Ice Fishing Tournament

Rick and Steve M entered an ice fishing tournament this weekend in MA.   Kevin and I arrived late. 

The ice looked to be 12 inches thick in the area we drilled holes.  We were near a river inlet so the ice was thinner the closer we got to the river.  We've had lots of snow this past month.  Snow is a good insulator so there was a lot of shush on top of the ice. 

Both Rick and Steve had 5 tip ups set up when we arrived.  Rick was on the board for pickerel and Steve was on the board for perch.  Looked good for both of them most of the day. 

Kevin was able to enter the tournament in the youth category.  I don't have a MA fishing license so I didn't fish.  In the beginning, Rick and Steve helped Kevin set his tip ups.  By the end, Kevin was using the ice auger and putting minnows on his own hooks.  The water was around 20 feet deep where we set up our tip ups.

Kevin caught this pickerel.  It was measured and weighed in the youth category.  I looked at the sheet and his catch put him in 3rd place.

Steve brought the grill.  We had hot dogs, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, bacon, eggs, chips, popcorn, peanuts, lots of soda's, water, etc.  It's always fun cooking on the ice.  Steve was the grill man.  Mark and his son showed up around 11AM. 

By early afternoon Kevin's boots leaked so his socks were soaked.  The temperature was in the high 20's with minimal wind.  Very sunny so it felt warm on the ice.  That is unless you have wet feet.  I didn't bring extra socks or boots for Kevin as I thought his boots were waterproof.  Steve called James to bring a pair of boots and socks but we weren't sure when he would arrive.  I ended up heading back to the truck with Kevin to head for home. 

I had Kevin take off his boots, socks and snow pants.  Luckily his snow pants kept his jeans dry.  With the heater on he warmed up his feet.

Anyone who has spent time outdoors knows how important it is to keep you feet dry.  The big Ice Fishing Derby in NH is in 2 weeks.  Wet feet for Kevin won't happen again.

Rick and Steve were knocked out of the winner bracket for their fish.  Kevin was in 3rd place with his fish so didn't win anything either.  We had a great time and are excited about the NH fishing derby in a few weeks.

Clay Pigeon Shooting

So what is it?  "Trap Shooting", "Skeet Shooting", or "Sporting Clay's".  Not that I know that much about it but "Clay Pigeon Shooting" or "Clay Target Shooting" is also in the mix ... There are lots of different rules depending on which you are doing ...

With that said, Kevin and I connected up with Rob and Nate to go @)$%#@ shooting.  Mike, Jeff, and Jeff's son Tyler were at the gravel pit where we would shoot.  Rob and Mike set up the launcher when we arrived.  With the temp in the 20's and mild wind it was a bit cold.  Mike set up a camping burner in case we wanted to warm our hands.  This is Mike, Rob, and Jeff fighting it out. 

I brought my Franchi Black Magic 12 gauge (gas action, ultra-light), Kevin's 20 gauge and a couple pistols in case we wanted to shoot at some targets. 

Rob, Mike, and Jeff had 12's also.  With the launcher set we lined up and started shooting.  Who could shoot the quickest and hit the disk?  Several times a disk was hit and the broken pieces were hit again on the way down. 

My shotgun is probably 20 years old and I hadn't put more than 5 boxes through it in that time so I was getting pummeled by the others.  Jeff was really on target with Rob and Mike not far behind.  Nate, Kevin, and Tyler did well also.  There isn't much to the breach action 20 gauge I brought so the boys had fun with it.

Kevin and I shot 3 boxes each.  I took this pic of Mike shooting my gun. 

Targets were set up so Mike could shoot his .22 rifle.  I passed around my 9mm and the .22 pistol.  Jeff had his .40 but I didn't get a chance to shoot it.  Maybe next time.

Lauren had a real bad ski accident the day before so she and Jessica didn't shoot with us.  Kate would have joined us also but had to work.

We had a great time and will do this again.