Brett and I got up early Saturday morning and got on the ice at first light. We were after bigger bass. We tried in the general area that other BFT members have been having success. I even heard that one had landed an 18"er there. We got no love except a couple of perch of usual size. We finally gave up and moved to an area where we had had some success earlier in the year. Brett proceeded to catch a pile of perch and several bass, while I picked up a few perch to take home for bait. I was feeling like a loser and a bad fisherman all around. We kept changing location within a limited area to try to find the ideal depth. Things picked up for me when I moved a few feet shallower and caught a couple of perch. Then I got a bite and set the hook. This was obviously a bigger fish, maybe the 14-15"er I was hoping for. I knew I needed to play it a while and get it worn out so it wouldn't fight and flip and flop when I got it up to the hole. I got a glimpse of it at the bottom of the hole and knew I had a pretty big fish on. Boy was my pulse racing! When I got it up into the hole and pulled its head up out I asked Brett to see if he could get it out for me. He grabbed for its gills then got a good hold on it and scooped it out on the ice. Wow! It turned out to be a 17"er, about 3 pounds if the charts are right. It sure looked big in the 6" hole I was fishing in. I couldn't stop shaking for quite a while, but I'm sure that was because of the cold 
. That size should put me in 2nd place for bass in the Ice Challenge. I guess it really is better to be lucky than good. Oh, when we got ready to unhook it we discovered that it was hooked through a tiny membrane in the top of its mouth. It pulled out easily when we grabbed the line. Good thing I thought to play it longer. I'm amazed that it didn't pull loose when I set the hook. Maybe I'm not as bad as I had begun to think I was.
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. That size should put me in 2nd place for bass in the Ice Challenge. I guess it really is better to be lucky than good. Oh, when we got ready to unhook it we discovered that it was hooked through a tiny membrane in the top of its mouth. It pulled out easily when we grabbed the line. Good thing I thought to play it longer. I'm amazed that it didn't pull loose when I set the hook. Maybe I'm not as bad as I had begun to think I was.
The older I get the more I would rather be considered a good man than a good fisherman.
