. I just don’t understand. In GA, if it snowed, even an inch, the stores sale out of milk and bread and everything shut down.
FRIDAY
We started our day at The Buzz. It looked like a traditional coffee shop, but Chris and Lisa assured us they had really good food, too.
They had a Groupon for waffles. After looking through the 20+ options, I finally settled on the Pepperjack and Jalapeno Waffle.
Huck isn’t a fan of waffles or any sweet breakfast food, really. My waffle was great with the sweetness from the syrup and spice from the peppers. Great way to start the day.
After breakfast, we headed North to Lake Superior. Chris and Lisa did not tell us what our plans were, but we needed to pack an overnight bag.
**Side Note: I’ve never been on a trip where all I’ve done is booked a flight. I am a planner and one of my favorite parts about traveling is planning the trip. With this trip, we didn’t plan anything, and even thought it was really weird not knowing what we were doing, I liked being surprised. And Chris and Lisa did a great job planning our weekend.**
We headed north to Beaver Bay. All they would tell us is we would be meeting our guide there. During our 3 hour drive, I asked if they were going to abandon us in the middle of no where or sale us to the Canadian Drug Lords . They both just laughed but never answered my question.
After a pit stop at the liquor store, we met our guide and learned the plan for the day… Ice Fishing! Huck and I watched Grumpier Old Men while we were home for Christmas, and thought Ice Fishing would be fun. Chris and Lisa found a guide that takes people fishing and supplies all the equipment.
Nate is the owner of Laker Taker Charters and Tours. He usually only works during the summer, but occasionally will take people ice fishing during the winter. I recommend him 100%. Great guy! Very knowledgeable! Price was very reasonable for what we did!
We drove a few miles to Tettegouche State Park. We parked and started our 1.5 mile hike to the lake. Chris and Lisa asked if we had a problem walking 1.5 miles in the snow before we left. None of us knew it was 1 mile up hill.
The snow was about 1- 1.5 feet deep.
My legs were burning half way through the hike. I’m not use to one, walking up hill and two, wearing heavy boots.
After wanting to give up a few times and lots of breaks, we made it to the Lake.
Walking on ice for the first time was scary. I didn’t know how thick it was and didn’t trust it not to break. Nate was in the lead and just tracked right across like nothing.
We were walking on water! But there was a problem. I didn’t see a shed. Nate told us he “had a heater and inside it would be warm”. I almost cried when I thought this wasn’t the lake we were fishing on and we had to walk more. That’s when Nate stopped and asked the boys to help setup.
Instant Fishing Hut! Can I point out that Nate hardly wore a jacket, wore jeans with nothing but “underwear” underneath, and keep telling us how warm it was! By the end of the day his pants were frozen!
Once the tent was up, he grabbed the auger and made holes, in the ice, to fish.
He said the ice was about 3 feet deep.
Besides the two fishing holes in the tent, he setup 6-7 Tip Ups. When a fish would grab the bait, the flag would pop up. Once the fish was on the line, you pulled the line in by hand.
Lisa and I took over the inside fishing while the boys played with the Tip Ups.
It wasn’t long before we heard all the guys yelling “Flag Up!” and seen them running by. Huck pulled in the first fish of the day. A Northern Pike.
Shortly after, Lisa caught one. We both were screaming like school girls as she reeled it in. The boys told us they knew when the fish was out of the hole by our screams.
I had zero luck with my hole, so I decided to handover my pole to Chris and try the tip ups. In the first 10 minutes, we ran after 3 different flags, but came up with nothing. I was starting to think I wasn’t going to catch a fish.
The weather changed a few different times while we were on the lake. It went from sunny to blizzard in just a few minutes. It was SO NICE watching it snow!
After a few hours of watching everyone else catch fish, I threw in the towel and gave my fishing pole to Chris. I was going to just take pictures. As soon as he sat down, he got a bite. I was SO MAD!! The fish got away, and I felt bad for complaining. At least someone was catching fish, but I manned that hole for a while and got nothing. He didn’t even sit down and got a bite.
As I was taking pictures, a flag popped up. I started running over yelling for someone to come help me. I didn’t know what to do.
Huck helped me as I pulled in my first and only fish of the day. He scared us when he popped up in the hole. His mouth was wide open and he looked like a monster. Huck and I both screamed.
Some how, I hooked him in the eye, too! He almost got away!
Huck had to get a few cool shots of the beer. :)
This picture was taken before we finished. While I was setting up the camera for a group shot, a bunch of flags started popping up. We finished the day with 11 total.
Lisa fished until the very end.
As the sun started going down, it was time to pack up and make our way back to the car. The hill going back was rough. Nate and Huck pulled the sled with all the supplies and fish. Hats off to them. I barely made it back just carrying myself.
Total Fish:
- Chris- 5 (He had to throw one back because it was to small)
- Huck- 4
- Lisa- 2
- Sloane- 1
I’m going to end this post now. It is getting really long. Stay tuned for part two of our Ice Fishing Day!
Nice! Isn’t ice fishing so much fuN>?
It really was fun! I think the Tip Ups were my favorite though.
So glad you all and fun ice fishing and that you finally caught one. I’m really enjoying reading about your adventure and it does make me think of ‘Grumpy Old Men ‘ with out the building I’m sure it was warmer in the tent though. love You, Mom
We seen a few lakes with a bunch of camps like in the movie.
That is such a cool {well, COLD!} experience, Sloane! I can’t even imagine being in that type of weather for that long, I would have called it a day. Looks like a day to remember!
When I was sitting in the tent, I was cold! After running around after the Tip Ups, I started pulling off some of my layers. I don’t think I would want to live there though!
jimmy klaes says
That long one that you caught looked like a gar pike.awsome footage.I miss it but don’t miss the cold. It bothers me now that I’ve been in ga over 1/2 my life.thanks for the show ,can’t wait till part two.love jimmy & denise.
I would like to live in a snowy climate for maybe one season. I know I wouldn’t want to live there forever! I couldn’t stand dealing with a dirty car for half the year!!