First Ice Crappie and LMB

Love the effort and trip you put in - makes the first catch or two much more rewarding. Being solo rather than a lake full of guys is more my style too

Sounds like a great adventure. You probably had a back-up plan as well if driving that far didn't result in any fishing. Do you use a Smitty sled? Nice steamed fish....can be amazing with the freshest fish. And their colours looked pretty amazing too.

Great story! Well done on the effort put in and the shear determination. Sounds like a blast minus the 2 km haul out. My hips would have been screaming. Lol

No, I didn't have "smitty sled" or any ski's on the pull-along shelter... The bathtub was dragging in the snow the whole way in, and for some weather reason, got heavier on the way out (even using the same tracks)...

It's all I'm doing this week, looking on Kijiji for somebody's free old useless ski, and hoping to put it on my shelter, ahaha. I think it would've been half the effort if I had some ski lifts on the shelter to pull.

No, I didn't have "smitty sled" or any ski's on the pull-along shelter... The bathtub was dragging in the snow the whole way in, and for some weather reason, got heavier on the way out (even using the same tracks)...

It's all I'm doing this week, looking on Kijiji for somebody's free old useless ski, and hoping to put it on my shelter, ahaha. I think it would've been half the effort if I had some ski lifts on the shelter to pull.

Yes on the way out many times if there is any afternoon melting the snow is wetter and it gets tougher to pull the tub. Also after a days fishing you are also more tired. A Smitty sled is definitely a better way to go.....I do admire your tenacity to pull the tub that far.

Arnie

No, I didn't have "smitty sled" or any ski's on the pull-along shelter... The bathtub was dragging in the snow the whole way in, and for some weather reason, got heavier on the way out (even using the same tracks)...

It's all I'm doing this week, looking on Kijiji for somebody's free old useless ski, and hoping to put it on my shelter, ahaha. I think it would've been half the effort if I had some ski lifts on the shelter to pull.

Ouuuch. That's why it was an even tougher trek out. I use to do that and then Smitty changed alot. I still did have those grueling days pulling but that was only because I was able to go farther to get to the same level of exhaustion....yup, the Smitty helps to get your around but not always with a reduction of exhaustion - what fishers will do to get on fish. You may end up being just as tired but at least you could cover more ground.
I have a spare pair of X-country skis I can provide for free but the problem would be how to make the exchange (you can PM me). They do work and some folks use them but my preference is for downhill skis as I find the wider flatter skis work better (I've tried X-country and they are better than no skis but I like the downhill ones). And also, I tend to get shorter skis so I can get them inside my car more easily as well if you can find the ones that people tend to use for freestyle skiing (esp. the half-pipe events), the back ends are also curved up, I like those because sometimes, I just want to move the sled backwards a bit and the double ended curve helps to do that more easily.
But any skis on Smitty would be a huge improvement.

Nice crappies! The spread looks good, really good its making me wish I was more adventurous in the kitchen. I batter almost all my fish that I take home.