Today has been planned by/for me for some time.  The Utah Wildlife Net forum members decided way back in December to get together for an ice fishing “meet and greet” day and picked Rockport as our destination.

Donations of hot dogs/buns/condiments etc. were all volunteered up and I was getting excited for the day to come.  We had originally picked Feb. 11 to hold the event.

Then someone got hold of KSL5 and Adam Eckle, who hosts the Roughing it Outdoors show.  He wanted to host a “Tribute to Doug Miller” event on Feb. 4 th and he suggested we combine our event with his.  So we changed our date.

Suddenly another organization, the Utah Wildlife Cooperative, decided this would be a good time for them to get involved and help out some less fortunate kids form the SLC area.  They contacted the Boys and Girls Club of SLC and they thought it a wonderful idea to get up to 40 kids and bus them up to Rockport for the event.  The kids have mostly never been fishing, yet alone ice fishing, so they just might catch a fish.  For sure they will have fun.

Us volunteers will provide the expertise for these 40 some kids and they will have fun, at least in my group they will.

Many Steps and Edjukateer thought it would be fun to join in and so they too volunteered.

Next we heard that Roughing It Outdoors was going to have the Summit County Search and Rescue folks put on an Ice Rescue demonstration at the lake as well.  Move over fishermen, while I use my chainsaw to cut my hole!

Camp Chef is always at Adam Eckles events and this is no exception.  They are supposed to be there with some sort of food and hot drinks.

As for the UWN guys and gals, we will cook and serve free hot dogs to the kids and if any dogs are left our own can enjoy one.

Oh, and tons of prizes have been donated for a raffle of some sort, I don’t know all the details about that, but we will be involved in some way.

I hope the fishing is good and the kids catch one or two.  It sounds like we have to rush into the fishing and there won’t be much time for that on this day.  Their bus arrives at 10, the ice saving demo is at 11:30.  They want the kids to see that.  Then I suspect it will be lunch, drawings and then load them up on the bus for the trip home.

Maybe we can get a little fishing in after they head for home?

Hope you are one of the ones coming up to Rockport today!  See you there!

Bears Butt

Feb. 4, 2012

We were there long before the party began, but were already late!  All the sponsors had their booth tents up and they had hot coffee and chocolate, plus pastries and goodies ready when we got their.  I had to ask myself  “why did we stop of Rafter B’s on the way there?”

What a party it was!  Well over 200 people and probably closer to 400 were in attendance.  The kids from the SLC chapter of the Boys and Girls Club were great little fisherpeople.  The three of us ended up with 9 of the 40 or so kids and they were sure a handful.  Typical of 6 and 7 year olds.  Attention span of about a minute.

Can I reel up?  Can I change bait?  Can I go over there? Do you have any food?  I need to go to the bathroom!  Is your name really Bears Butt?  My bait isn’t working, see (and the pole is lifted and the bait comes to the surface, not 6 inches into the hole).  I want what he has on his pole.  Are those shrimp good to eat?  I’m hungry!  Can I drill my own hole?  Hey Butt, my gloves are wet!  My hands are freezing.  Here, I say, take mine.  He still has them by the way, which is just fine.  Watch my pole, ok, while I go in the tent.  How come she has a hot dog?  I’m going to go get me one.  Is this salt water?  I went fishing once, but my grandpa forgot the poles, so we just went for a boat ride.

Ya, it was a wonderful time, seriously.  These kids really needed to get out and do this today!  They were great!  One of my guys held a big block of ice he had gotten off the shoreline when they first got there.  And as he held it up close to his face, be began to lick the edge.  I said, Hey!  Do you know that when this lake is not frozen there are fish going to the bathroom in the water and you are licking that right now?  Is that what you want?

He looked at me with his eyes out of the corner of his face and just smiled as he licked it again.

I’m glad he ended up in my group!

I went to the tents later and gathered up some water and chips for each of the kids.  Oh ya, and they tossed in a whole package of Oreo Cookies.  When I got back all the kids gathered around to get some of the goodies.

My main guy, “ice licker”, pulled out a pack of Cheetos and said “These are my favorite kind!”  Now get this, he is only 6 years old.  Then he looks at the package and says “And look here Butt, there are only 80 calories in this whole bag!”  As I passed him to attend to a tangled mess of line on another kids pole, I said “What is a six year old worrying about calorie intake for?”

A couple of minutes later, he comes over to me, attending my third kids pole, and asks “Are Cheetos one of your favorites?”  And of course I said they were and he handed me one!  What a nice boy!  I thanked him and said “That one must of had at least 10 calories because it was so big!”

He is the kid on the left, my other two are more centered in this picture.  I wish I could have taken more pictures, but there was just TOO much fix this and fix that to take the time for pictures.

The fish were not cooperating today.  You could “feel them” under the ice, they just didn’t want anything we dropped down to them.  Not just us either, everyone was having a “bad” good day fishing on the ice!

The weather was absolutely gorgeous!  Sunny, sunburn sunny!  Not too cold!  To say it was perfect is actually an understatement.

Thanks to all who were there, from the Utah Wildlife Net forum.  Adam Eackle at KSL, Big Fish Tackle guys, Utah Wildlife Cooperative, Camp Chef and all the other sponsors.

Ya, kids you don’t know can be nu-nerving,  but these kids were honest and true to what they believe!  Thanks guys!  You really made my day!  Maybe these kids will spend a little time in their lives with a kid trying to catch a fish.  I sure hope so!

Bears Butt