Ice Fishing with Friends

My company has several thousand employees overseas. I happened to meet a manager from India who had come to Boston. In our conversations about our different cultures I told her about a day of ice fishing I had with my son. I put together a description and pictures that she passed around in India. She had never seen snow or frozen lakes and ponds so it was quite interesting for her. This is what I sent her.

It was 10 degrees out and very windy so the wind chill made it feel like it was below zero. When the lakes and ponds freeze in the winter we go ice fishing. We use an ice auger to drill holes in the ice. (my son Kevin and my friend Doug)



Once the holes are drilled we use "tip-ups" or traps to catch the fish. We put a minnow (small silver fish) on a hook and lower it through the hole in the ice. The minnow swims around under the ice. When a fish swallows the minnow and hook the fishing line goes tight it releases a flag which pops up in the air. We usually race to the flag. The first one there is the one that gets to pull in the fish. You can put out several tip-ups per person. (another friend Rick with my son Kevin)
While we wait for the flags to pop up we collect wood from the woods to make a fire. This is to keep warm and cook food we bring for the day.

Once a flag pops up you slowly pull the trap out of the hole. Then we need to quickly pull the fishing line to set the hook in the fish then pull the fish through the hole. (Rick setting hook on a fish we caught)




This is a large mouth bass that Kevin caught.


Ice fishing is a fun time for all … the worst thing is when I take pictures I find that I am not in any of them …

Hunting Adventures - 2008

November 1- 2, 2008 NH





Several of us went to David's in Moultonborough, NH for opening Muzzleloader season. I borrowed a gun from Mike since I still don't have one. It was great to be with the guys and get into the woods. I had a head start because I brought Kevin out for Youth Weekend.


On Sunday, November 2, 2008 I sat on a rock overlooking a clear cut field with stumps and brush. At 4:20PM a deer came down into the field between me and a house to my left up on a hill. Then two, then three, then four … I had my gun up (muzzleloader), safety off. I was looking at a medium weight doe and 3 fawns. I could shoot a doe or a buck at this time. They turned and stood 15 yards in front of me. They didn't see me or smell me as I was very still and the wind was blowing away from them. If any of them had antlers or all mature I would have taken one. If I took that doe, the fawns wouldn’t make it so I made the decision to pass. I consider myself a Sportsman as well as a hunter. It was the right thing to do. I was getting very cold as the sun was going down and the wind was blowing. I finally got a cramp and had to move my leg. When I did the doe gave a snort and ran to the middle of the field. Two fawns followed and one went the wrong direction back to where they came from so the doe stopped about 60 yards away. They slowly walked to the side of the field to the top of the ridge (110 yards). I moved a bit and looked through binoculars. The doe started to stomp and snort at me. She must have snorted a dozen times then slowly went into the woods. There was noise to my right when they were standing in front of me. I was hoping more deer (a buck) would have been following the doe but no such luck.The real upsetting thing was that my camera was in my pack so I didn't get pictures.  The whole time she was snorting at me I was thinking ... you're not out of range .. .I can still shoot you ... you be nice to me and stop mouthing off  ...

November 14 - 16, 2008 VTOpening day for rifle in Vermont is the 15th so I headed up early to get set up and scout a bit.

I had a real tough time trying to figure out where to hunt as I hadn’t been out to scout yet. The 3 point rule in Vermont has been successful so numbers and weights are up. My choices: The Town Line, Jurassic Hill, Sargent Hill, Cream Street, the Boulders, off the Copper Mine Road, The Valley. They made fun of me because I couldn’t choose. I finally decided I was going to hunt Sargent Hill. I walked in and saw some good runs and some sign so I was set.

I spent Saturday the 15th on Sargent Hill. Directly across the road is Jurassic Hill. Mike and Paul went there. Paul went to his rock and Mike looped around the bottom. I was up on my hill and heard the shot at 7:25AM. It was Mike shooting a 5 point Buck. Paul left his rock to help Mike track the deer. A doe jumped out in front of him when he was going toward Mike. It saw him and ran. A big buck immediately followed. Paul shot at that buck on a dead run and missed. The rest of that day they saw lots of does but no more bucks. Doug ended up on Sargent and pushed a deer across the trail I came in on. It ran head down with no flag.

We had our big dinner at Frank's on Saturday night. Frank has 2 female Japanese Mastiff's (Tosa's). They are huge.
Sunday the 16th I resisted the urge to go to Jurassic and stayed on Sargent Hill. Doug came over to Sargent and went up by Norford Lake. He pushed around several does. We met on the top of Sargent. We made a push down the hill. Doug took the Red line markers down and I took the trail down. The same trail the deer crossed the day before. While I was descending Doug radioed and said the red line was taking him toward a house. I told him to go more left toward me. I was on the trail 2/3’s of the way down when he radioed. He jumped a deer that ran down the hill. I moved down quickly to the curve in the trail so I could see the deer if it jumped the trail at the bottom of the hill or on the left side as it did the day prior. NOTHING. Doug came out to the trail but we didn’t see anything. I told him the guy I met yesterday on the trail, Gary, said he pushed a deer down the year before and it went right. That was going toward the truck so Doug and I continued on the trail. All of you know how fast Doug walks so he was probably 50 yards in front of me when he jumped the deer and yelled. He was off and running after it. I saw the deer and could put up my gun but the deer was running, Doug was ahead of me, and there was no way I could see if there were antlers. Doug continued to run down the trail until the deer crossed the road. This was very exciting.

Doug had to get back to camp so I crossed the road to the Jurassic side and followed the tracks into the swamp. I never caught up with it. I was embarrassed to talk with the guys when everyone gave account for how many deer they saw in the woods over the weekend. I saw 4 deer.

November 21 - 23, 2008 VT
I headed back up to Mike’s Friday night. I was beaten down from the weekend before so I decided to go to Jurassic where most of the activity was.

Saturday I took a stand on the east side at a good spot where the deer come off the ridge. I saw 1 doe come down that morning. I jumped 3 more deer that were bedded down on a knoll. Rick and Steven decided to go to Sargent Hill Saturday morning as we left the trucks. I told Rick I would be real ticked off if he shot a deer on Sargent after my last weekend adventure there.

After an hour or so I heard a shot from Sargent. I somehow switched radio channels so I never heard any chatter from Rick or Steven. When I came out of the woods to my truck I noticed drag marks down the trail to Sargent. I saw blood … My first thought .. that darn Rick shot MY deer. Rick shot a 4 point buck. I had 3 points on one side, and an antler broken off on the other side. It would be safe to say it would have been a 6 point buck. I thought more … NUTS … THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ME … THAT WAS MY DEER … I WORKED FOR IT. No more deer sightings for me on Saturday.

Sunday we decided to hunt the Town Line area. This is where I shot an 8 pointer several years before on the left side of the hill. The group spread out. I went to the same spot I shot my deer. Came across some tracks and some scrapes but didn’t see any deer. The others were on the right side of the hill and saw many deer. Steven saw 9, Mike saw 7 or 8, etc. Mike started in a field and saw several, then proceeded up the line markers toward Steven. There were lots of deer being pushed around BUT NOT BY ME. That afternoon I decided to sit on the Field Mike started on but didn’t see anything.

I spent THANKSGIVING weekend in CT with the family.

Rick said he was going up to hunt Red Hill in Moultonborough, NH on Saturday the 29th and asked if I wanted to go. I had never hunted Red Hill. I was still in CT with family so I passed. Rick went up early that Saturday morning and started up the hill toward the fire tower. He saw a well used run he had know about from previous scouting and decided to sit for an hour. Maybe to rest also as Red Hill is a steep climb. After sitting for a few minutes Rick saw a deer come down the hill onto the run and toward him. It was a doe. He said he heard deer grunts also. His thought was another hunter was close and was using a grunt call. He wouldn’t stop grunting and Rick started to get upset. It turned out to be a 4 point buck following that doe (hot doe) about 100 yards behind. Rick shot his SECOND buck in a week. I WAS IN CT REMEMBER!!

Doug called me and told me. I called Rick and was happy for him. I told him it was nice that at least one buck he shot had his name on it …

December 6 - 7, 2008 I went to Moultonborough, NH and was in the woods by1:30PM. There were several scrapes behind Kevin’s rock in the pines so something is moving through there. The leaves and snow patches were crunchy so I was very loud. The wind was blowing also.

I was in the woods by 6:35AM Saturday morning. Cold but no wind in the morning. By late afternoon the wind started.


No deer either day but I did find a nice shed in the woods. I found the right side (4 pts) and thought I would start to circle to find the other … WHERE ARE MY PRIORITIES … I AM HUNTING … I continued to hunt instead.

I sat at the bottom of the field Friday and Saturday for the evening stand where I saw the doe and 3 fawns. No luck.

You missed a nice Lake Winnipesaukee sunrise Saturday morning from David's backyard. I sure like being in the woods ...


Search Blog Archive: November 2011, November 2010 & November 2009 - for more Hunting Adventures

Skydiving - Pepperell, MA - 2008

I enjoy taking action shots of moving objects. This has taken some practice since my camera doesn't have a viewfinder. I decided to practice by taking pictures of skydivers jumping from 13,000 feet. It has been fun experimenting and the colors are very sharp. I don't know most of the people I have taken pictures of so I posted many of my pictures on a skydiving web site.  I have been contacted by several to ask for originals.



I was taking pictures at the “New England Boogie” in Pepperell, MA on August 24, 2008. At 4:36PM a skydiver cut his main parachute (called a cutaway) when it malfunctioned. He returned safely with his reserve parachute. Not very common to get a picture of a skydiving accident.  I sent a picture to Skydiving Magazine. They published the first picture in the November 2008 edition.



I was taking pictures and saw what I thought was 2 skydivers collide in the air. I thought they were tangled up going to crash. They were very close and coming down so fast I only got one shot off before one of them yelled “NOW” and they broke apart and landed safely. It turns out they were practicing a maneuver called a "downplane".  Turns out this is the Air Adventures Parachute Team.

Search Blog Archive: September 2011September 2010, August 2010, August 2009, May 2009 - for more Skydiving.

Youth Hunting Weekend 2008 - New Hampshire

Kevin and I left for Moultonborough on Friday morning (Oct. 24). I wanted to get up there and settled in the morning so we could go scouting. While driving on the highway Kevin took a picture of a moose in the back of a truck. I parked on Shaker Jerry and followed an old ATV trail toward the rock where I shot my buck hast year. It was a shorter steeper climb than going up the side of the clear cut field. It thought it would be a quieter hike in so that is the route we would take to sit on the rock in the morning.

I brought up wood so we could have a fire at night. There wasn’t much wood so it was a good thing that I did. (Bring wood up if you can).

We dressed warm as it seemed cold. I wanted Kevin to focus on his gun and hunting so I took my pack both days with extras for both of us. It was heavy. Both days the temperature started out around 34. It warmed up to mid 50’s. They said it may start raining Saturday afternoon and in to Sunday. I over packed with a blanket, rain gear, more gloves, etc. It warmed up quickly so we definitely overdressed. It didn’t rain until Saturday night and ended Sunday morning. So we didn’t get wet in the woods.

The flue was closed at the house. I opened the flue so we could have a fire. I closed the flue when we left so OPEN THE FLUE before you start a fire. Had a nice fire on Friday night.

We were up at 5:30AM on Saturday morning (Oct. 25). Had breakfast and out the door by 6:30AM. My plan was to be ready to walk up to the rock as soon as we could see and may get lucky and jump something on the way in. Didn’t see or hear anything on the way in. We settled in at the rock.

Kevin is getting over a cold. Not a problem until we were sitting on the rock for a while. He had to cough or clear his throat rather frequently anytime we sat for any length of time. DO YOU THINK THE DEER COULD HEAR THAT!! I was frustrated as I like to sit for a good amount of time and QUIETLY blend in. Kevin was sleepy so rested for a few minutes while I kept an eye out fore movement.

We can see the edge of the clear cut field at the top. Saw a father/son go by on the edge of that field mid morning. Kevin wanted to walk so we left the rock and went to the field. We walked across the field toward the ATV trail near the Squiggle sign. There is a clump of trees the guy left alone on the way to the trail. We went left. There was a deer in the clump of trees. We heard it but didn’t see it. It went right toward that little pond. 2 weeks prior Kevin and I saw a rub and a run right there. I wanted to go the direction of the deer but Kevin wanted to keep going left. WE WENT LEFT and ended up on the ATV trail about 100 yards from the squiggle sign. We continued left on the ATV trail going toward the landing. Saw another father/son coming up the trail. They said they hadn’t seen anything yet. We continued toward the landing.

I decided to take the swamp trail so we took a right before the landing. The ATV people have cleared the brush and fallen trees so it is much easier to walk. Didn’t see anything. Had Kevin in front of me 30 yards or so as we walked. I kept telling Kevin to SLOW DOWN and WALK QUIETLY all weekend as THIS IS NOT A HIKE … It is what it is with an 11 year old. Then again, I remember Rick telling me (no … he yelled at me) the same thing constantly when I started hunting. I was 30 at the time!


We saw another spot that overlooked a clearing and stopped there for a while. We ended up looping back around then back to the truck by 1:30PM. We had lunch at the house then back to the rock later that afternoon.

The rain held off until we came out of the woods. I drove to the store to buy Kevin some cough drops to try to keep him quiet. We made spaghetti for dinner and built another fire. It rained real hard with wind gusts up to 40mph.

I was up at 5:30AM again on Sunday. Was still raining a bit and very dark because of the cloud cover. I let Kevin sleep a bit longer. The rain pretty much stopped by 7:15AM and it was getting light enough to see so we were out the door by 7:30AM.

We drove half way to where we were going to park and I realized I forgot the cough drops. I TURNED AROUND. We parked and went up the trail to the rock again. We sat for a while. The cough drops DIDN’T WORK!! Kevin didn’t struggle as much if we kept moving so we did a loop behind the rock in the pines down the edge of the field. Saw a run and a very large rub. Came back around to the rock. I suggested to Kevin we should walk 10 – 15 feet in from the edge of the field and go toward where we jumped the deer the day before. Instead, Kevin wanted to go to the ridge at the top of the clear cut field and have a sandwich. He went to the top and sat down on a rock. It overlooks the lower part of the field. I was 30 yards behind. When I arrived I took off my pack and started to take out the sandwiches. I looked up and saw deer jump up and move broad side to us. It was 125 yards or so away. I told Kevin shoot. He raised and cocked his gun. Before he could pull the trigger the deer turned away from us and disappeared. NUTS. Kevin had a 20 gauge with a rifled slug so he may have made the shot but I'm not actually sure. I need to get him a 30/30 or a .243 for next year. The deer we saw was bedding down between the 2 birch trees at the far right of picture. The deer went left and through the notch to the left away from us. It was a good size deer. I left my binoculars in the truck so couldn’t tell if it was a buck or doe. It moved like a buck with its head down and no flag. We waited a while to see if the deer would loop back around but no such luck.

We had a Harvest Party at church that started at 4PM so Kevin wanted to get back for that. We went back to the house and packed up. We went to the rock at the bottom of the field for our last 2 hours. The rock is between the same 2 trees. You can watch the whole side of the field so it has an open view. I had a spike come out from the trees last year and feed the day before opening rifle so all I could do is watch.

Kevin had a great time as did I. Lots of great Boys time memories.

New England Patriots vs Miami Dolphins' 09/21/08

My friend Doug has season tickets for the Patriots. I went to the Miami game on September 21, 2008. Here are some pictures.

Joey Porter ready to rush Matt Cassel
for one of his 3 sacks of the game.


Teddy Bruschi hurts his knee on a play.

Stephen Gostkowski kicked a field goal to give us 3 points.

David Thomas and his wife are a great Christian role models for teens and college kids. I took one of my daughters to a True Love Waits seminar and heard them speak.

Ellis Hobbs returning kickoff. Offense waiting to go onto the field.