Houghton Lake Trip Day Three

The final morning arrived without us freezing to death. Jake was sweating to death in the top bunk so I moved him down to my bunk and I began to cook the breakfast for a king again. We ate and I began to get our gear together for the trip home. We still hadn't caught any fish, but we weren't giving up just yet.

Me Cooking Again! Camp Cook For The Weekend!

The day was really windy again, but at least the snow had stopped. It was a bright and sunny day with a stiff blowing breeze. Michael kept bait on the tip ups while we got packed up and ready to go. Jake and I began to make trips back to the shore with all of our gear put in the trailer on the atv. After about five trips we had almost everything back on shore at the truck.

Looking Down An Ice Hole In The Shanty

We still hadn't got any fish when all of a sudden a flag on the tip up went off. Mikey ran out and checked it. Nothing on it but the bait had been cut in half! Finally a fish had bitten one of our lines! We had watched a couple of other shantys that weekend catch a few fish but nothing to write home about. But we finally had something to tell, at least something had hit one of our lines. That whole weekend we had thrown every lure at them that we had along with the kitchen sink! I knew the fish were there, but the weather had them all messed up.

One Of The Smaller Ice Houses In Shanty Town

We didn't catch anything but I didn't go for the fish, I went for the experience of sleeping out on the ice! The fish would have been icing on the cake! We got all of our gear out and loaded back into the truck and trailer so we could head home. Before we left we gave Dave and Chip a tip of $20 each. They looked at us like we were crazy, they told us no one has ever tipped them before! I couldn't believe that! These two guys were very helpful to us and when ever we needed anything they brought it to us. I couldn't have left there without showing them our appreciation. If you ever have someone helping you like that on a trip, take the time to tip them even if it is a small amount. Something like that goes a long ways. They told us to come back this summer and they would take us out on the lake and put us on some fish! I think we will take them up on that one!

Before we made it to the freeway to head home, Chuck and Mikey persuaded me to stop again at Jay's Sporting Goods store. It really didn't take too much talking to get me to stop there again for them. We had a wonderful time there and I would do it again next year. I'm looking forward to taking more people up with us next year and trying it again. If you would like to reserve a shanty or even a sleeper shanty at Houghton Lake, be sure to check out Lyman's on the Lake website for futehr information! Thanks Lyman for all of your help!

Houghton Lake Trip Day Two

Morning came early and cold! At least Chuck and I were cold, the boys fared pretty well sleeping on the top bunk, heat rises! I got up and began to cook some breakfast on the camp stove. It wasn't long until the shanty smelled of bacon, sausage and eggs! A breakfast fit for a king! We all ate our fair share of good food that morning! Hey if you not catching any fish, you might as well eat good I say! By the time we got up and around andthe breakfast dishes done, the weather had changed drastically!

Breakfast On The Stove

By 9 or 10 am the snow began to come down heavily and the wind was something fierce! By noon it was a complete white out! The snow was coming down and blowing so hard you could barely see the near shore to the south some 300 to 400 feet away! The north shoreline was completely gone! You couldn't tell where the ice ended and the sky began! It came down like this for the entire day! We did go to shore once during the day to see what was going on at the bait shop, Lyman's. Chip and Dave were there working along with Lyman Foster the owner. We sat and talked a while about the bait shop and the fishing there. They apologized about us not catching any fish, I told them they couldn't control the weather, but they felt bad that we weren't catching anything. I told them it was all about the experience any ways! Chip and Dave had caught a few fish for a tv crew that was coming up to do a story, since the crew had left they gave us the fish to eat that night! I thought that was pretty cool of those guys. Only problem was that we didn't have any cooking oil, so I went to town and bought a bottle.

I thought we were going to have a good ol fish fry that evening. Fellow Up North Journal Pro Staffer Jim Stephan came up with his wife and another couple to fish for the day. They weren't catching anything either, so we invited them to join us for a fish dinner. Time slipped by quickly and they headed to shore for the evening so we didn't cook the fish up.

During the day it was extremely hard to keep the tip up holes cleaned and free of ice. It was an every 15 minute job to go and clean holes. One fisherman nearby drilled a hole with his power auger down about half way through the 22 inch thick ice and left his auger standing in the hole. It didn't take long for it to freeze in the hole. Mikey was kind enough to head to shore on the atv and grab an ice spud for the couple. They freed up the auger and then Mikey gave them both a ride back to shore. The couple gave him $10 and their leftover bait to use. It pays to be a good Samaritan!

Ice Build Up On The Tip Ups

As I mentioned the ice was about 22 inches thick, there were vehicles all over the ice. You could hear the ice crack everytime a truck drove past the shanty. It got my attention on more than one occassion. Before evening set in we asked Dave from Lyman's for a shovel to bank in the shanty. He brought one out for us on one of his shuttle runs. We took the snow around the shanty and filled in around the shanty to keep the wind from blowing in that night. It made a huge difference in how warm it was.

Looking Out Our Window At A Car On The Ice

Evening set in and the winds died down a little but the snow continued to fall that evening. We must have gotten about 6 inches of fresh snow. The snowmobile riders loved it, they were zipping all over the lake that evening. It sounded like a bee hive around there. We all bundled up and turned in for the evening by around 9pm that night. We slept much warmer that evening. Although Jake woke up burning up. He was in his underware and no sleeping bag! Remember heat rises. I thought I was going to have to flip him over like a piece of bacon, but we made it through the night.

Houghton Lake Trip Day One

After months of planning the day finally came to head out on our first Up North Journal Team weekend outing. Somehow I let fellow Pro Staffer Chuck Parr talk me into sleeping on the ice out on Houghton Lake in the middle of Michigan's winter season. Chuck did this same trip last year and told me how much fun I would have and that I had to go this year and have a great time. So I let him plan this years trip and told him I would go along for the ride.

Chuck talked with Lyman's on the Lake about securing a sleeper shanty for the entire weekend. With Lyman's help we set up the date and began to make plans for the trip. We headed out on Friday morning at about 7:30am. It was Chuck, Mikey, Jake and myself with a truck and trailer full of fishing and camping supplies for three days of Michigan winter fun! We made our first real stop at Jay's Sporting Goods in Clare Michigan. We couldn't pass through Clare without stopping at Jay's. We bought a few more provisions for the trip and I had to finally pull Mikey and Chuck out of the store so we could be on our way.

Another hour on the road and we were pulling into Houghton Lake. We first had to stop at the local Wally World store to buy our food for the weekend. A basket full of hotdogs, beans, bacon, sausage, eggs and SPAM!!!! Yes I said, SPAM!!! and we were on our way to the ice! As we pulled up to Lyman's I could see shanty town out on the ice about 300 to 400 yards off shore. It was a beautiful clear blue sky day and the temps weren't too bad either. I thought to myself this is going to be fun! Chuck went in and took care of the reservations and I began to unload the trailer to get the atv out and hook up the small trailer to it. Then Chuck came back and one of the guys from Lyman's came out on a 6 wheeled atv with a huge trailer. We piled most of our gear onto his trailer and the rest in my little trailer. The boys and Chuck piled onto the trailer with all of our gear and I drove our atv out behind the 6 wheeled buggy onto the ice to our home for the weekend.

Mikey & Chuck Getting Ready For A Weekend Of Ice Fishing

As we pulled up I saw this huge box on the ice that we would call home for the weekend. It was about 8 x 20 and sitting right on the outter edge of shanty town. There must have been about 20 - 25 shanties out there and ours was the biggest! We unloaded our gear to the inside of the big box and then the guy (Dave) from Lyman's yelled to another guy on the ice to come over and help. This was the other helper from Lyman's. This second guy (Chip) grabbed a power ice auger off of the atv and went into the shanty and drilled four holes for us to fish through. Now we were all set to fish!

As we began to get our gear in order, we heard a snowmobile come to a stop just outside our door. Then there was a knock on the door with a voice saying, "DNR officer"! What did we do, I thought to myself. I opened the door and there stood an officer in his snowmobile suit and helmet. He asked us if we just arrived and how long we would be there. We told him and we began to pull out our fishing licneses. He told us no need to show him, that he just wanted us to know that he was on the ice if we needed his assistance. I told him that the atv had the appropriate stickers on it and he said, no worry on that either. He also commended us on bringing the boys out to enjoy the fishing as well. I was pleased at his attitude towards us, this was my first experience with a CO in the thirty plus years I have been participating in the outdoors.

After he left, it was then that I realized that I had forgotten that I needed a helmet for the atv out on the lake. I told Chuck I was headed back to town to purchase a couple of helmets for the atv. I couldn't believe I was so stupid and not remembering the helmet laws in Michigan.

After I got back from town, we watched a few nearby people pull out a few small pike from the ice on their tip ups. We got our power auger out and drilled 6 holes and put out some of our own tip ups then, we dropped two lines inside the shanty. We spent the rest of the day trying to catch some pike. We discussed venturing out to a different location to locate some fish, but we decided to wait until the next day to do this since it was getting late in the day.

Me Cooking Up Some Lunch In The Shanty

I fired up the stove and cooked some hot dogs and beans for lunch. The boys thought that this was pretty cool to cook inside of the shanty! I spent the next couple of hours reading a book that I had bought at Jay's on the way up. Nothing like sitting beside the heater fishing and reading a good book to pass the time.

As night began to set in, I new it was time to start thinking about dinner. I fired up the stove again and fried up a can of SPAM for all of us. SPAM sandwiches for the crew! The boys had never had a SPAM experience before, so this was their first time eating it. They thought it was SPAMtastic, Mikey said it was SPAMlicious! So with the SPAM and beans we were set for the night. We fished into the night until we all got tired. I think it was around 8pm when we began to turn in for the evening. We pulled the lines in except for Michael who kept fishing for another hour or so.

Jake Jiggin' For Some Pike!

I put Jake in the bunk above me and we turned up the heater for the evening. What we didn't realize was that the shanty was sitting up off of the ice about 8 inches. The wind blew underneath it and up into the ice fishing holes in the shanty. By about 4am it was getting pretty cold inside the shanty. I had to make sure and tuck in nice and tight to make it through the night. Mikey and Jake did ok since they were on the top two bunks, but Chuck and I didn't fare so well. We would change that the next day!

A Day On The Ice With Friends

It has been a while since I've been able to get out on the frozen water, so i decided to call the Up North Journal team to muster them about. I managed to get Tim Ford and his three kids along with Jim Stephan out to hit the Seven Lakes state park. I decided to take them over to Little Seven to hit a spot that Little Mike and Chuck Parr like to fish. We spent about two hours there with no luck at all. Not even one little bite! There were 8 other people fishing the lake and not one of them had a single bite either.

Up North Journal Pro Staffer Tim Ford

Helping His Daughter With Her Ice Rod

Two hours of that was enough, so we packed it in and headed over to the bigger lake Seven Lakes. The temps were in the high 40's that day and the wind was howling. By the time we made it to the boat launch of Big Seven, the water was ponding on the ice. I knew that Tim's kids were going to get wet, but they ventured out any ways. We made our way onto the ice and found a couple of holes left by a couple of guys who had just left the ice.

There was atleast a foot of ice maybe even 15 inches. The water was running back into the holes with all the wind blowing it around and it being a couple of inches deep. It didn't take long until I pulled a crappie through the ice. This was actually the first crappie I have caught in over 10 years. The last one was with my grandfather in Alabama and he has been passed away now for 10 years. About 5 minutes later Jim Stephan pulled a nice large mouth bass through the ice! We were all excited about that one. That was it for the next 20 minutes or so and that is when the kids got wet! It was time for Tim to take them in unfortunately, so Jim and I hung out on the ice for another couple hours. Jim managed to pull about 15 small panfish out but none were keepers. I only hooked one small panfish myself after that crappie.

Up North Journal Pro Staffer Jim Stepha With A Nice Bass

We caught a few fish, but nothing to bring home. Bass season was over and the other fish were too small. We all had a good time getting out on the water and spending some time together. There was some sad news to report on this day though, it was the same day as the big Lake Erie ice floe incident where 131 fisherman got trapped on an ice floe. One died in the process and the rest were eventually rescued. You can read my article on that incident at my webblog Hooks and Bullets.

Hitting The Ice Again For The Second Time!

A Day On The Ice With The Kids!

We had to make a decision last night as to what we were going to do the next morning. It was the opening day of the late goose and duck season here in Michigan, we really hadn't been seeing any waterfowl in the field we could hunt. The decision was made since the girls wanted to go out ith us boys, ice fishing it was.

It was hard to get up once again at 6:30am to go out to fish. Sleep is at a premium these days and I didn't want to pry my eyes open that early to fish! Mikey kept coming to the bedroom door and whispering to me dad, dad, get up dad its time to get ready. I managed to coax him into getting the other kids up and ready before I had to fall out of bed. With that little trick I managed to get another 45 minutes of soul refreshing shut eye!

Once I did get up, it was a chore to get myself in outdoor mode. It took a bowl of cereal, but now there wasn't time to make coffee, the one thing I NEED to get me reved up for the day. By now all four kids are ready to drag me outside and to the lake. I managed to grab all the appropriate gear and head to the truck and the brisk morning air greeted me with a balmy 17 degrees! Hello! Although that was better than the last trip out two days ago when it was a whopping 9 degrees! The cold didn't bother the kids at all, at least not yet, hehehe! Their bright shinning faces were beaming lets go fishing! That would soon change! This trip was the first ice fishing outing for my youngest daughter who is seven. She loves to fish, but this will be an all new experience for her. She has never stepped foot on the ice for the winter angling experience. In all reality I didn't think we would be out more than an hour or so.

It was off to the corner gas station where they sold bait. I pulled in and sent Michael in to see what kind of bait offerings they had and the price of them. He came back and told me that they had three dozen wax worms for $4.16 and they were old! Forget it! We went to the old standby store in town where I should have went in the first place. They had the same three dozen for $2.00, now that is more like it. I knew that three dozen would be plenty, even if the fish were biting. The three youngest kids jabber jawed all the way to the lake, and while I was trying to see straight in the morning light and keep my senses about me while driving I almost hit a nice Tom wild turkey! He was right on the edge of the road when Michael yelled, "Watch out dad!" I swerved and the turkey flapped away at the last moment, the three younger kids thought that was cool! I didn't!

We finally pulled into the state park and began the task of deciding who would pull the sled, you would've thought they were after gold! This was a good thing, since Michael and I usually fight over which one is going to pull the sled, we both hate it. Little did the three others know that usually half the gear falls out along the way and you constantly have to stop and reload the sled. I guess I should break down and buy a bigger one some day, but with those three wanting to do it I will wait a while longer.

Me Bundled Up With The Video Camera

Mady, my youngest daughter, was a little reluctant to step on the ice once we got there. She had never been on the frozen water before, and found it safe to send dear 'ol dad out on the ice first. At least she is smart, send the fat guy out first to see if its safe! Then she said, " I will walk in daddy's steps where its safe." Once again if the fat guy makes it,his footsteps are safe! After about 50 steps all is well and she is off running around like she is on dry ground. Since we are the first ones on the lake we have our pick of spots to fish, of course we pick the best spot and begin to set up.

Michael Baiting Hooks

I start drilling the holes for the day since I knew they couldn't drill them and Michael was busy getting the rods ready. That would keep him busy for a while; you ever tried to bait hooks for kids while they are waiting for you to get them ready? Hehe, he! I won that battle also! That is twice I've tricked Michael this morning! I finally got all five holes drilled and Michael was still baiting hooks as I grabbed my rod and put bait on it. This trip is looking better all the time now. I put Mady next to me since this was her first time out and it didn't take long for her to get into the action!

Mady's First Catch On The Ice!

Her line wasn't in the water more than two minutes when she got a bite! She shrieked, "Daddy, I got a fish!" That made my morning! I told her to reel it in and within a couple of cranks of the reel she had her first fish on the ice, a nice blue gill! I told the other kids, "Ok, its game on now!" They now had something to beat and that was all the encouragement they needed! It is amazing how kids and adults react once you make a competition out of it. Mackenzie and Jake wanted to make it a team competition with those two against Mady and me, leaving Michael to fend all for himself. I said to him, "See how they treat you after you help them get their rods ready?" Now he is beginning to see how I feel most of the time! Hehe, he! Boy this is turning out to be a great day now, but for some reason I don't think he sees it that way!

Team Mackenzie & Jake

It didn't take long for team Jake & Macknezie to put one on the ice, she caught her first gill of the day. Then she caught a small one that had to go back. Then Jake caught a nice gill which eventually turned out to be the biggest catch of the day, he bragged all day about that feat! It was now 2 t0 1 to 0. Mady helped our team get caught back up with another nice gill along with one she had to throw back in. After that I caught one almost as big as Jake's fish, so we took the lead 3 to 2 to 0 for Michael.

Jake Getting In On The Action

Michael's Huge Bass!

Michael got mad and moved to another spot to fish since he wasn't getting any bites. It wasn't long until he caught his first one, but it was a small bass and it had to go back in. He then caught one to put on the ice to finally get on the board. Jake and Mackenzie were catching a few more but they were too small to keep. We had been there about an hour and a half and by now the three younger ones were getting a little froggy. They began to leave their rods on the ice and run around chasing each other. I got after them and told them that they needed to settle down because all the noise was making the fish spooked.

A Nice Sunny Day On the Ice

The next excuse for being restless was they were cold, so I fired up the little Mr. Buddy heater I brought along just for that very reason. You would have thought I was the greatest dad in the world for having brought out a heater! By now the sun was bright and the thin vail of clouds had disappeared completely. It was warming up nicely.

Mady Fishing & Warming Her Toes By The Heater

A few minutes later I hooked into another fish, so I yelled at Jake to come over and reel it in, now he and Mackenzie were tied with Mady and me. Mady realized that it was still a competition so she picked up her rod and began to fish again. It wasn't long until she caught one more to put us back on top again. Meanwhile Michael is catching a bunch of small ones, so he switched holes again. After another hour had passed it was time to go since we had an archery tournament to shoot that afternoon. The kids were satisfied with the fish we caught and Mady was proud that we won the competition. Jake didn't care since he had the biggest fish of the day, and Michael was ok with it since he had caught a bass.

Jake Trying A Different Hole

When it was time to leave the kids now fought over who was going to carry the little cooler with the fish in it. Now it seems as if the sled is unimportant, the fish was the prize to carry now. I let Mady and Jake carry the little cooler together trying to instill some team work concept in them. That didn't last long, after half way to the truck they were fighting over how to carry the cooler! So much for team work! Michael got stuck with the sled again! Hehe, he! I love teaching him lessons! He told me he can't wait to have some kids to do all the rotten stuff for him! All in due time I told him, for now you can enjoy helping dear 'ol dad! It was a great day to be out with the kids on the ice! As a side note, Michael got even with me at the archery tournament. I blammed it on my old and tired eyes! He's younger and he should see better than me any ways. Hey I have to blame it on something. I can't let him think that he is just simply better than I am! I have to keep the upper hand some how!

First Outing of the New Year!

The 2009 Ice Fishing Season Is Here!

With the new year looking us in the face, I had to plan something to get us out in the field since I had New Years Day off this year. Fellow Pro Staff member Chuck Parr, myslef and Mikey decided we would hook up with a friend of Chuck's and try a little ice fishing at a lake in southern Michigan. It was the same lake that Chuck and his friend tried last year with no luck, but his friend has since found out where to set up on the pike!

Chuck & I With The Up North Journal Rig!

Looking Across The Main Lake

For some strange reason Chuck managed to talk me into getting up at 5:30am to go fishing! Is he nuts! Yes, but I guess I am too, since we got up and headed out! Now this year we have the Up North Journal rig to transport all of our stuff, so that means we got to bring out the quad! I wasn't exactly hip on the idea of bringing the four wheelers out on the ice at this point in the season. We had 55 degree weather just 4 days earlier with a lot of rain. I was afraid the ice would be too thin, but I thought I would let Chuck's friend be the guinea pig!

4" Of Clear Hard Ice

I watched as he crossed the ice and punched holes along the way to make sure it was thick enough. After seeing him cross safely and him wave me across I made the mad dash across the ice to the other side of the cove. We made our way around a point into another little cove and dropped off the gear, then we went back to grab Chuck and Mikey.

The Guys Heading Out After Dropping Off The ATVs

When we got everyone back to the spot where our gear was, we began to search for the big drop off that we saw on the hydro map. It took a few holes and checks of the depth until we found the spot we were looking for. Then we set four tip up rigs, then we began to look for the deep hole. The ice was only about 4 inches thick so we left the quads near the shoreline where it was a good 6 to 8 inches thick. We found the hole that was about 60 feet deep and began to drill our holes to fish in.

Looking Through The Ice Into The Deep

Just as we got set up and began to fish the wind picked up. Chuck's buddy Jeremy set up his ice shanty and he stepped out of it at the wrong time. The wind blew hard just as he stepped out of it and the shanty became a wind sock! It went sliding across the ice! I never seen someone move so fast across the ice before. Chuck gave him a few ice spikes to nail down the shanty and that worked pretty well. After about an hour of nothing happening, we moved back into shallow water. Jeremy said, it was probably too early in the season for the fish to be that deep. We left the tip ups on the edge of the drop off in hopes of a pike hitting them. We sat for a while and we were standing around talking when Jeremy tried something. He took a small spoon and tied it on his line to scrape up the bottom with. He explained that the disturbed sediment would atract the perch. They would think it was small burrowing water creatures that they feed on making the sediment cloud in the water. It took about 10 minutes and a small school of perch swam through his hole! Within a few seconds of seeing them he had one through the ice! That was a pretty cool trick I thought. After another hour of nothing happening though, Jeremy and I took a walk back into the bay to see if we could find any good spots.

Mikey Doing His Thing!

Along the walk he would punch a hole and check the depth, after about three checks we found a nice weed bed in about 5 feet of water. We got all the gear and Mikey and Chuck joined us at the new spot. We were sitting there talking when Jeremy's rod took a tumble in the shanty, he had one on! He scrambled to grab the rod and pull the fish through the ice. It was a bass, it was about 10 inches long, but at least it was a catch. It wasn't legal size so back in the hole he went. It wasn't long until Jeremy noticed a perch hanging around his bait. The fish was nibbling at the minnow but it wouldn't take the offering completely. It finally took off and that was the end of the fishing.

Mmmmm Bait!

About that time we noticed a couple of younger kids riding two quads across the ice at a pretty fast clip. They were hot dogging it and I told the guys, someone is going to go through the ice if they kept it up. They were out in the middle of the lake where the ice wasn't as thick so they were risking not only their machines, but their lives as well. Jeremy and I took the gear back to the vehicle and we were going to come back and pick up Chuck and Mikey. While we were taking the stuff back to the truck, one of the kids on the other machines went through the ice. According to Chuck and Mikey, he stopped on the ice and then reved up his engine to pop a wheelie. When he dropped the clutch the rear tires broke through the ice and water was spinning up over the tires. As he was going through, he reved the engine more and the machine grabbed something and pulled itself out of the hole in the ice! I bet that kid had to clean his shorts out when he got off the ice! I wished I would have had the video camera rolling on that one!

Me Looking Cold!

Chuck Looking Like Frosty The Snowman!

On the way back, Chuck had to set backwards on Jeremy's machine for the ride back to the boat launch. He got covered with snow and looked like frosty the snowman when we got to the boat launch. We got back, took a few pictures and loaded everything up and headed home. We didn't catch any fish, but at least we got out on the first day of 2009! It was a good way to start the year off, and as they say, a bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work anytime!

A Late December Squirrel Hunt!

Well the weather has been terrible the last three weeks. I haven't been able to get out to do anything. First it was extremely cold and blowing snow, then it was too windy, and now the weather has warmed up and the rains came to melt all the snow and ice. No ice fishing or atleast that is what I thought!

Snow Fog In A Near By Field

I finally gave up on the situation and decided that I would stop complaining and get out today no matter how bad it was. The rain stopped and I decided that I would grab my hat, boots, camera and head out. Then my oldest daughter Mackenzie said she would go with me. It was then I decided that we would grab the guns and do a little walk on the state park land to look for some unsuspecting squirrels! I knew that we probably wouldn't see anything, but what the heck, I sure wasn't going to see anything sitting at home complaining about it!

We got to the state park and got out at the parking area near the ridge that went between the two lakes. What did my wonderous eyes see? Four guys sitting on the sloppy ice doing some ice fishing! Man oh Man! I should have come out this morning, dang it!

Three Of The Four Guys I Saw On The Ice

I yelled to them, "How thick is the ice?" 3" of slop and 4" of solid clear ice! That would have been good enough for me! Well, we were here to hunt, so hunt we did.

I thought this would be a great time to scout for deer as well as looking for some small game. I also thought this would be a great time to let Mackenzie brush up on her field carrying techniques for carrying a long gun.

Mackenzie & The Rossi .22 Single Shot

You can never practice safety too much. Since there was some slippery trails and snow to trudge through, I knew I could use this as a teaching exercise for her, that is why I brought out the break action single shot Rossi I bought her for her birthday a year ago. It was a safe firearm for her to handle and it was light enough for her to carry it safely in the snow and slop. I decided on 'ol grandpap's side by side 16 gauge Stevens shotgun! I love that 'ol gun. It is the same one I took out for a December rabbit hunt last year.

Me & Grandpap's 16 ga Stevens Double Barrel

We made our way down the trail past the ice fisherman and into the woods. Then I allowed Mackenzie to load a single cartridge into the little .22 rifle. I loaded up the side by side and we discussed the proper carry technique for two people walking together. She rememebered her hunter's safety rules just fine. We no more than took 10 steps and two mallards flew right over head! Just my luck I thought, she picked them up immediately. It was nice that we at least saw some game right off the bat. About a minute later we heard voices laughing and carrying on. I knew that who ever this was coming towards us that they had scared off any game that might be in the area. Around the corner came four people hiking, we stopped and greeted them and then went on our way. I could still make a good time of it even if they had been loud coming through the woods. I didn't let on like anything was wrong, I didn't want to spoil it for Mackenzie.

It was hard to walk quietly through the snow and slop. We did the best we could making our way down and around the trails. It wasn't long until we ventured off the path up an oak ridge that boardered the lake. I could see the island where we had built our duck blind this last fall and took a photo of it.

A View Of The Duck Blind From The Back Side Of The Lake

We also saw where a deer had been through the area that morning since the rain had stopped. It looked like it was a big boy by the size of the tracks. We then headed back to the main trail to venture onward. Along the way I taught her the proper technique for falling down a hill while carrying a firearm. It wasn't by design though, I hit a slick spot and slid down safely as she laughed at me! Mackenzie called to me to look at a set of tracks she had found. There was a nice set of deer tracks in the mud and I told her good job at keeping her eyes alert for game signs.

Mackenzie's Deer Tracks She Spotted

We made our way to an area that had a good number of oaks in it and it was there that we found some nice sized squirrel nests. I told her we needed to post up in the area and wait to see if any popped their heads out. I didn't think we would see any but I wanted her to get the feel for sitting still for a while and looking for game.

Mackenzie Keeping A Watchful Eye Out For Squirrels

After about 20 minutes or so, we decided to head back to the parking area. I walked back through the oaks in a little bit different direction to see if we could see any signs of squirrels. It didn't take long until we could see some acorn casings on top of the small piles of snow left in the woods. I knew that they were from squirrels nibbling on the acorns recently. I told her that this was a good squirrel spot, and that we should have been out a lot earlier in the day.

The Single Shot & The Double Barrel

As we made our way back to the truck I heard a squirrel bark off in the distance, I told Mackenzie that he was laughing at us as we walked out! She thought that was funny and laughed at me. As we approached the area where the four guys were fishing at, I told her that we need to make sure that we didn't shoot any game in the direction of where the guys were fishing even though we couldn't see them. She understood why and said that if we saw anything we would have to let it go. As we approached the spot where they were at, we stopped and unloaded the firearms and made our way back to the truck. On our way out of the park we saw six deer off in a field so I stopped to take a couple of picutres.

The Six Deer We Saw On The Way Out

She told me thanks for taking her out hunting and that she had fun, that made my day! It didn't matter that we didn't see any squirrels, all that mattered was that she had fun! What a great day in the field!

Two Happy Hunters!