Happy New Year! We tested out our new fishing licenses!

We went to the Ossipee River with our friends from North Country Anglers to fish below the dam at Lake Ossipee.

It was 20 degrees with a strong wind that put the wind chill to neighborhood of -8 degrees. We don't like that neighborhood.

We have never fished a river in January, but we put our faith in this little fly. We can't remember the name, but it looks like a brass bullet-headed furry leech bugger.

It was a beautiful hike down to the fishing spot and as we got out of the wind our hopes rose with our body temperature.

We fished for almost an hour but saw no sign of fish and our line guides kept icing up. We felt good about getting out on the water none the less. And we learned a little about fly fishing from our friends. Maybe we'll try again in a few weeks.

Summer the Ice Dog

Photos can't do these crystals justice

After leaving that spot, Dave suggested that we try fishing in one of our favorite small ponds in Conway that we know is loaded with brook trout and golden shiners.

We tested the ice by drilling a hole every few feet. We had 4 inches of white ice. Not ideal, but it was our first chance in 2013, SO it was game on!

We popped up the portable shanty and positioned our underwater camera just above the bottom. We saw weeds and dirt, but no sign of fish. We were in the deepest part of the pond and it was a desert. We wondered if the trout were hanging out in the shallow current near open water. After an hour of nothing, the temperature started dropping and we decided to get off the ice and warm up with some coffee.

Clay (who wrote the blog post about ice safety) decided to take a different route to walk off the ice. Not the best idea. He walked over a shallow, swampy area that must have been slightly warmer. A few steps, crack, plunk!

Never missing an opportunity to illustrate an important point, Clay reminds us all that ice is never safe and you should always test it as you go. Walk off the way you walk on.

After Clay fell through, Dave made him stay in the water while he got the camera (some friend). Clay being a good sport and really tough was able to handle it.

With the cold weather settling in this week, fishing should be great soon so stay with us.
Happy New Year!