Ice season closed here in Saskatchewan on March 31. I was on call for work for the last week of the season and was not able to make it out. My son and I left Monday morning at 5:00am and met up with 4 of my friends for a 2hr drive to The Pas, Manitoba. We rented a cabin on Clearwater Lake. We were on the ice and fishing by 11:00am. My son Hunter who is 11 has never been lake trout fishing or any trout fishing for that matter, so he was pretty excited. First hole he dropped into the tube jig hit about 20ft and the lines on the flasher came in at mach 1 at about 35ft. We told him to start reeling up and when the fish hit that was the last of the line he got back onto the reel, the drag was screaming. Hunter was so excited I don’t think he was listening to the advice and instruction that Dennis and I were giving him. Needless to say after a valiant effort the rod straightened out and the fish was gone. Both Dennis and I figured mid teens plus but we will never know. At the end of the day we tallied 15 lakers all in that 3 to 4 pound range, but all the guys including my son re-minded hourly for the whole night that I did not put a fish on the ice. On Tuesday we were back at it and on the ice and fishing by 7:00. My first drop of the day was REDEMPTION and I got the last laugh as a 10 pounder came up through the hole. There was no serious contenders for the day money all morning and I was reminding everbody that 10 was the number and they could just give it too me now. A little after noon my son was fishing my hole,my rod, my flashers as I was packing stuff back into the sleigh for a move when I he yelled “Dad,I got one”. After a little tussle a contender for big fish came through the hole. After a few pics and a quick weight the fish was back down the hole. Dad was still leading as Hunter’s trout was just over 8 pounds. Around 3:00 we were having a few refreshments and some snacks, I was reminding the boys that were holding nothing back on me the night before that I was still leading and they might as well pay me now. Gloating has a way of kicking you in the butt sometimes and this was one of those times. Ray goes running to his dead line and slams they hook in to a pig. After about a 5 minute battle Dennis reaches into the hole hauls Ray’s 21 pound, 42″ monster out. Unbelievable fish and I must say I didn’t mind losing. After a few pics the fish was sent back down the hole. A few refreshments were consumed and the back to fishing we went. By the end of the day we totaled 29 lakers.
Today was a walleye day. We headed south of The Pas and snowmobiled in to a place called Kelsey Lake, fishing was not as good as in the past but it is better than work. Hunter, Dennis, and I only fished for about 3 hrs before we packed up to come home but we did manage to get a couple limits. All in all it was a great trip and a nice way to end off the ice season. Unless I can talk the wife into a family get away next weekend 
