Believe it or not some of us here at PRA find that being out in the cold walking miles across frozen lakes and drilling holes through 2-3 feet of ice to catch fish is a lot of fun. My experience has been that it’s not only a lot of fun, but it’s also extremely challenging. For me, overcoming those challenges has always been very rewarding.
A snow covered lake
Over the weekend many people, including me, gathered in the Adirondacks at Tupper Lake for the 2013 NYS Ice Pro-Am Tournament, one of the biggest events of the ice-fishing season. The weather was great and the scenery was beautiful. Although it was pretty cold during the first few hours following our 5am start time, as the sun came up the temperature did rise and approached the 50 degree mark. I actually forgot to bring sunscreen, and got a little sunburn. Anyway, the objective of the tournament was to catch and enter the largest of multiple species of fish, and each team’s score was then calculated based on a pre-determined points system. I named my team Timely Decisions because in my opinion that’s what success in fishing is all about. I was at somewhat of disadvantage because I had never fished the lake before, plus I was fishing by myself so I was the “team”. In the end I ended up catching some great fish and finished in 1st place. I had a great time, and in addition to my cash prize I received so much new gear and equipment that I wasn’t even able to fit it all in my car to take it home with me.
Fish catch selfie
The ice fishing season is now almost over, ice is rapidly deteriorating everywhere and is for the most part no longer safe. Looking ahead to the warmer months, there are many great open water fishing opportunities throughout New York and even right here in our local area. If you have never been fishing and have your doubts about whether fishing is something that you would enjoy, give it a try, you may be surprised. If it’s not for you and you have kids do it for them. It was done for me and it certainly has changed my life for the better.
Here are is a link to some additional information, check it out:
http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/fishing.html