It was 8Am when I left home. Air Temp -7. In Red Wing it was colder. This day was locked in tradition, the weather was of no concern. I knew it would be a great day. It was a day out on the water.

The water was low and clear. Better than 50% of the water we walked by was sheet ice. The deeper holes, which is mostly slower moving water, was covered in surface ice. Two choices, break up the ice and return after the water settles down or walk to the next spot to look for decent water to fish. We kept walking. We kept finding ice. As we walked, we watched the trout scoot back and forth safe within their ice covered fish enclosure.

After walking for a while and crossing back over to the sun side we settled on a spot to gallery fish. Two rods were strung up for four anglers. We took turns. The chat was much better than the fishing. In all honesty none of us cared that much about the catching. The sun was out and we were on the gaining side of sun intensity. The warmth felt good. Canadian goose down filled the clothing on our backs. The feather did its magic.

The outing was perfect. As we walked back to the car. We spoke with one other angler. He had fished up stream where the water moves faster and the ice was kept at bay. He said he had caught fish.

We spent a fair amount of time at the tailgate telling stories and celebrating the new year. The beer froze in our cans and bottles as we drank the crafty malt beverages……..perfect!  Here are a few photos.