I like many of you got the flu, But I and missed a weekend
of ice fishing. I was ticked. Monday night after work I decided I was going. My
wife told me I was still pale and should not do it. Well she was right by the
time I carried my auger down the hill to the pond and drilled, I was spent. So
I went home and died on the couch.
Tuesday again my first thought was that I am going to get out on the ice tonight. Right off the bat I ran into problems, I
brought my hand auger this time and reopened the holes I had made the night
before. The problem was the slush from my holes was frozen in to tiny ice
mountains in the single digit weather. I tried to sit my shelter up on them and
it was like trying to stand on one foot after an epic night partying.
Now things went from bad to worse. I have seen slush layers
between the ice and the snow before but not this watery. There was a foot of
snow, then 3 inches of wet ass slush, then two feet of ice. Usually I see this
during a warm up, but it had been no higher then 8 degrees all day. It was now
1 degree and my doom was sealed. When the slush layer met the heat of my
lantern it turned my shelter into a smoking Indian sweat lodge and I could hardly
see to fish. What the hell? So tired, hot, and out of breath thanks to the flu
and my asthma I conceded defeat and started to pack up. My retreat was terrible
as well. Anything the slush had splashed on was immediately encased in ice. My
boots, legs, auger, shelter, and everything in my otter sled!!! As I pulled
everything to the van, I was out of breath and could not figure out why it was
sooo heavy. I took separate trips up frozen hamburger hill. When I just had my
empty sled it STILL weighed a ton. I flipped it over to find a 5 inch thick
layer of frozen slush!! Finally I was back in my vehicle cover in sweat, legs
burning, and hitting my inhaler wondering what just happened. I thought this
sport was my relaxing stress free escape, I guessed wrong….
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