Ice Fishing for the First Time

One of Colt's favorite things to do is go ice fishing. He's been offering to take me since we met and this past weekend, I finally said yes. Colt and I, along with a few of our friends, left the valley at 4:30 last Saturday morning (true story- I still can't believe I was up and out of here that early) and headed for Starvation Reservoir. 

The boys set Whitney, Ann (my friend), and me up in Colt's ice hut with a heater so that we would be nice and comfortable for the day (Colt is tougher than I am and prefers to do his fishing "out in the element"). I caught one fish (I didn't touch it- I wasn't ready for that big of a step yet) and had a great afternoon talking and laughing with the girls. I even took a little nap in my chair. It was a good day and I had fun experiencing one of Colt's hobbies with him. 

Colt and his friend Tyson love to shoot their guns and rarely leave the house without them. We hadn't been out of the truck for five minutes before both of them grabbed their shotguns and went after a rabbit (it got away, bless its heart).

I've always thought that ice fishing sounded like a lot of work. I was right. You have to pack everything up into a sled, put it in the truck, haul it to your spot, set everything up, make the holes (lucky for Colt, we have a gas-powered auger), catch the fish, pack everything back up, haul it back to the truck, drive home, unpack the sled, and gut/filet the fish. Colt did all of the work for our day on the ice and made sure that everything was perfect for me.

 

It was a beautiful day, but was it sure windy. The wind was freezing cold, making me even more grateful for the ice hut and heater.

I don't generally like to wear a lot of layers and I hate socks. I was so bundled up for the day that I felt a bit claustrophobic. I wore three pairs of pants and super thick socks. When we got home, I was really happy to shed everything and feel normal again. I do want to point out my snow pants, though, because they are one of my best thrifty finds to date. Whitney convinced me to get them at Goodwill last year. They cost me a whopping $3 and were absolutely perfect for ice fishing.

Whitney made sure to document my fishing nap by grabbing my camera and snapping a photo. This nap did me some good. Waking up at 3:45 in the morning, driving for two hours, and getting set up in the freezing cold air and wind did me in. I needed a refresher to make it through the rest of the morning. I caught my fish right after I woke up.

Whit, Ann, and I were laughing away when my line started bobbing. Whitney pointed it out and I quickly set the hook. I was so excited that I was screaming like a crazy person, which was a good thing since Colt heard me and came in to hold my fish and take the hook out of its mouth for me.

The boys alternated between fishing and shooting at geese. The truth is that Colt and his friends are just a bunch of great big kids. They like to have as much fun as possible and shoot/catch as many things as possible (no matter what I say/feel about it) whenever they have the chance. I'll spare you guys the dead goose photos.

We brought my fish (a rainbow trout) home and ate it for dinner that very night. We love fresh fish tacos and make them all the time with Colt's various catches (I like trout okay but walleye is my favorite so far). He filets and cooks the fish (he likes to pan fry it in a bit of lemon-pepper panko) while I prepare the sauce (cilantro-lime dressing) and some mexican rice.

I had a lot of fun ice fishing and would definitely go again, especially if Whit and Ann were going to be there. Catching a fish was fun and all but hanging out with them was the best part of the day. Colt and I also really want to take Harper sometime this month. We know she would love it.