Ice Breaker

 28 Feb 2009 01:20:12 am

It is Friday Feb 27, 2009, and today was a good day! As mentioned in a previous post I got the chance to spend the evening on the ice with a rod in hand and fish on my mind. I met one of my crew members at the local bait shop to get a scoop of minnows, and some ice fishing jigs. Ice fishing lures are a lot cheaper than the lures I am use to buying, so that was nice. we decided to try it out on Lake Bemidji. So we drove are trucks out on the ice, and started drilling some holes. We started fishing some pretty deep water with no luck. We decided to move around a bit and try to find a break (depth change). It was so nice having access to a power auger. It zipped through the 2 &1/2 feet of ice in seconds. It was awesome.

It was nice to spend time with a new friend, and share fish stories from the past, always something that you need to rely on if they aren't biting. And they weren't! Peter had one pull-down on his slip bobber rig, but was unable to connect.

I made a switch in my tackle going to the white jigging spoon with a red dot, just a shot in the dark really, tipped it with a minnow and sent it down to Davey Jones. After a couple of twitches, and a short time of dead sticking I GOT A BITE, and pulled up this beautiful perch (teeny tiny) but my first ever ice fishing fish!!! Cross that off my bucket list

No laughing at my goofy picture...I look like I'm on drugs or something...hahahaha, that fish must have been scared to death!!!

I tried and tried and tried to convince a resident walleye to give me a tug, but came up empty...I'm not complaining had a great time, and caught a fish. Pretty good deal if you ask me.

Check out this sunset too, it was purdy But not as purdy as my perch



I have now caught at least one fish in January and February, going for the 12 month grand slam this year.

.............What a day it was today............

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  Thursdee

 27 Feb 2009 05:26:52 am

Yesterday was one of the best days I have had at work yet... It was the crew members turn to train with the chainsaws in the field. I took a group, and the two field assistants took a group and we went looking for trees. I believe that the land we were on was being reverted to an oak savannah habitat type. Basically that means oaks and prairie grasses. So we got to cut some ash, aspen, and basswood. Mostly medium to small trees, but it was good practice for the guys.

It was very neat to watch them learn, and see how much they picked up in a matter of just hours. Watching them make a mistake and then catch themselves doing it and shaking their heads, and not making the same mistake the rest of the day. Also when they would ask a question, or tell me flat out that they weren't comfortable making a certain cut yet...that told me that they trust me, which is a good thing to have. Sorry about not having any pictures, I had my hands and eyes full making sure we got back to the truck with all of our limbs

On a side note, there is an outside chance that I will be spending tomorrow afternoon/evening on the ice. My mission is to stock the freezer with some walleye and perch. Making sure I have some chow for the upcoming Fridays. It is the last weekend the walleye season is open until May, so it will be nice if I get a chance to get out. All depends on just how cold it decides to be tomorrow. Going to try to go to Lake Winnibigoshish. Its a big lake with a big name, that I don't know how to spell it. And it is one of the lakes I have actually fished before when I was in high school, so it will be nice to revisit.

If we go I will let everyone know how we do, and hopefully have some of the first fishing pics of the year, say a prayer and cross your fingers

Hope all is well.....Almost March

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  Tuesday

 25 Feb 2009 03:27:18 am

Today was another day of training for the crewbies. Chainsaw classroom, again the same stuff that we just learned a couple of weeks ago. So we watched the recently Oscar nominated chainsaw safety video. After those 5 hours were over, we headed back to the shop and got the saws out. Showed the crew members around their saw and started them up. I am really comfortable with a saw and have had some experience with them. Most of these guys are still pretty new to the game.

Watching them start the saws and give it a few revs it dawned on me finally that chainsaws are dangerous. Nothing happened, but not only am I now in charge of these guys, but also I now have this 260cc spinning blade of death in their hands...Great. Jeez, it is scary watching someone who has never held a saw in their hands before. I felt like what I imagine it feels like to give your 16 year old the keys for the first time, or watching your toddler reach his hands up towards the stove near the boiling pot of whatever. Wow, I need to be spot on with my training and safety instructions! What a challenging and awesome responsibility. I guess I will just have to keep my head on a swivel, and as much as I can let them figure things out for themselves...That's how we really learn anyways.

Tomorrow we are out in the field all day FINALLY after sitting in classrooms for the better part of two weeks we get back outside. They will get practice making their cuts and felling trees. I can't wait to break a sweat, I'm sick of sitting on my butt. Should be fun!

Hopefully it is as nice outside tomorrow as it was today. It was right around 32 all day and sunny. Nice working weather if you know what I mean. I'll see if I can't shoot some pictures of the crew, but safety will be my number one so no promises.

Now the only decision I have to make is which flannel to go with??? Since I only have two flannel shirts it shouldn't be that hard of a choice.

Also FYI my Purdue email account will shortly be expiring, so thanks to the blogs administrator I have a new home for my email paul@redshad.com. So put it in your address books.

Holy cow tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, lent always sneaks up on me. Have to pack a meat free lunch for tomorrow. That means that Easter is coming, yay!!!

Hope all is well.

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  Minnie Monday

 24 Feb 2009 03:43:38 am

Today we traveled back to Deep Portage wilderness preserve/reserve and obtained our CPR certification. A lot of the same stuff as the first aid training. We just got the CPR details this time. I don't know if any of you have been certified in CPR, but the numbers of compressions to breaths is always changing. I was certified in High School, not that I can remember that far back, but the numbers and techniques have changed a lot. Good practice, hope I never have to use it....well at least until I'm married

The crew was certified in basic first aid so the other crew leader and myself got to explore the property a little more. We hiked on some of their snow shoe trails and saw some deer. Of coarse they saw us first, but it was neat none the less. There fat puffy faces, because its cold their fur is all puffed out, and they look funny. We kicked up a group of 4 deer, and they never really left the area, so we kept running into them.

Another cool sight was seeing a couple of pileated woodpeckers on an aspen tree right above us. Big big woodpeckers, taking some serious chunks out of the trees with their bills. One of those "wish I had my camera" moments! Oh well. Fun day!!! Especially for a Monday

Ok, moving on........

It's official, like clock work it has crept back into the back of my mind.......Once anything reaches the back of my mind (my mind not being that big) it immediately is pushed to the front. Cabin Fever has set in!!! After watching the guys fish on ESPN for the past couple days, nothing would make me happier to set the hook, cross some eyes, swing for the fences, and oh yes "Wabash em."

The apparent problem seems to be the two and a half months of ice cover I have to get through before open water season...Yikes Yikes Yikes! I can guarantee several things over the coming months. First of all, they will take f o r e v e r My tackle box will be organized....reorganized....and then dumped out and organized once more, the first time I do make it out they will be eating something I don't have, and I will have all of my rods rigged and ready to go by, oh next week or so

I think that if I were to stop and look at myself, and how occupied my mind becomes with such a simple thing, I would have to laugh, and admit to myself that I am just a little obsessed...but that's ok, I know I am so its all good.

"A jerk on one end of the line, waiting for a jerk on the other"

" A man, a worm, and a lake"

"The pursuit of what is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope"

"Hillbilly"

....Call it what you want I am just as hooked as the fish on the end of my line

So tick tock tick tock.............count count count, counting the days

Ah fishing....................It's the best

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  The Superbowl of bass fishing

 22 Feb 2009 12:26:56 am

Don't worry about reading my blog tonight, day two of the bass masters classic is on at 10pm est. Watch that instead, there will be no hard feelings for not reading my blog

Good evening to all

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