This past weekend I went ice fishing with my dad & Dean Klippenstein on Lake Winnipeg (north of Selkirk). I hadn't ever really been ice fishing...at least not with someone who knew what they were doing. So needless to say, I was quite excited to get out there.
The day started off quite innocently. We met Dean's uncle Art and another guy that Art picked up. We headed off to find our first spot, and got things started from there. The air temperature was nice, but there was a bit of wind that made it feel a bit nippy. As the day continued we tried a few different spots, until we drilled our last fishing holes around 4pm. This is where the fishing really started to pick up. And that was a good thing...as it had been quite slow for us for a few hours. By this time the wind had picked up and was quite brisk.
At around 5:45 we started to pack up. It was about 6pm when we began our return trip to the shoreline. It had taken us just over 10 minutes to get out to our spot...and we didn't think it would take much more time to get back. Boy were we wrong. It wasn't long before out truck was stuck...being pulled out by Art (Dean's uncle). A minute or two later, we were pulling Art out. And so it went for about 45-50 minutes. Over the course of the afternoon, the path that we had taken onto the lake had been blown in with soft snow and it was virtually impossible to drive on. So we decided to start our own path...and we continued to get stuck.
We were able to get out and get moving, when we saw another truck in some trouble. We stopped to help pull them out (which didn't take too long). At this point we had 3 trucks in our caravan. We once again began to carve out our own path when we got stuck again and a 4th truck that was ahead of us turned around to help us out. We were pulled out, and we began to get going...when we got stuck once again. This time we were really hung up. Shortly after this, the two other trucks behind us got stuck as well. Leaving only one truck that had enough clearance to get through the snow.
Before too long it was decided that we were going to leave Dean & Art's truck on the ice for night...as they were stuck and weren't going to make it to the shore. At this point, I really began to wonder when we were going to get home...and I had figured that a night in Winnipeg was ahead of us - as we'd have no vehicle waiting for us at the shoreline. My dad, Dean, Art, Jaime (the tag along) and myself all hopped into the box of the one truck that was still moving and hung on as the driver pounded through the drifts. Eventually (after a 2 1/2 hour journey) we ended up at the shoreline - safe & sound. We were relieved, but now we needed to figure out where to stay and how Dean & Art were going to get their trucks off the ice.
As we were trying to figure out how to get home, another truck pulled up along side and two brothers jumped out. We asked them where they were going in the city. "South" they said.
"Where specifically?"
"South end of the city...and then way south of the city."
"Really, where?" we asked.
"I'm heading home to Winkler after I drop my brother off at a hotel."
Bingo!
My dad & I ended up catching a ride with these brothers home to Altona. A number of times on the way home I just smiled at the thought of how the day started out so innocently...and became a bit more dangerous or interesting than any of us were expecting. But then again, what's a fishing expedition without a good story to tell?
Here is Dean drilling holes to start the day.
The day started off quite innocently. We met Dean's uncle Art and another guy that Art picked up. We headed off to find our first spot, and got things started from there. The air temperature was nice, but there was a bit of wind that made it feel a bit nippy. As the day continued we tried a few different spots, until we drilled our last fishing holes around 4pm. This is where the fishing really started to pick up. And that was a good thing...as it had been quite slow for us for a few hours. By this time the wind had picked up and was quite brisk.
At around 5:45 we started to pack up. It was about 6pm when we began our return trip to the shoreline. It had taken us just over 10 minutes to get out to our spot...and we didn't think it would take much more time to get back. Boy were we wrong. It wasn't long before out truck was stuck...being pulled out by Art (Dean's uncle). A minute or two later, we were pulling Art out. And so it went for about 45-50 minutes. Over the course of the afternoon, the path that we had taken onto the lake had been blown in with soft snow and it was virtually impossible to drive on. So we decided to start our own path...and we continued to get stuck.
We were able to get out and get moving, when we saw another truck in some trouble. We stopped to help pull them out (which didn't take too long). At this point we had 3 trucks in our caravan. We once again began to carve out our own path when we got stuck again and a 4th truck that was ahead of us turned around to help us out. We were pulled out, and we began to get going...when we got stuck once again. This time we were really hung up. Shortly after this, the two other trucks behind us got stuck as well. Leaving only one truck that had enough clearance to get through the snow.
Before too long it was decided that we were going to leave Dean & Art's truck on the ice for night...as they were stuck and weren't going to make it to the shore. At this point, I really began to wonder when we were going to get home...and I had figured that a night in Winnipeg was ahead of us - as we'd have no vehicle waiting for us at the shoreline. My dad, Dean, Art, Jaime (the tag along) and myself all hopped into the box of the one truck that was still moving and hung on as the driver pounded through the drifts. Eventually (after a 2 1/2 hour journey) we ended up at the shoreline - safe & sound. We were relieved, but now we needed to figure out where to stay and how Dean & Art were going to get their trucks off the ice.
As we were trying to figure out how to get home, another truck pulled up along side and two brothers jumped out. We asked them where they were going in the city. "South" they said.
"Where specifically?"
"South end of the city...and then way south of the city."
"Really, where?" we asked.
"I'm heading home to Winkler after I drop my brother off at a hotel."
Bingo!
My dad & I ended up catching a ride with these brothers home to Altona. A number of times on the way home I just smiled at the thought of how the day started out so innocently...and became a bit more dangerous or interesting than any of us were expecting. But then again, what's a fishing expedition without a good story to tell?
Here is Dean drilling holes to start the day.
The first catch of the day.
The day's end...a beautiful sunset.
A nice catch to end my day fishing.
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