The culmination of my first season on the ice came last night on Big Creek Lake State Park. I got to take advantage of some really nice weather and a calm afternoon for our family. It has been great to get out and enjoy another aspect of fishing that I had not yet tried. Not only do I enjoy ice fishing, but it is another way of spending some quality time with my son. I also get to spend more time with my stepson who has the same passion for fishing as I do. During the previous ice seasons, I’d be sitting at home wishing for open water…well…let me tell you my friends.. now I get to look forward to both open and hard water seasons… 
We went out yesterday afternoon, sun was shining and the temp was in the upper 20’s as we headed out. We fished out along an old road bed that has been marked on several maps for the lake. My stepson and I met my team mate and ice partner from the DSM ice fishing derby in the parking area at about 3:30PM. We quickly hit the ice and started checking depths and for fish, finally deciding on an area in about 15-20 foot of water. My partner Randy and I were fishing in about 20 feet, while Josh my stepson, was in about 15 feet. Randy and I couldn’t scare a bite, however Josh was pulling in some really nice gills. Randy and I moved around a bit but could not find any biters. After drilling a couple more holes we discovered that Josh was fishing right on the edge of a five foot drop. He was sitting in 15 foot of water, and another hole that had been drilled less than ten feet from where he was sitting had a depth of 20 feet. He was using a pink diamond jig tipped with a wax worm. Well to say the least Randy and I moved into the same general area and started catching fish.
We spent another hour or so scaring up a few gills and then decided to move to another area for some night fishing. We met up with another ice fishing partner, Patrick, and set up for the evening. The bite really slowed after the sun went down, but we did manage another crappie, a small catfish.. Randy pulled up a walleye and a couple crappie, Patrick and a couple crappie.
Unfortunately I have not photos to tell of my adventure last night, just a good experience and great memories of my first season on the ice. Now I’m looking forward to some open water fishing and getting my boat ready to go. As I close this out for today I want to thank all for reading my lengthy posts (at times.. 
) and for following the first year on the ice with me. I will be reporting soon of my open water experiences and of course will have a bunch of pics of some HUGE fish… 
… okay I might be a bit premature here… … but I certainly hope to have many to share.. hope to see you on the water sometime.. .. 
…here are a few of my favorite pics from my first year on the ice… see you on the water!!!
