03-05-2007, 05:52 AM
We also went up to the Berry, except we decided to do some night fishing on the full moon. My friend had been doing well at night the past several times out. So he brought 2 kids with him and some ice tents and heaters and off we went optimistically into that cold night. Well, we arrived at the Ladders to find A LOT of snow on top of the ice along with deep slush. We went about 500 yards and proceeded to set up where we collapsed (our aim was to get at least 20 ft water under us). We got the kids into their tent and they started catching fish. We went to set up our tent (borrowed) and it was broken! So we sat out in the cold. We lasted less than an hour. Lonnie got one bite and missed it. I didn't get a sniff. A slight breeze kicked up, so we called it a night ASAP. It took us 30-45 mins just to walk 500 yds in that slop! I was exhausted (was sick and had been up since 4:45am). I had at least 5-10 lbs. of ice on each leg! The poor kids got a little wet, as well as my friend. We got a real scare from that! But everybody was okay. The kids were age 12 and real troopers!
Note to self: don't let friends talk me into stupid fishing trips! I should've listened to Mr and Mrs. Tube about going up there! It was miserable cold (7 deg F when we left after midnight, but 24 deg F just on the other side of the Daniels summit) and not worth the effort. Between the cold, slush, no fish, and broken rod, it was a TOP 10 WORST fishing trip ever.... And yes, I have plenty of good days at work that would rank higher than this trip! Could be my last ice trip of the season....
P.S. Don't let poor judgement, expectations, and "fish-lust" cloud your judgement. We should've just turned around when we saw all that snow, especially after we encountered the deep slush. We almost got into real trouble with mother nature this night. I was dressed appropriately, but some others in my group were not. Remember, COTTON KILLS IN THE COLD!!!!!!
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Note to self: don't let friends talk me into stupid fishing trips! I should've listened to Mr and Mrs. Tube about going up there! It was miserable cold (7 deg F when we left after midnight, but 24 deg F just on the other side of the Daniels summit) and not worth the effort. Between the cold, slush, no fish, and broken rod, it was a TOP 10 WORST fishing trip ever.... And yes, I have plenty of good days at work that would rank higher than this trip! Could be my last ice trip of the season....
P.S. Don't let poor judgement, expectations, and "fish-lust" cloud your judgement. We should've just turned around when we saw all that snow, especially after we encountered the deep slush. We almost got into real trouble with mother nature this night. I was dressed appropriately, but some others in my group were not. Remember, COTTON KILLS IN THE COLD!!!!!!
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