It's nice to just have a few minutes to catch up with all of you. This day off couldn't have come soon enough. The busy schedules we all have sometimes makes it hard to blog as much as we would like. I find this morning's bright sunshine and a good cup of coffee a bit different from the hectic pace of the last week or so. I'm taking time today to enjoy it! The Christmas season is filled with so much to do and so little time that we rarely stop for even a moment. Before we know it the New Year has come and gone and it soon becomes just another blur in our memories of Holidays past. My wish for all of you this Christmas is that you can pause for awhile, reflect on what Christmas is truly all about, and share that very special gift with those who you hold deepest in your hearts. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and wishes for a safe and Happy New Year!
The last few winters around here in Illinois have been relatively cold with plenty of snow and ice. I was starting to really enjoy them. A new found commitment to ice fishing, my weekends and late afternoons were spent drilling holes, setting up the portable shelter, and jigging up a few gills, with an occasional bass and crappie thrown in for added excitement. What a way to spend a cold winters day. With my Coleman heater and a few good layers, I could sit out in the shanty for hours and be quite comfortable. Last year I purchased my first underwater camera (I returned it at the end of the season because it was shorting the battery out, and it wouldn't recharge.) Watching finicky pan fish take your ice jig and not even feeling them bite was a real lesson. All the times I had spent ice fishing before, that had ended in futility, with us wondering why we couldn't catch anything, were now completely explained. You have no idea of how excited I was for this season to begin. With a new underwater camera on the way and my friend Rich's new flasher we will have all the tools we need to have a successful winter of fishing...but we have no ice!
Yes, you heard me right. There is no ice at this point in Illinois and I am wondering what I am going to do without it. I would like to take a trip up north if time and money permits me to do so, but at this point it is very frustrating. So I sit here at my kitchen table, preparing to spend this day shopping with my son Bryan and getting ready for our Family Christmas, while waiting patiently for Jack Frost to get his lazy ass back to work so we can go ice fishing!
Thanks again to all of you who read and follow the Blogs at Fishing Headquarters and at Cappy's Pond.
