ActionshotsNH: NH Ice Fishing Derby - Lake Winnipesaukee 2013

Sunday, February 10, 2013

NH Ice Fishing Derby - Lake Winnipesaukee 2013

We had our NH Ice Fishing tournament on Lake Winnipesaukee this weekend. Mike, Rick, Steven, Kevin and I were heading to David’s on the lake.

We were all going to head to the lake on Friday. Rick and Steve were going to fish Saturday and Sunday. Mike was going to stay Saturday and head home. Kevin and I were going to fish until Saturday afternoon.

Why weren’t we staying until Sunday you ask? I had a date with my wife to go “Dancing With Your Star”. YES … I was throwing my man card down so I could learn how to “Ball Room Dance” by Professional Instructors. My plan was to let my close friends know but not make it public when on the ice for fear of a cold swim by yours truly.

In any case we had “The Blizzard of 2013”. It started on Friday and by Saturday morning we had 26 inches of snow. High winds caused large drifts also. Rick and Steve had almost 28 inches in their town. Mike had 8 inches in Vermont.

This moved our timeline back. The snow stopped by mid morning. It took several hours to clear the snow. Mike headed for the lake Saturday morning. MA had a driving ban so Rick and Steven heading out late afternoon. “Dancing With Your Star” was cancelled by the instructors because of the weather. I picked up my man card and started packing. Kevin didn’t feel well so I headed up by myself mid afternoon. Mike arrived first … I followed … Rick and Steven showed up around 6:30PM.

I noticed on the drive in there weren’t many on the ice so the snow messed things up.

Steven had the food so we had a late dinner (Chicken Pot pies, venison steaks, mashed potatoes, etc.) Fire in the fire place … had a fun night relaxing, playing cards, and laughing.

We got up Saturday morning … the temp was 1 below zero … Rick, Steven and Mike headed for the ice while I headed to Dunkin Donuts for the coffees. Doug was on his way up so I met him at DD. He followed me to our fishing spot on Moultonborough Neck.

When Doug and I arrived the guys were working on the ice auger. They finally got it started and put some holes in the ice.

Steve started cooking and Rick got the tip-ups in the holes. In keeping with tradition Steve made the “Heart Attack” sandwiches. (2 eggs, cheese, sweet sausage, bulky roll) Mighty Fine … We had Rick’s venison stew for lunch. I think it was from one of Ryan’s deer this year. (Was it the “Taco Bell Buck?”)

Mike headed out early afternoon. All day the guys wanted me to drive my truck on the ice. The ice (black ice) in our area was 10 inches thick with 18 inches of fresh snow on top. Before Doug and I headed out mid afternoon I did just that. No problems with the ice and snow. With new tires I had some good rooster tails going. I loaded up my gear and headed back to shore with Doug. Rick and Steve remained to keep fishing until dark.

When I got off the ice a guy in a Ford F150 had a dead battery and needed jumper cables. He was off the road and I couldn’t get my truck in close enough to give him a jump. With no power he couldn’t get his truck out of park. I figured he was in the snow so he would slide so I hooked him up with my tow strap and dragged him 15 feet to get him to an accessible spot to give him a jump. I showed those RAM, Toyota, and Ford boys that a Chevy is really the way to go. hehe …

I stopped in Meredith to check out the ice shanties and see the action on the board. The storm kept people away on Saturday but looked like things really picked up on Sunday. There were lots of people and some nice fish on the board. Nothing like a good ice shanty either!

We didn’t have a lot of action from the fish but always have a great time. Someday we may catch something big enough to make the board and win a prize …