Now into the second week of the 2026 Ice Fishing season, Mark French and I took advantage of a beautiful Sunday afternoon to log some hours on the pond for our first ice fishing adventure since 2023! We both had crazy busy schedules in 2024 and ice conditions were dreadful last year so we wasted no time this season getting out in the country.

We didn't make any extravagant plans today, we didn't take the hot tents or really anything for a boil-up. Instead we opted to just enjoy a more simple practical shake down run on the sleds and drop a few lines. 

Project Powertek REV which as been stored since the spring of 2023 was revived with ease, passed my pre-trip inspection and ran great all day.

Mark is sporting his new to him barn find 2022 Yamaha VK540! Having sold his 2017 Argo Huntmaster and purchasing a Can AM 6x6 ATV he opted for this absolutely stunning sled which has just 133km on the clock!

This machine is absolutely spotless and of course runs phenomenally. Mark has been busy outfitting it with standard gear in the under seat storage compartment and fitting out ice fishing gear in the new soft side Yamaha bag in the cargo rack.

It was a relatively short ride to our destination in Bauline and in no time had our holes drilled using our cordless drill adapted ice augers.

The Automatic Hook Setting ice fishing rigs we made a few years ago are still our go-to choice for ice fishing. These rigs work great snagging the trout in the upper lip for a solid catch every time. Since they don't swallow the hook they can be easily released unharmed should you choose to do so.

Ice conditions today was better than expected. Everywhere we drilled we found a solid 8-10" layer of good clear ice. Recent snow sunk the ice in a lot of areas making for a mess of slush, but overall a lot better than we thought.

Mark landed the first catch of the day, a dandy 10" rainbow.

Not long after one of my jaw jerker rigs went off and I pulled up this dandy little football!

Later that afternoon, Mark's wife Heather and their two girls joined us for a few hours on the ice which was awesome. Keeping Newfoundland traditions going with the next generation is one of the best parts of enjoying the outdoors.

Although we didn't plan a lunch today we of course still boiled the kettle! Today we used Mark's ISO Butane stove for a quick effortless boil-up.

Heather and the girls left mid afternoon while Mark and I stayed until dusk only packing up once it started to get dark. I managed one more small trout as we were packing up but it was too small to keep.

The ride back to the rigs was uneventful as the machines both ran extremely well. All in all it was a thoroughly enjoyable day in the woods, we're both looking forward to more adventures this winter.

Of course my very favourite part of trouting is the fry up of fresh wonderfully pink trout which were very much enjoyed for lunch Monday afternoon!

Cheers, MIKE

Copyright © 2025 Michael Smith