Okay, this was one I hope to never repeat.
Deep water ice fishing on Georgian Bay for Whitefish. Weather was windy and brutally cold with blowing snow and intermitent squalls. But my buddy and I persisted with our fishing efforts, after all we drove for over 2 hours to get there for a days fishing. After a few moves my buddy connects with the first fish and after a spirited battle a big whitey is flopping on the ice. "Beauty" I says, pumped and ready to nail one for myself. Lines back down and I'm working my bait slow and steady, my buddy pipes up "fish on".....another big whitey on the ice! Now I'm really stoked as I know it's only a matter of time and I'll be connected.
Well the story continues in my buddies favour, more whities and a few small lakers, I'm fishless, cold and pissed off! But I persisit.
A change of baits and down goes a small light silver spoon into 100 feet of cold Georgian Bay blue. Jig, jig, pause, jig "BAMN" fish on! My spirits lifted, the the chills subside as adrenalin fuels me but something ain't right, it ain't fighting like a whitey nor a laker, I'm thinking big ling but hoping I'm wrong. Coming up steady but without battle, up, up and up, finally the head comes into the hole and I can see my lure tucked firmly into the top jaw of a big ole ling, Bah! Spirit deflated my buddy laughing I haul it onto the ice. That's when it really went sour, my buddy is on the ice howling, I'm just standing there dumbfounded! My spoon as I said is firmly locked into it's upper jaw, it's length would suggest a fish of over 8lbs, but it lays there motionless. Why, because this particular ling has been caught already and had the fillets removed! I had just legally landed a dead filletless fish.....
It was to be my only fish of the day.....