STORY PAGE
Ice Fishing
I have attempted to go ice fishing twice at Sandy Pond.
The first time was when I had just been hired at Columbia Mills in Fulton, NY.
I could not find an apartment where I could keep my dog, so I chose to stay at camp. This meant an extra thirty-minute trip to work and back (That is
the best I could do. Adverse weather could double that time) It also meant pumping water from an outside hand pump at my neighbor’s. Not a big deal for
drinking, but to take a bath a very cold task at the least.
There was little to do at camp in March or April. I did not stay in town
because of the dog, and except for walking and playing with the dog, cooking, cleaning and watching TV, there was only ice fishing. I decided to try it. I
purchased special poles, a hand auger, and a tool called a spud.
The next morning before leaving for work I checked to see where the early bird
fishermen were setting up. Many were already on the ice with pickup trucks, cars, and even a tractor. At 7:30 when I left, there were almost 30
fishermen/women who were on the ice.
I left from work a little early. Everything I needed was on a sled in the boathouse ready to go. It was a warm day and I would take my
dog Holly with me. I was psyched. When I arrived at camp, I let Holly out and started for the boathouse. Two steps later I had to blink a couple of times
before I could believe what I saw. The ice had gone.
I do not know where it went, but all there was, was water. No fishing shanties, no vehicles, no fishermen. Just water.
(Don’t ask. I wasn’t there. It was just gone.)
So much for ice fishing that year.
……………………………
The other time I attempted to go ice fishing was with my wife. She thought it
would be great fun. I explained that it would be cold. There was a brisk wind on the Pond that created a wind chill that could be dangerous. I had snowmobile
clothing with long underwear and other clothes layered below.
She had a heavy full-length lamb coat that was in her mind going to be too
warm. I had insisted that she also layered as many other clothes as she could underneath. She did. She roasted on the way out.
We piled all we needed on a sled and headed for a spot to try our luck. She sat
on a cushion while I started to drill the holes. I had planned on two holes each. It was a job. The ice was over
48” thick. I had a manual auger that drilled a 6” diameter hole. Advertised as the finest self-sharpening Swedish steel you could buy. It was still work.
My wife had been warm. By the time I finished the first hole she was more
comfortable. I had my snowmobile suit off from the exertion. By the time the second hole was completed, she was freezing. We (mostly me) decided to use only
two holes. We set up two poles. No action. The water in the hole kept turning to ice. I put my snowmobile suit back on. My wife was shivering. She had
enough. She almost ran back to camp.
I was warm enough. I wasn’t catching fish. No bites at all. I needed to try
another spot. I went to a different location. I thought about drilling two more holes. I grabbed the auger.
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