Northern pike

[TubeDude]

Now you've done it Hook_sets, you got TD pulling old pictures out of the files and making everyone drool over what is past !!  I was on some of those trips with Rick and TD and it is hard to decide which one can catch the most fish, ANYWHERE !!  Both are incredible fishermen and great friends.  Some of those Yuba trips were beyond incredible.  ON one of the last trips,  we just stepped off the ice down by the dam, when one of the guys with us looked back behind us and the whole ice sheet had moved 20 yds off shore.  We were commenting on that the other day when the open water appeared down at Ut. Lake !! 

By the way, the old White Ranger in that one picture !!  Rick found that listed on KSL several years ago.  His girls went in and bought it for him and he spent some time spiffing it up again.  Got it running really good and we took it on several trips.  He took a buddy in his neighborhood  out  in it and the guy talked him into selling it again.  It was a great old boat !!

Thanks for the pics Pat, brings back some real memories !!!

Some folks say that with a selective memory all things from the past improve with age.  At least that's what I say.  But I can also say that the fishing memories we made back then need no embellishment.  Things were just so much better...on so many waters...for so many species.  And I can't believe that in all of my photo files I don't have any pictures of you from the past.  But I still have lots of good memories.

These days I see or hear reports of "super" days when only a few fish (or no fish) were harmed during an entire day of fishing.  And then I remember our trips of old...especially ice fishing trips.  No power augers, super sonar systems or super sleds towed by gas powered ice machines.  Just a single rod (no two pole permits in those days), a bucket and a hand crank auger...or still a hatchet or spud bar for many.  And yet we caught fish...lots of fish...and lots of big fish.  Of course there were a lot of our trips when we were the only ones on the whole lake.  But even with complete honesty (at least fishing honesty) I cannot remember a single trip that we did not all catch fish. 

Makes me wanna quote a verse from one of my "verse or worse" writings: 
Times, tides and people change. 
Doesn't it seem kinda strange 
That things don't go from bad to good 
And never turn out like we hoped they would?