What Was Your 2009-2010 Ice Fishing Highlight(s)?

[Shack]

I know some will say there is ice still to be had, but lets face it.

Mine was just being able to icefish a couple times

I would say my highlight was helping with and attending Fishapoolza in Forest Lake. That actually ranks up in the my top 10 ice fishing all time category. My trip to Mille Lacs was very fun and it was nice to see Paul at Appeldoorns again.

So what was yours? Feel free to post pictures or video if you have them.

Thanks!

[deadeye]

I never got to go on a big trip but I had a pretty decent season in the metro.

Several 20" plus walleyes.

A 40" northern.

A several days of 100+ crappies. Plus I caught quite a few bluegills which is a first through the ice for me. Usually I get a few but not numbers like I did this year.

Not too bad considering I never went more than 20 miles from home all winter. I pretty much let all of the fish go to so I got something to catch in the summer too.

[StillwaterAaron]

My last ice outing of the season my Dad and I went out and fishing was tough bt I managed to catch my PB Perch.

12 1/8 by 8 3/4

The rest of the highlights were fishing with good buddies.

[Bigslugger]

Catching a 30" pout 2 days ago on Lake of the Woods

Also being with family and friends

[thedeadsea]

Catching the 3 largest pike of my life (including 44.5 and 39.5 inchers). Also spearing a new PB pike.

Getting skunked only once while laker fishing. Catching new PB inland laker.

Finally getting deep water crappie fishing dialed in.

Perfecting beer battered crappie recipe.

Helping my oldest son get his first winter walleye.

Helping my middle son get his first crappie.

Steve

[MidCoast]

My highlight this season was catching three 29" walleyes from the same ice hole all within 2 hours. By far it was the best ice fishing day.

[redseal]

Got my first 2 pout, LOTW for the first time, sleeping on the ice for the first time, first walleye with some size through the ice, and my first portable... Great year!!!

[Northlander]

Mine was enjoying some of the best walleye fishing through the ice that I have ever experienced. Many 25"-30" eyes. Complete blast!

[MJ1657]

Mine was a personal best 37" Northern Pike.

[SFC]

Taking my grandson on his first ice fishing trip. Seeing his smiling face sitting on the seat of my new portable as I pulled it out on the ice. Finding the disposable camera I stuck in my tackle box sometime after deer hunting and able to get pics of his first fish through the ice. He caught over 30 sunfish and said he wanted to fish until midnight.

[gatorhunter]

Catching 2 trophy walleyes 15 minutes apart on the Red River near Selkirk in mid January. Those two plus frantic bites for about an hour and a half made for an exciting morning!

Our group hammered walleyes on Lake Winnipeg for the last two days in glorious ice fishing weather. Easily 100 walleyes caught! My SIL caught her first walleye through the ice. My BIL caught his first trophy walleye (29in @ 12-13 lbs) and my daughter's friend from Texas caught her first ever fishes through the ice also. Keep your eyes open for Brad Dokken's article in the GF Herald next week! Great weekend!

[Fred_Bear]

The ridiculous numbers of early ice crappies and walleyes.

My dad and I catching 25 and 26 inch eyes 5 minutes apart on 2 lb mono on an area lake.

Laker opener in Sioux Narrows.

This weekend icing a 14"+ crappie, 10"+ bluegill, 13" perch, and a 17" tullibee all in the same day.

Getting my mom on the ice for some Mille Lacs jumbos and tullibees in 50 degree weather.

One more laker/crappie trip to Nestor Falls to end the season.

[Chef]

Catching 11 'Eyes in 2 hours, and schooling my two buddies in the process who caought 2 between themselves and they were only 15ft. away from me!

Man it was a long walk back to shore--LOL!!

[JBMasterAngler]

Numbers wise this was probably the worst ice season I've had in awhile, however there were still lot's of highlights.

The biggest highlight was by far bringing my 2 year old daughter ice fishing for the very first time! She loved stomping through the snow and dipping the scooper in the holes.

Other highlights included...my 1st stream trout through the ice, a 3 pound brown trout. Other fish that were my first through the ice...white crappie, white bass, smallmouth bass, splake, and emerald shiner (which was the 1st I caught ever!). Also caught my biggest whitefish, a 5 pounder out of chequamegon bay (which was a highlight in itself), that place was on my bucket list for years and years and I finally was able to cross it off.

[jwmiller33]

this is a 2 minute clip of a day that i will call my highlight of the ice season

[bobbymalone]

it was a pretty bad year for me...

i was really hoping for a through the ice channel cat, but it was a no go on the stocked metro lakes and the one trip up to the horseshoe chain that i hoped was a sure bet after reading the cattin' the chain forum was a stinker as well. i must have picked the wrong day, because there was a handful of other mad catters up there and it sounded like we all got skunked.

[rodmoen]

Got my wife to come out on the ice for the first time, and she caught the big fish of the day.. We laced into 6-10 lb cats thru the ice on the mississippi, and saw a couple "40+ pike come thru the ice this year as well..

Time to get the new line on the 6' and get the boat wet I guess...

TIGHT LINES EVERYONE!!!!

[Bottle Fish]

I would have to say my highlight was fishing with my Dad. I ask him all the time to come with me and finally he did. Now you have to understand that we fish together all summer, just not in the winter. He was never a person to go ice fishing besides the occasional tournament where it is more the experience than fishing. He is also 71 and has never caught a fish through the ice before. So one nice January day I go out to the lake and get all set up and call him when I was ready. He comes out sits down and within 2 minutes of his line in the water he lands a 12" crappie, fish off, line in and wammo another one. They were the only two crappies caught and we spent the next 4hrs out there catching nothing but smaller sunfish that we threw all back, but it is a day I will never forget as long as I live. We really had a great time just being out there together.

[OnAFly]

Catching my PB bluegill while sight fishing, and a bunch of other nice fish as well, was probably the highlight of my year.

My year started out OK then slowed down until a couple weeks ago. I didn't get out as much as I would have liked, but that's always how it goes.

[MuleShack]

last Saturday 4 of us guys went out on a north metro lake in search of some panfish. We covered quite a bit of territory and between the 4 of us we easily caught over 700 fish in 8 hours. The real kicker was that half of them were in the 1/2 lb range (the same fish you would keep on Prior) and a fair amount being smaller ones. We ended up keeping 75 fish about 3/4 lb (mix of crappies and sunnies)and there was one monster caught that went over a pound easy 11+". It made the rest of our 3/4 lbers look small. Unfortunately I had my cell phone tuned to Iheart radio and the battery went out so no picture of it. We threw that one back.

By far the best day fishing with friends and pretty fluries of action thru out the day hole hopping. it could have been a little warmer but who cares.

[bak2MN]

My highlight was for my buddy to come up from SD and we went to LOW. And he caught his biggest fish of his life. Not huge but it was a 25 incher and he is 67 years old. Unforgetable.

[thatoneguy]

My best year ever for ice fishing.

PB muskie: 50 1/4"

PB eelpout: 33"

PB perch: 14 1/2"

Lots of nice walleyes, lots of jumbo perch. Helped a friend ice his PB pike, taught another friend the basics of ice fishing and helped him pick out gear (he had never ice fished before). Found some outstanding new honey holes on Winnie (love fishing that lake with nobody anywhere near me, and just hauling them in one after another).

Released 90% (or more) of what I caught, including all the PB fish. Let 'em grow for next year!

[givetoget]

My highlight was takeing my 11 year old son on his first out of state fishing trip.caught plenty of fish and taught him to drive the truck on the ice roads, had a blast

[MinnetonkaMan]

My highlight is bringing my nephew who is eight out to the permanent and chasing tip ups all day with him hauling the minnow bucket along. It was very rewarding because we iced a 25 inch eye in shallow water and a bunch of nice smallmouth. He was so excited about the walleye he said Im staying up all night fishing. He didnt last too long tho! Great memories are made every day when the youngsters are enjoying the outdoors!

[river rat316]

My highlight was takeing my 11 year old son on his first out of state fishing trip.caught plenty of fish and taught him to drive the truck on the ice roads, had a blast

Shooooooot.... I never tought of that, my sone would have had a blast doing that.... my wife wouldn't of been happy.... but hey she never is