Amidst a winter of unbearably warm weather hampering outdoor winter activities, Dad and I took advantage of a short clear weather window this morning to get in a quick trouting trip. We headed west to Whitbourne to an area of country near the old Sooley family cabin which was recently sold.

The weather today was unseasonably warm and skies clear although the forecast called for rain after lunch.

I took Project Foreman and dad was in his new to him 2015 Can Am Commander side by side as we rode in the transmission line trail in search of open water to cast a line.

We didn't have to travel far as there was lots of open water at Highwaters. We cast from shore using bait and spinner but didn't have much success.

We've had a lot of rain this winter and although flood conditions have subsided, all bodies of water are top high making most water crossings deeper than normal.

Dad loves his battery powered Stihl chainsaw and always keeps it in whatever vehicle he's operating. Its great for cutting firewood for a boil-up or clearing a trail obstacle such as this windblown tree.

On our way back towards the trucks we decided to check out one last pond. The ice near the access for bikes looked sketchy so we walked though the woods to our old fire pit clearing. I measured the ice and found a consistent 4-5" of good ice throughout one of our favourite fishing spots.

Since the wet weather was holding off we decided to take advantage of this rare opportunity to ice fish this season and set a few lines. The ice was plenty safe to walk on, but we left the machines and even our boil-up gear back on solid land.

With lines set I began to cook up a feed starting with boiling my Kelly Kettle.

The beauty of my Jaw Jerker rigs is that they are easily and safely monitored from sore!

Throughout our stay we managed 3 keepers and a bunch of small trout which we put back.

.

Today Dad supplied lunch and I cooked. On the menu were his Italian moose sausages we made last fall, and a tin of beans.

My mid afternoon the forecasted rain arrived so we packed up our gear and headed back to the trucks.

We were pleasantly surprised and very grateful to not only get a rare opportunity to ice fish this season, but to be healthy and able to spend such quality time together.

Cheers, MIKE

Copyright © 2011 Michael Smith