This weekend had the potential to be a great weekend in the outdoors. Don’t get me wrong though, I still enjoyed the time I got to spend in it already! The plans were to go out Saturday morning to one of our favorite perch lakes and catch enough fish to have a little meal with. Then Sunday would consist of getting the beagle out and run a few rabbits that we could cook up over the week. That was the plan at least!
We met up at around 8 a.m. and after about 15 minutes we finally figured out a way to load all of our gear up. Once we made it out the lake we figured it would be a great day. The ice was perfect, no slush, little bit of snow on top to give us traction, and there was plenty of ice (7”-8”). We went to our usual spot and drilled enough holes to hop around catching perch all morning and a few to set some pike tip-ups. After a while of no hits at all from perch we moved around the lake and still could not get a bite. When we were spudding the last hole about 200 yards away, a flag finally popped up. After what seemed like the longest run on ice in history we finally made it to the tip-up to see the spool not turning, and no pike on the end of the line. We left the lake around 11 a.m. hoping the next day would be better.
By the time I got home I had decided to push my luck and see if I couldn’t run any rabbits with my beagle. Pushing my luck even further I had also decided it would be a good day to try and get one with my .22. I made it down into the swamp on my always trusty pair of snowshoes and set up in a spot I figured the rabbit would circle through at. After about 3 minutes of waiting to my surprise a rabbit hops by about 30 yards away. I wasn’t sure if I could get a shot because of how much brush was in the way. At the last minute I got what I thought was a clear shot and took it but didn’t realize the few sticks that were in my way until I saw the rabbit run off. After that, I turned around and went inside to grab the trusty shotgun. I headed back out with shotgun in hand and made it halfway back out to the spot that I was at before when I heard a snapping sound. I looked down to see the front of my left snowshoe pointed up straight towards the sky. That was pretty much the point where I decided to go back inside for the day. The good news is tomorrow is Sunday so there is still a chance to turn this weekend around!
By the time I got home I had decided to push my luck and see if I couldn’t run any rabbits with my beagle. Pushing my luck even further I had also decided it would be a good day to try and get one with my .22. I made it down into the swamp on my always trusty pair of snowshoes and set up in a spot I figured the rabbit would circle through at. After about 3 minutes of waiting to my surprise a rabbit hops by about 30 yards away. I wasn’t sure if I could get a shot because of how much brush was in the way. At the last minute I got what I thought was a clear shot and took it but didn’t realize the few sticks that were in my way until I saw the rabbit run off. After that, I turned around and went inside to grab the trusty shotgun. I headed back out with shotgun in hand and made it halfway back out to the spot that I was at before when I heard a snapping sound. I looked down to see the front of my left snowshoe pointed up straight towards the sky. That was pretty much the point where I decided to go back inside for the day. The good news is tomorrow is Sunday so there is still a chance to turn this weekend around!