Shanty Sweet Shanty

We had a great day on the lake today. Stephen's Sunday drill for the AK Defense Force was cancelled. So we were able to embark on our inaugural ice fishing expedition with the new gear.

It was a lot of fun. We'll be spending a lot of time on frozen lakes this winter.

After church, we loaded up the gear and headed to Mirror Lake, just a couple miles up the road.



We were met at the lakeshore by a bald eagle sentry. He (or she?) hung around for awhile, swooping in and out of nearby trees.

Alicia had fallen asleep (naptime) on the way to the lake. So I sat with her while Stephen set up the shanty and drilled the fishing holes with the new gas auger.

We measured the ice with the handle of the ice scoop... just under a foot of ice. Plenty for ice fishing, and then some.

Once the shanty was up and heated with the new portable heater, we moved Alicia from the van to the little nest Daddy had made for her in the Jet Sled inside the shanty. She awoke soon thereafter and commenced fishing with Daddy.

The first fish freaked her out. But once she decided to try again with her Disney Princess fishing rod, she really enjoyed it.

The lake had been stocked with both rainbow trout and landlocked salmon. We caught a bajillion little rainbow trouts. We didn't keep any of them. It was just fun to catch them and put them back down the hole.

The heater kept things comfortable inside the shanty. The Jiffy gas auger made it a piece of cake to drill the holes. The plethora of fish made in enjoyable for everyone.