Ice Derby 2001...

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0><center> <script language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="//ad.broadcaststation.net/ads/show_ad.php?width=728&height=90"></script> </center>  <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-4KX380T5BD"></script> <script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-4KX380T5BD'); </script>  <geoads></geoads> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=145 BGCOLOR="#3366CC" TEXT="#080000" background="04aff483.gif"> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="_"><U><B><IMG SRC="0607c6f0.jpg" border=0 width="124" height="111" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="_"><U><B>--Type Title Here--</B></U></A><A HREF="derby01_m.htm#of_all_the_techniques_we_try_to_catch" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="Ice Derby 2001..."><U><B><IMG SRC="0777c770.jpg" border=0 width="124" height="119" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="04bff483.gif"> <div> <B>Ice Derby 2001...</B></div> <div> <IMG SRC="04cf0050.gif" border=0 width="496" height="5" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <U>Fuck!</U></div> <bR> <div> Gentlemen, we are quickly running out of excuses. This year marks the 16th year that we have been fishing the Great Rotary Fishing Derby. Is it any coincidence that this is the 16th year that we have not caught a fish worthy of bringing to the boards in Merideth? </div> <bR> <div> The weather was good for ice fishing. We had some sunny and mild weather and we had some cloudy, cold and blustery weather. </div> <bR> <div> The location was ideal. Or at least we thought it was. We covered depths ranging from the shoreline shallows, supposed rainbow haunts, to depths of almost 100'. We had a nice extended point nearby. We had a quick drop-off nearby. </div> <bR> <div> We had smelt, shiners and suckers. We had the freshest bait you could ask for. We had all the equipment we needed and then some. We had ample transportation. We had a huge heated headquarters, also know as "Pete's Pussy Shack". We had a friggin underwater video camera. We didn't even SEE fish! (other than Jimmy's bait).</div> <bR> <div> We were well fed! We had plenty of beer and soda!</div> <bR> <div> What did we have to show for it?</div> <bR> <div> Two Lakers that we could have used for bait, two cusk that were over 2 pounds and a handfull of cusk that were smaller than your average morning toilet salmon.</div> <bR> <div> Ugh.</div> <bR> <div> Here's my excuse for this year: "Too much snomobile traffic all around our area".</div> <bR> <div> Well, another year-another story...</div> <bR> <div> A wise man once said "If you want entertaining video footage keep the cameras rolling whenever the Civitengas are around...". Well, the Civs have kept the theory running for yet another year. </div> <bR> <div> In the past we have seen top notch video courtesy of Pete and Tom's antics and in recent years they have added another cast member to some of their more exciting scenerios. Chris Znoj, no newcomer to the derby, has in recent years found himself appearing in the spotlight along side one Civ or the other by no intentional means. </div> <bR> <div> Thinking back to the one of the most exciting and laughable incidents over the years, none of us will have any problem recounting the time when Pete's "Rainbow" snapped off just as the head was coming out of the ice hole. Chris Znoj (the Diddler), was there and his cat-like reflexes were put to the test and proven. The scene is still mind boggeling when I think about it, but the Diddler and all his mass dropped to the ice, arm outreached, dug deep into the icehole, perhaps 2 feet underwater and grabbed that slime coated fish by the dorsal fin and ripped that fish clear out of the water as if a polar bear was trying to grab the last morsel of food for 1,000 square miles from beneath the arctic ice.</div> <bR> <div> Although the outcome of that incident resulted in a small salmon, which Pete regularly confuses for rainbow trout, this year's incident was not followed with the cheers and jubilation that coincided with the Polar Bear/Salmon incident. The incident that occurred this year was funny to some not very funny to others, namely Chris Znoj.</div> <bR> <div> <A NAME="of_all_the_techniques_we_try_to_catch"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A>Of all the techniques we try to catch fish with, none seem to be as productive as the simple cusk line. Cusk, also known as Burbot & Ling Cod, are a nocturnal bottom feeding fish. They are probably the ugliest of the lakes inhabitants. It is a member of the Cod family and can be quite on good as table fare. They are also easily caught and fight like wet piece of toast. The "cusk device" simply consists of a piece of wood with fishing line wrapped around it, with a one ounce weight, a single hook and a minnow (dead or alive) at the other end of the line resting on the bottom of the lake. An individual is allowed to have six of these "devices" and is required to check them once every 24 hours. We typiacally "bait-up" in the late afternoon hours before calling it a day and check the cusk lines in the morning after setting up our tip ups.</div> <bR> <div> In the morning you take an ice pick or a foot and mash through the ice. You then feel the line for a fish. Thats it. Thats all there is to it. Only the fisherman totally lacking in skill will be skunked. Odds are you will have a cusk on one of your six "cusk lines". </div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="05840330.jpg" border=0 width="320" height="307" ALT="Young boy with a typical cusk..." ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> <IMG SRC="05bb4170.jpg" border=0 width="180" height="279" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Above left: A young boy boy with a typical cusk. To the right: Kevin displays what appears to be a cusk... or a susage that fell off of his plate into the snow.</div> <bR> <div> This year the heaviest cusk caught on one of these devices weighe 2.75 pounds and came through the ice dead. We decided to keep the cusk. Fortunately, Jeff Dolloway had targeted cusk while fishing with live bait on a tip up and he too caught a 2.75 pound cusk. That guy is good!</div> <bR> <div> The dead cusk sat out in the open air for a while and before long was almost frozen solid. It wasn't long before people started playing with the dead fish. I found it on the hood of my Dodge Ram 1500 Quad Cab and quickly took it off before it froze to the hood and became a permanent emblem. Then it happend... <A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="_"><U>The Incident...</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <U>The rest of the weekend...</U></div> <bR> <div> As for the rest of Derby Weekend 2001, we, as usual had a great time when all was said and done. Yes, we bitched and moaned about the poor fishing conditions. We cursed snowmobilers that ran over our tip ups; as if that was actually going to hurt our success any more. But we had a good crew of guys up there and we had a manly weekend. </div> <bR> <div> Good health is not always the first concern on Derby Weekend Many of our wives, girlfriends and boyfriends(Tom) may attest to our poor diet by the smell eminating from the bathroom after our first visit to the thrown following the big weekend. A steady diet of coffee, bacon and eggs, sausage, keilbassa, chilli and bud light was the norm for the weekend, and I believe that , were it not for the sumptuous steak dinner that Jeff Poulos provided for us on Saturday night, our stools would have been downright pasty... or worse.</div> <bR> <div> You may ask yourself what all of this has to do with ice fishing. My answer to you is simple; I have no idea. Be that as it may, I feel compelled to share the tiniest of details with you so that none of us that were there will foget and those of you who weren't there can have a better understanding of what it's all about.</div> <bR> <div> The action wasn't all that dull, Pete caught a nice cusk. </div> <div> <U><IMG SRC="0612d970.jpg" border=0 width="301" height="407" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> </U><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >I firmly believe that someday Pete will actually get over his fear of Cusk and hold the critter with his hand and actually get the hook out and release the fish before it is frozen solid.</FONT></div> <div> </div> <div> For the most part the action looked similar to the picture below. Tip-Ups spread over a vast area probing different depths of the lake. Ice fishermen sitting and standing and losing hope.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="0626c3c0.jpg" border=0 width="620" height="316" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> Below, Jeff thinks of other places he'd rather be.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="063d2200.jpg" border=0 width="210" height="288" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Kevin is probably thinkking along the same lines... <IMG SRC="06668150.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="277" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> But alas, good things come to those who wait... As they say patience is a virtue and persistance paid off on Saturday for Kevin.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="06b9a570.jpg" border=0 width="410" height="343" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> This Laker was over 2 pounds, unfortunately they have to be 24 inches to enter in the derby. This one was about 22 inches. Sorry Kevin.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="06a9a360.jpg" border=0 width="410" height="310" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> As small as the laker was, it did receive a lot of attention as this was the most impressive fish caught all weekend. Incidentally, this fish won Kevin some serious cash in our "Derby within the Derby", that SOME of us participated in. Some were <mpg src="http://www.geocities.com/shoemeinthenuts/www.geocities.com/shoemeinthenuts/Mov58.mpg">too damn CHEAP!</a></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <U>Technologically didn't help any...</U></div> <bR> <div> As is the case every year, we bring more equipment and spend more money on new gadgets and gizmos that we are convinced will help us catch more fish....</div> <bR> <div> Here's a shot of our "Basecamp" or "Headquarters". As you can see we didn't lack decent transportation or shelter from the wind.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="06cd6380.jpg" border=0 width="470" height="312" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> What better way to know what kind of bottom you are sitting over?</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="06e9a870.jpg" border=0 width="410" height="391" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Nothing like Dad's underwater video camera to get a peek at the conditions below the lake.</div> <div> "Hey Jim, I can see your shiner! Bring it up a couple feet the weight is pinning it to the bottom..." . Did it help? Not really.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <U>Sunday</U></div> <bR> <div> Sunday started like all of the other days...</div> <div> <IMG SRC="06f62c30.jpg" border=0 width="610" height="195" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> ... with a beautiful sunrise.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="070d6070.jpg" border=0 width="470" height="263" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> And then it got worse....actually then it again was just like the other days. Not much going on.</div> <bR> <div> We did as usuall eat very well, and the beer was going down well too. Jimmy had a few and had to designate a special area as the latrine...</div> <div> <IMG SRC="0711c7b0.jpg" border=0 width="284" height="379" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Jimmy likes to mark his territory every 15 minutes.</div> <bR> <div> The quiet of the afternoon was interrupted by a Civitenga as usual. But this time it wasn't a stupid prank. It was a "Rainbow!"......</div> <div> <IMG SRC="0749a360.jpg" border=0 width="410" height="310" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> That turned out to be a Lake Trout.... </div> <div> A REAL big one! </div> <div> <IMG SRC="0759a5d0.jpg" border=0 width="410" height="349" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Nice teeth Pete! Now throw that bait back in the bucket! Oh, I'm sorry, thats a "gamefish"!</div> <div> Actually, Pete has more patience and determination than anyone of us up there. This guy will stand there and jig until he has frozen to the lake. I can't remember a Derby when Pete didn't catch a Laker. I think this year I actually called it. Several of us were huddled inside of the ice house and Pete was outside patiently jigging his pimple in the wind. Someone said "Why the hell doesn't he take a break and come on inside the house and warm up?!". A couple guys laughed and said he was going to freeze to death. I then guaranteed them that Pete would catch a Laker before the derby was over. And he came through with a nice little Laker the Pete was able to entice by knowing just how to manipulate his pimple to get that fish to bite it.</div> <div> Well done Pete! You derby performance is never dissapointing when compared to the rest of us. </div> <bR> <div> That Laker would prove to be the last fish to come from the water that weekend. However it wasn't the end of the entertainment. We had a great football game un the ice....</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="078e0950.jpg" border=0 width="480" height="149" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> A friendly game of four on four. Unfortunately, due to a previously sustained shoulder injury I was unable to lead as quarterback, and the lack of a decent quarterback on our team resulted in what was likely to be a loss. I did show signs of brilliance over and over again as I torched the defenders and hauled in the long ball. I made Randy Moss-like corrections and made plays out of poor passes and ill advised laterals from a talent lacking corps of quasi quarterbacks.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="0799a3a0.jpg" border=0 width="410" height="314" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Thats our team in a huddle. For some reason Pete isn't interested in the plan of attack.</div> <div> Unfortunately the game as called before I had a chance to lead our team to a come from behind win.</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> When everything was said and done, Kevin Poulos walked away as the overall champion of our "Derby within the Derby" for 2001. His 2+ pound laker was enough to give him the biggest payout amoung us. Jeff Dolloway and myself tied for 2nd place with each of us icing a 2.75 lb cusk.</div> <bR> <div> Incidentally, the cusk were cooked by Chris Znoj on Saturday night and we enjoyed it! For the recipe feel free to email Chris at: Christopher.Znoj@fmr.com .</div> <bR> <div> Sorry for the lack of more photos, someone has about 100 photos from the derby but is to friggin cheap to get them developed. Hopefully we'll have more posted before next year's derby.</div> <bR> <div> Also, check back here soon (give me at tleast a month), for streaming video form the weekend.</div> <bR> <div> See you at the Winni Derby in May!</div> <bR> <div> -Chris</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="http://www.reeldrag.net/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reeldrag.net"><U><B>HOME</B></U></A></div> </td> </tr></table></body>