Happy Saturday! Just got back from an incredible morning of ice fishing on Lake Scugog and I have to say that it was THE most exciting fishing experience that I have had in Ontario.
Our family cherishes quiet mornings at the cottage fishing in the canoe or off the dock, but we have only had a couple of opportunities to experience fishing in winter. When our friend Jason Chesebrough invited us to join his fishing posse this morning, we jumped at the invitation. Of course, my son Jordan couldn’t accept the invitation unless Grampie would agree to come along on the adventure too. And he did!
We met the gang on the icy shore of Lake Scugog at 9:30am, and started the trek out to the bright orange hut, owned and operated by the nicest guy you will have the pleasure to meet Al Russell. It was a bright, but chilly day. After a brisk 10 minute walk across the Lake, which is about 17inches thick today, we arrived at the hut feeling lucky to be in the company of some serious fishermen: Jason, Sean and Lucas. In no time, they had found the ideal spot, “augered” a fishin’ hole, baited the hook with a live minow, and voila, we were in business!
About 2 hours in, my son Jordan (7) was getting hungry and although Lucas shared some of his tasty trail mix with us and Jason had decked us out with hot paws compliments of his lovely fiancée, Sheri, we decided to pack it in and head home for lunch. Just as we were packing up, Jason’s son, Aidan (11) announced: FISH ON!!Well, this mighty pickerel was so large that when I ran over to help Aiden pull the fish up, the line broke! I briefly considered grabbing the fish with my bare hands to save the day, but the sharp teeth detered me. YIKES! Time to call in the pros – within moments, Sean was able to capture the fish. Waaa hoooo!! It was Aidan’s first catch while ice fishing and he had just caught a monster pickerel! So big, in fact, that we were advised that it had to be released back into the water to respect the conservation of the species. Oh well; we won’t be having a fish fry for dinner, but we did have the BEST DAY EVER! Here is a video that my amazing and super talented husband, Jason King edited from footage that I captured. Hope you enjoy it!
Huge thanks to Jason, Sean, Lucas and Al for creating a memory for all of us that our family will always remember!
(Left to right) Jason & Aidan. Sean and Lucas auger in. Al Russell of alsanglingoutfitters.webs.com.