Ice is gone, fishing is on!

Bob and I made our maiden voyage on the lake today for 2012.  The ice has been off for about two weeks so it was time to go fishing. It was a beautiful evening.  I don't know how I got this shot.  I could not see a thing.  I love all the circles.

The mountains were a brilliant white from a recent snow.

I loved all the colors on the edge.  The leaves have not appeared yet but the branches of the willows were a beautiful orange and bright yellow and the rose bushes, a deep red. 

     At first the water was a little choppy so we decided to troll instead of cast.  After trolling up the lake on the east side we proceeded to cross the lake seeking the elusive pike on the other side. Pike are scary fish with big teeth, but yum they are sooo good to eat.  Halfway across the lake Bob got a bite and started reeling in.  The fish came off but followed the bait all the way to the boat.  It was a pike!  We were excited now.  We then began going down the west side of the lake staying close to the weed beds.  Suddenly Bob's line jerked and he had another fish on.  He set the hook and began to pull it in.  It thrashed and ran and fought for his life.  Bob yelled, "Get the net and make sure you net him tail first."  (I later found out that head first would of course hit the line and would not bag a fish.)

   "I'm not getting my hand anywhere near that fish with those huge sharp teeth,"  I told Bob.  Nonetheless I netted the fish and brought him in.  It was not a pike but a big 6-7 pound rainbow trout.  He was the biggest trout I had ever seen, I'm used to the 2-3 pound trout.  Bob held him up so I could take some pictures and all of a sudden it jumped from Bob's hands and landed in my lap.  I started laughing so hard and I couldn't stop.  Bob grabbed him and threw him back in the lake to live a little longer giving someone else a chance to catch a big fish. 

There were a bunch of coots hanging in a pond by the lake.  I doubt they are grouped by bunches, I should ask my sister at thecottageonthecorner.blogspot.com.  Man can she take pictures.  Check out her blog.  Anyway I liked the texture of this pic.  I know, unfocused but kinda cool.