Weather: Perfect, clear, no wind, high 40's
Moon Phase: Full Moon
Location: Fremont Lake, Wyoming
Bait: Tube jigs tipped with chub meat
Who Went: Hunt, Dave, Newton, Scotty, Me
My annual Ice fishing trip with my buddies almost became a no show for me this year as Cari and I are both in a waiting game with her pregnancy. We have been told by the doctor that the baby should already be here, but every day at our ultrasound over at St. Marks Hospital, they tell us the baby is still hanging in there. This was the story again on Friday when they told us we were going to make it through another weekend. I took that as a doctor’s consent, and got the green light for fishing (I have an awesome wife). Just like that I was back in the game and we hit the road only to arrive at the lovely town of Pinedale, Wyoming on Friday night to pleasant cold temperatures in the low 20’s. For having a sign as you enter town that says, “Welcome to the Ice Box of the Nation,” low 20’s didn't seem too bad! The Lakeside Lodge where we stayed last year looked the same this year with a nice back porch right on the lake and two nice queen beds. Of course there were five of us, so naturally the little guy (me) got the floor. However, I came prepared this year and brought a nice big pad and sleeping bag. Fremont Lake welcomed us with this gorgeous sunset, and soon after with the biggest moon I have ever seen.
Now on to the fishing… We woke up early and were walking on the ice before sunrise. I took this picture of our group with the same big moon behind them that was so beautiful the night before.
We drilled our holes and got set up to fish as the sun began to make its way over the mountains. The weather was brisk, but the skies were clear with no wind, and we knew if we could hold on until the sun climbed over the hillside, it was going to be a beautiful day. Very few fish were seen on the electronics, which is the same story as last year, but we were hoping that if one did happen to show up, it would be a good sized one! I was the first one to have my rod bend, but it ended up being a small lake trout in the 18-20 inch range. The color on the lake trout at Fremont Lake are so much more dark and pronounced than the ones I’m used to catching at Flaming Gorge, so even though it was a small trout, it was still a victory in my book. 
After spending the rest of the morning without a bite, we decided to walk over to some locals that were ice fishing near us, to get the scoop on what this lake really has to offer. He was an elderly gentleman and was very cordial. He helped us out tremendously by giving up one of his favorite spots on the lake. Unfortunately, it was on the other side of the lake and we had to pack up everything and make a long move. When we got to our new spot we were excited we moved even before dropping a line in the water. This end of the lake was back in the deep pines and had a breath taking backdrop to enjoy while wetting a line. Soon after we started fishing, I got a hit and set the hook into what I thought was a very nice fish. Everyone gathered around and watched as the fish tore off line from my baitcaster reel and made some good runs. We were all very excited until the fish came to the surface and surprised us with its size. It was not the big fish we were expecting. On our drive over to our new spot my fishing pole must have gotten bumped and my drag became loose. I had it set very tight the night before so I thought for sure I had a really good fish on! Then to make matters worse the fish came off as I tried to pull it through my ice hole! We did get a good look at him though, and I would put him in the 5 or 6 pound class, then just as my fish came off, Dave hooked into one of his own. He was able to land his fish, and it was about the same size as the one I lost, but this one was generous enough to come out of the hole for a few mug shots.
After the excitement was over, the fishing went back to being very poor and Hunt ended the night by landing one of the smallest lake trout I have ever seen, but at least he got on the board!
Scotty and Newton were skunked for the second year in a row, and looked forward to getting off the ice! As the sun went down, Hunt and I sat on the tailgate of my truck and enjoyed the unbelievably gorgeous scenery the Wind River Mountain Range has to offer. We talked about how good life is when you’re in the mountains fishing, and you can forget about all the stresses of life by leaving them at home for a couple of days. If it wasn’t for these outdoor trips I think a man would go insane, but like all good things they must come to an end, and now I’m back home and dealing with the daily grind of wondering when our baby girl will enter this world! Uggh! When is the next trip?
JJ called and asked if we could go fishing this Saturday, but he wanted to go somewhere new that we have never been before. He also didn't want to travel very far, so after some deep thought we decided on Willard Bay. Not many people ice fish Willard Bay and you don't hear many good reports from there, but we decided to try it anyway. To bad hind sight is 20/20, cause I wish we would have chose a different lake! We saw very few fish on our electronics, and didn't get any bites. By 10:00 a.m. we had about enough and started brainstorming on where we could fish on the way home if we ended the trip short at Willard. We finally came up with a crazy idea about ice fishing the I-80 ponds for largemouth bass. Of course I was down with the idea because these are the kind of wild trips that I live for. We all thought about it and finally agreed to pack up and make the trip. We picked up some special bait at the pet store on our way there, and I kept wondering whether it was going to be frozen enough to walk on, but we were pleasantly surprised to find the ice was a solid 4 inches and completely safe! 
The I-80 Pond is only about 5-6 feet deep and you could look down your ice hole and see the fish swimming around. We only saw a couple swim by, but it was pretty cool when we did. Needless to say our special bait didn't work and we ended the day with a big fat skunk. It was a fun day though, and its already got my mind daydreaming about how I can get the largemouth to bite through the ice! I guess I've got all summer to think about it. That's the great thing about fishing... there's always tomorrow!
It seemed like as the night went on the fish started giving in and biting more often, and I finally landed my first Crappie of the night.
The fishing stayed somewhat consistent from the hours of 8 p.m. to midnight with us both landing around a couple an hour, but as soon as the clock hit 12:00 p.m. the fishing completely shut down. I would say we probably caught around a dozen total for the night. Rick took a few home for dinner.
Biggest Crappie of the night was 13 inches. It was fun fishing at night, but I think next time I will do it when I don't have to wake up at 7:00 a.m. and work all day! 
