Trolling

Fishing. It's all location, location, location. And according to Mike and Dave, the current location was less than optimal.

Following the mild spell on Thursday, the lakes watered up, which helped freeze down most of the slush. That afforded the B.M.D. (Bondi Maintenance Dept., Local 4) the opportunity to relocate the fish hut. While the view was great and the minnows were lively, the response from the fish was less than enthusiastic.

Dave and Mike sussed out a deeper location, and prepared to up-stakes and leave town. First, it is necessary to chop and pry the fish-hut free from the ice. For this, the puppy is helpful but not absolutely necessary.

Then the official Rossignol skis are installed on the skids -- a refinement developed in the top secret BMD R&D labs, using skis found at the local dump. Once everything was ready to go, all that was needed was a little muscle power, and the hut willingly slid off down the lake to its new location, in twice as much water.

It occured to us that if they had just cut a shallow trench through the ice along their intended line of travel, they could have left the lines in, and trolled.

Which might have given them better luck than they've had so far.

But then, it's not really about the catch, it's about the chase, and they've had a great time designing, refining and enjoying the hut, with or without fish.

You need deep water this time of year. Over on Dwight Bay, the fishermen are having good luck, but that bay is fed by two rivers that converge in front of the main dock area, and are popular with the fish. Our cousin, Ross Tapley, at Logging Chain Lodge, is renting huts this year, for $75/day, and several of our guests are staying with us, where they can also enjoy ski trails, toboggan hills, and all our other facilities, while the "manly men" head over for a day in the hut at Dwight. it seems to work out for everyone.