Crappy Weather Is Crappie Weather

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Had an absolute blast on the lake last weekend ice fishing. I left work around noon on Friday, picked up Mike and hit the road before the snow started. It wasn't bad driving at all until about Danbury, when it started to snow pretty good. We made it to the cabin just fine and geared up and headed out to the lake to fish with Jeff around sunset. The crappies were lighting up the screen on our Marcums and biting pretty good. I think we ended up with around 12-15 keepers the first night.

The second night Don, Jeff, Rick and myself all had a great time during primetime again. I think we had around 25 keepers. Jeff ended up with the biggest crappie of the weekend that night, but we all caught numbers and the action was steady.

Sunday morning I got up early and went out by myself before sunrise. It was a little chilly at first, but after I saw all the fish on the screen I warmed up pretty quickly. I caught 24 small crappies and 1 keeper, but the action was fast and furious. Just about the time Don came down to the lake and I was about to go in for breakfast, I reeled in a large Northern Pike. I didn't have my camera with to take a picture, but it was definitely the largest fish of the weekend. I decided then it was a good place to stop and call it a day.

Despite the 24 inches of snow at the cabin and below zero temps, we loaded three ziploc bags full of crappie filets. Jeff mentioned it was one of the most successful ice fishing weekends ever. The trip home was a little scary at times, due to the high winds and blowing snow. I figured the best way to unwind was to have a fish fry and a cold beer, a great way to end a great weekend!