We got woken up a number of times during the night. If it wasn't Ryan, it was Sydney. By 5am, I was in bed with Sydney and Deni was in another bed with Ryan. We probably got about 3, maybe 4 hours of sleep, if that.
We got up at 5:30am to get the final things packed and ready to go. Between buying a fishing license at the last minute, to getting the equipment in the truck, to getting gas, etc we didn't officially get on our way until about 7am, which is the time we want to be on the ice.
We went to Strawberry Reservoir. It was amazing the amount of snow. There were 5 or 6 foot snow drifts on the side of the road. When we got to our normal fishing spot (Mud Creek) the road wasn't plowed. Again, 5 to 6 feet of snow covering the road. We were eventually able to get the snowmobiles up and over the snowbank. We got on the ice around 9am. There was 12 -14 inches of snow on the ice. We cleared a few places and started drilling holes. The ice was over 2 feet thick, probably the thickest I've seen at Strawberry. Before I could get my pole in the water, Deni caught the first fish. I say she cheated,since I was still trying to get everything setup.
The fishing was very slow. No bites like we usually have. Ryan and I hanging out waiting for fish to bite, I got hot clearing the 12-14 inches off of the ice that I had to take my jacket off for a while.
Ryan and I still waiting for a fish.
My first and last fish of the day. Too bad we had to throw it back because it was only 18 inches. It was a cutthroat, and they have to be smaller than 15 or larger than 22 to keep. I think it looks bigger than Deni's fish too.
All in all, we had a great time being out on the ice. We left around 2pm when the wind started to pick up. Deni and I were the only ones to catch a fish today.
