Well, winter was a bust in Rochester this year. Too warm, and not enough ice. I was itching to go ice fishing all winter, but the weather wasn't cooperating. Then Dom invited me down to Big Al's cottage on Lake Underwood in northeastern Pennsylvania. Dom told me that this private lake never failed to produce, in fact he gave me the "G" that we would catch fish. Well I couldn't pass up that chance!
First, I should thank Big Al for hosting us, and the Silver Bear for feeding us. The accomodations were rustic, but it couldn't have been better: woodstove in the middle of the first floor, comfy sofa to sleep on, extra helpings of food. Deer mounts on the wall, and pictures of the trophy fish from the lake decorated the walls. It is exactly the kind of place I can see owning some day. Part summer cottage, part hunting camp. It was perfect. I was sore from laughing at Big Al's constant banter, and diligence in keeping us happy and warm.
The oncoming nor-easter made for a great day of fishing. The TV called for an blizzard along the seaboard, but we were far enough north and west of the storm, that we only got maybe an inch. But the fish were ready for us. I have never ice fished a better variety of fish. We caught pumkinseeds, perch, bass, crappie and pickerel. Big Al's sons came with some friends for saturday afternoon, and they pulled in a 26" pickerel, the biggest of the weekend. The state record I am told is 30" in PA! I mostly jigged while Dom and the Silver Bear manned the tip-ups. I couldn't catch a small crappie if I wanted to, they were all keepers. When we finished filleting fish on Sunday, we had 9 lbs of fish. This was an unforgetable weekend, and I thank Big Al, the Silver Bear, and Domzer for making it a great time!
3 comments:
Great pics! Glad you finally caught some fish!
9 lbs of fish...that's a lot of fish tacos.
I had a fish quesadilla last night...not bad. This was modelled after a trout quesadilla I had at the Rattlesnake Cafe in Bennington VT once.
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