I had a dream

On Martin Luther King Day 2012,  I had a dream of catching another fish for the Quest: a banded sunfish. Clay was up north damaging his internal organs while sledding with his kids, so I ventured out solo to

Ice Pond in Hampton where NH Fish and Game had documented the existence of banded sunfish a few years earlier. The ice was about 4 inches thick but clear. The water was moving up and down in the hole as I walked around, but I never felt in danger.  The deepest spot I found was 4 feet 3 ".  I figured if I fell through. I would simply stand up.

The ice was clear, but the water was stained brown like tea.  This picture shows bits of roots that I suspect had been nibbled by muskrat or beaver. The marshmallow-like blobs are air bubbles frozen in the ice.

The banded sunfish eluded me again. I fished in 2 and 4 feet of water.  I did not even get a nibble from the many bluegill and pumpkinseeds I know live there. Perhaps the ice was too clear which made the fish too spooked to bite. 

Even my favorite jigging rod could not conjure a banded sunfish. 

A cold looking beaver lodge may have held fish in a deep channel near by, but it also harbored patches of  thin ice. 

So no fish for my effort, but I will end with a good MLK quote:

Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
 
MLK would have made a good angler.  - D