Joe Pacholek of Legends Outdoors is my fishing guide for the day, and our first lesson is drilling through the ice. The ice here at Lake Wallenpaupack is about 18 inches thick, and drilling a hole through it, wasn't easy.
"I need more muscles!"
Then I tried the motorized drill.
"Is it through? No? Ohhhh!"
Holes drilled? Check! Now it's time to bait the hook.
"OK, I'm not going to be a girl about this, but I might be. Ewwww!! Alright, say your prayers little guy."
The secret to catching fish?
"Time, time on the water, and preparation."
To pass the Tim, Joe's son, Joe Jr. taught me to fish with a jigging rod in a heated tent!
"You don't cast with these rods, you just drop it straight down in the hole."
Joe and his crew use a fishing finder to view where your lure is and where the fish are in comparison.
"OK, now you see this red mark coming off the bottom? They are fish, that's my lure and the fish is coming right up."
Sometimes the fish need a little song to coax them to the worm.
"Fishy, fishy, don't you wishy, you could have my worm for a dishy?!"
It was barely a minute before i got a bite!
"Aha!! I got a little bass! You're mine!"
But I wasn't the only one having success. In the tent next to me, six year old, Brady Evans was catching fish all day long! Then, a flag went up outside 14 year old, AJ Hendershot's tent, meaning she too had caught something.
"Whoooho!"
"There a certain thrill of being here to relax, yet have that urge to catch fish, cause it's just so peaceful out here. I don't know, it's almost like Christmas. It's that good!"
And it wouldn't be ice fishing with out some food!
Maybe next time, I'll cook these!