Natural Surroundings Begin to Take Us Back

On the ice first time this season. Oliver Round had gone out a couple of times and caught a channel cat, perch, and pickerel. He had already pretty much set up when I got there yesterday, and for me, the transition from indoors to the pleasure of standing on a frozen lake wasn't quickly complete. I think a lot of people who would ice fish don't do it because they can't see beyond discomfort to the fulfillment ice fishing offers.

Even when we get skunked, and we got skunked yesterday probably in part because people have been fishing regularly there, the natural surroundings begin to take us back. All of what we do behind walls in heated rooms is protected against that very will of nature to claim us as its own. We might think that would be a horrible, bestial demise, but not necessarily. Just because exposure will make us more animate, doesn't mean reason gets lost, though it can if the mind is weak. 

I remember one occasion. I think during 1977. I wasn't ice fishing, but I fished in the rain at 50 degrees--the temperature right at the mark where hypothermia is a real danger--and got soaked to the bone. I had an eight-mile bicycle ride home ahead of me in the dark, and I seem to vaguely remember how delirium felt as if light somehow blended seamlessly into dark as one thing. As if light and dark flow together rather being exclusive. I got home in a very delirious state of mind, and it occurred to me that despite delirium's being a mental impairment, I was handling it well. I had no regrets for pushing the day beyond limits, no fear, and instead of feeling any kind of rejection of my own state of mind, I felt openly curious about it and paid attention.

Again, reason can persist, even when it is, in fact, challenged. It's a matter of putting value emphasis on reason instead of fearing the impairment. 

We fished more than three hours today. Oliver's toes got cold, but not too badly. I did notice that in the wind my XL parka allowed just a little updraft that was uncomfortable. I still think that once I put on the bib, I'll be glad I did get XL. These Beyond Allta L8 parkas are designed to have four layers of clothing on you underneath. I had only a thin wool base layer and two Woolrich shirts on underneath yesterday, so considering that, I wasn't doing badly. Temperature was 24; I stood on ice for more than three hours and never got chilled besides my face. The fingers on my gloves didn't stay as warm as I would have liked, either, and in the future, I may invest in mitts. Don't know what the wind chill was but had to be pretty low.

And it snowed, which was nice. 

Something did trip one of Oliver's devices, but the baitfish seemed untouched. Could have been a sunfish for all we know. Oliver made a holding tank he keeps in his garage where it's chilly. He managed to save some shiners from the previous outings but very few. He went to a creek in a park near his house. I believe with his splitting bar, because he did break ice. He brought a dip net and caught a couple chub-sized dace and little ones. I thought it was interesting using little ones that did stay alive on the hook, even though as any habit, I would certainly stick to large shiners, medium only if large not available. 

When I had got there, it looked like three parties were on the ice. On a Thursday. Actually, one of them was Oliver, and the others were all in the same party of non-English speaking foreigners. Oliver had asked about catches, and they couldn't communicate what the big one was they caught, but Oliver told me they were very excited about it. Apparently, a good-sized northern pike. I saw them catch a very nice-sized pickerel. 

Caught Three Pickerel Last Year