Big Trout, Bon Fire

Well, that turned out to be a WELL worth while trip fishing! Only a couple miles away the lake holds numerous big fish. They do stock it each year and these were both such. We headed out finally after 11:00 and got to the lake then walked around to our normal spot. I got hte boys lines setup and they got them in the water. It was windy and cold with only a few other people around the lake. R sat on the stairs for a bit and played his line.

I got the first hit as I was reeling in my line from a cast. The fish hit hard and it fought pretty well. When I got it in and out of hte water I measured it at 20 inches. I put it on the stringer and then got the boys lines back in the water after they ran to help me land the biggun.

10 minutes later R pulls in this big ass trout. I was amazed that he drug this thing in on his tiny little pole and thin line. I got it out of the water and measured it at 19 inches! His first fish of the year is a big one!

We stayed a little bit longer until R felt he had to go so then we packed up and headed home quickly. He acknowledged that he needed to use the bathroom and since there are none at the lake and we were only a couple miles from home I ran us all back. Potty training can be a pain but the successful progress is very much appreciated.

Did I mention it was cold and windy?

Back at the house and after feeding the boys lunch I went out and raked up a bunch of debris in the yard. That all got piled in the garden in a separate pile from my tree debris. Last year's fence from the tomato row was still filled with vines that had all dried over the winter. I figured out the easiest way to clean it and that was with fire.

I got the needles and debris going then tossed the fence on top and watched it get quickly cleaned of all the old tomato vines.

In amongst the vines were some clothes pins that I had not seen which ended up partially burning. Interestingly they all still managed to hold tight to the fence even with most of the wood burned from them.

Finally I decided to go in and deal with the 2 fish. I laid out some newspaper then a piece of card board and sharpened my knife as best I could. (I ordered a Buck fillet knife so I won't have issues again.) I did the best I could to get full fillets and I think I did okay. The fish weighed 5.5 pounds total, whole, with one a bit bigger than the other but pretty close to same weight.

Once Hive account@stryeyz got home from work and we had eaten dinner I got the big pile going. I thought it would last a long time but by this morning the bulk of it is gone. The little cinder cone of coals from the first fire kept working the debris down to ashes.

This morning I am going to town for a load of grain then I have an irrigation startup. Once home I will be getting the fire going again, cleaning in the yard and around the farm, and working in the studio some more to finish the very last things.