Ice Fishing!

Today we took the girls ice fishing for the first time. There was a kids fishing derby going on at the State Park so we bundled up and headed over, even though the forecast called for a foot of snow. Uncle David and Grandma & Grandpa L. decided to join us for the fun.

The derby was set up with drilled holes, free traps, and free bait, and they even supplied a 12-year old local kid to set up the traps for us. It was perfect!There was about 18" of ice on the lake, so we felt pretty safe. The girls thought it was pretty neat that we were walking in a place that we could have canoed on last summer. Because it was so cold (about 15 degrees) and snowing, we didn't let the girls take their mittens off. This meant that they couldn't do the fun stuff, like bait the hooks. Kate still thought the shiners swimming in the bait cooler were pretty neat.

Once the traps were set, the next step is to wait for a fish to bite and the flag to pop up.....
....and while we were waiting, we decided that it was time to go inside, warm up, and eat!The derby supplied free hot dogs, hamburgers, and hot cocoa.

For Kate, the best part of any event is the eating part.After lunch, we went back out on the lake to check for flags. Grandpa had been keeping the traps company, with some help from Uncle David. Unfortunately, we didn't have any bites.Uncle David showed what a tripped flag would look like, if we were lucky enough to get a fish.Ice fishing was fun, but the girls are a little bit young to really enjoy it. They mainly liked the part where you go inside and warm up!