chukar bob
12-19-2010, 12:47 PM
Alex is one of my best friends so plz take everything i say about him in jest.
I was excited as an ice cube when Alex told me about the 10th annual ice fishing derby on Mamit Lake near Logan Lake north of Merritt but I went anyway.
Saturday evening we arrived at a motel in Merritt. We retired at 9:30 because Alex had had a long day at work. Alex told me that if I snored it would not bother him because once he fell asleep that was it until morning. Well, I did not snore but he woke up at 11:45 and said he never went back to sleep said he was up just roaming around all that time. I knew why but he would not admit it. We had spent a couple of hours arranging our gear for the big event the next morning and he was just psyched, in my opinion. He has always wanted to be in a derby.
By the time we got to the lake Alex was all re-newed and ready for he 6 hours of watching a tiny rod tip hover over an 8” hole that we augered through 20” of ice. There was one hole for him, one for his depth/fish finder and one for me reminded me of the outhouse my dad built for our family many years ago.
We had paid our $15 entry fee along with 200 other avid alreay half frozen Arctically dressed ice fishermen now it was time to occupy our lawn chairs and wait expectantly for a fish to take our lure/bait that dangled through the 8” hole on a lake that was 5 miles in length and one mile wide. You guessed it the odds are not exactly encouraging but we already knew that and expected nothing and that is exactly how it was for 179 of the 200 entrants a big 0.
There were dozens, maybe 50 vehicles on the lake. Most were trucks an cars but many atvs and snowmobiles plus, at least, 50 more vehicles parked along the roadside. The Nicola Rod & Gun Club who sponsored the event had a tent set up with free coffee, hot chocolate and Timbits. There was a weigh in station with a Conservation Officer nearby for whatever reason unless it was to settle a dispute of some sorts but he did check all licenses by cruising around on this atv.
The water depth was 21’ where we started. Eventually, Alex got restless and started drilling holes further out on the lake but the depth stayed the same. He was quite a ways out hovered over a hole with his fly reel attached to a 24” rod when I hollered that I had a fish so he came running. It was fair sized and it is always tricky to get the fish onto the ice from a small hole as they have to come straight up. Anyway, when the fish got close to the top of the hole Alex was on his hands and knees ready to grab it as I pulled it closer. Most of the way out the hook came loose and the fish flipped back in the hole then everything was just a blur as Alex lunged both arms into the hole and the next thing I saw was the fish flying through the air and onto the ice. We were pretty excited but it only weighed in at 1lb 13 oz an at this point the largest was 2lb 13 0z.
Sometime after 1 pm Alex hollars and he has one. It was an amazing sight. Where he had drilled the hole the ice was clear and you could see right through to the water plus the outline of the hole on the outside. Obviously, it was not a small fish and when I saw it under the ice I told Alex it was bigger than mine but there was a problem. When he had set the hook there was huge backlash on his fly reel with four hands trying to get it free. How the fish stayed on not being able to run while pulling hard is something that does not usually happen. 25 minutes later with time running out for the end of the contest the fish gave up and its head was at the top of the hole. I gaffed it under the gills with a very large hook held in the jaws of needle nose pliers that Alex had improvised earlier. It was a very tense moment knowing that this fish could be worth $300. And, it was.
When a very loud horn went off at 2pm everyone gathered at the weigh in area. We figured that surely another fish would take the prize and for good reason with so many fishermen but Alex Mentes (The Fish Magnet) name was announced as the winner. Then there were other drawings from entry tickets and would you believe that Alex won again. I was two numbers short of the $400 lotto draw and one number from an entry prize.
Knowing Alex I asked around to see if anyone else was going to Kelowna so I would be spared constant reminders of his skillful tactics to land the fish of the day but no luck. Only 21 fish were caught and because there was a prize for the hidden weight everyone brought their fish to the scales. The weight was 1lb 12oz. My fish was 1lb 13oz. I was so close to winning prizes that I went away feeling like I had won something.
What were the chances? Approximately 200 fishermen X 6 hours =1200 man hours of fishing and we had caught 10% of the total. For Alex, it seemed that there was only one one possibility that appeared to overrule luck and skill. Gay sent a text message while were fishing that she & Sharlet were praying that a nice fish would take his bait. I wonder if Alex would have had to relinquish his prize money if the judges knew about his “prayer fish”?
I am forced to purchase a full size truck if I continue to fish with Alex as the amount of fishing related gear is overwhelming. Most ice fishermen I know have everything they need in a bucket and the latter is their seat. His newest addition is an “electric camp chair” that Gay must have searched the internet to find. It has a pocket in the back of the chair that holds a motorcycle battery that warms your lower back and it works great. However, when Alex was away for a few minutes I tried it out and had a near panic attack when I had the sensation that the heat had penetrated to the chairs legs and was melting throught the ice. I abruptly bailed out. Not sure if it was a dream or a vision I had had the night before that Alex hooked a fish while sitting in the chair and set the hook the sudden jolt caused the chair to sink throught he ice.
In conclusion, Alex tries to think like a fish. That must be so because I never saw anyone with so,many scenarios and so much gadgetry. (that works!) For example, his apparatus to lure the prize winner was a large spoon attached to the main line then a section of leader with a moon faced jig and a 4” nightcrawler (dew worm) dangling from that. But his theory as to why the fish, in my opinion, went for the worm, was that the jig has two tiny eyes painted on it called optics! The poor worm did not get any credit whatsoever!
All I can say is that if you have not been on a fishing excursion with Alex you have not lived yet!
Way to go, Alex!
Bob
I was excited as an ice cube when Alex told me about the 10th annual ice fishing derby on Mamit Lake near Logan Lake north of Merritt but I went anyway.
Saturday evening we arrived at a motel in Merritt. We retired at 9:30 because Alex had had a long day at work. Alex told me that if I snored it would not bother him because once he fell asleep that was it until morning. Well, I did not snore but he woke up at 11:45 and said he never went back to sleep said he was up just roaming around all that time. I knew why but he would not admit it. We had spent a couple of hours arranging our gear for the big event the next morning and he was just psyched, in my opinion. He has always wanted to be in a derby.
By the time we got to the lake Alex was all re-newed and ready for he 6 hours of watching a tiny rod tip hover over an 8” hole that we augered through 20” of ice. There was one hole for him, one for his depth/fish finder and one for me reminded me of the outhouse my dad built for our family many years ago.
We had paid our $15 entry fee along with 200 other avid alreay half frozen Arctically dressed ice fishermen now it was time to occupy our lawn chairs and wait expectantly for a fish to take our lure/bait that dangled through the 8” hole on a lake that was 5 miles in length and one mile wide. You guessed it the odds are not exactly encouraging but we already knew that and expected nothing and that is exactly how it was for 179 of the 200 entrants a big 0.
There were dozens, maybe 50 vehicles on the lake. Most were trucks an cars but many atvs and snowmobiles plus, at least, 50 more vehicles parked along the roadside. The Nicola Rod & Gun Club who sponsored the event had a tent set up with free coffee, hot chocolate and Timbits. There was a weigh in station with a Conservation Officer nearby for whatever reason unless it was to settle a dispute of some sorts but he did check all licenses by cruising around on this atv.
The water depth was 21’ where we started. Eventually, Alex got restless and started drilling holes further out on the lake but the depth stayed the same. He was quite a ways out hovered over a hole with his fly reel attached to a 24” rod when I hollered that I had a fish so he came running. It was fair sized and it is always tricky to get the fish onto the ice from a small hole as they have to come straight up. Anyway, when the fish got close to the top of the hole Alex was on his hands and knees ready to grab it as I pulled it closer. Most of the way out the hook came loose and the fish flipped back in the hole then everything was just a blur as Alex lunged both arms into the hole and the next thing I saw was the fish flying through the air and onto the ice. We were pretty excited but it only weighed in at 1lb 13 oz an at this point the largest was 2lb 13 0z.
Sometime after 1 pm Alex hollars and he has one. It was an amazing sight. Where he had drilled the hole the ice was clear and you could see right through to the water plus the outline of the hole on the outside. Obviously, it was not a small fish and when I saw it under the ice I told Alex it was bigger than mine but there was a problem. When he had set the hook there was huge backlash on his fly reel with four hands trying to get it free. How the fish stayed on not being able to run while pulling hard is something that does not usually happen. 25 minutes later with time running out for the end of the contest the fish gave up and its head was at the top of the hole. I gaffed it under the gills with a very large hook held in the jaws of needle nose pliers that Alex had improvised earlier. It was a very tense moment knowing that this fish could be worth $300. And, it was.
When a very loud horn went off at 2pm everyone gathered at the weigh in area. We figured that surely another fish would take the prize and for good reason with so many fishermen but Alex Mentes (The Fish Magnet) name was announced as the winner. Then there were other drawings from entry tickets and would you believe that Alex won again. I was two numbers short of the $400 lotto draw and one number from an entry prize.
Knowing Alex I asked around to see if anyone else was going to Kelowna so I would be spared constant reminders of his skillful tactics to land the fish of the day but no luck. Only 21 fish were caught and because there was a prize for the hidden weight everyone brought their fish to the scales. The weight was 1lb 12oz. My fish was 1lb 13oz. I was so close to winning prizes that I went away feeling like I had won something.
What were the chances? Approximately 200 fishermen X 6 hours =1200 man hours of fishing and we had caught 10% of the total. For Alex, it seemed that there was only one one possibility that appeared to overrule luck and skill. Gay sent a text message while were fishing that she & Sharlet were praying that a nice fish would take his bait. I wonder if Alex would have had to relinquish his prize money if the judges knew about his “prayer fish”?
I am forced to purchase a full size truck if I continue to fish with Alex as the amount of fishing related gear is overwhelming. Most ice fishermen I know have everything they need in a bucket and the latter is their seat. His newest addition is an “electric camp chair” that Gay must have searched the internet to find. It has a pocket in the back of the chair that holds a motorcycle battery that warms your lower back and it works great. However, when Alex was away for a few minutes I tried it out and had a near panic attack when I had the sensation that the heat had penetrated to the chairs legs and was melting throught the ice. I abruptly bailed out. Not sure if it was a dream or a vision I had had the night before that Alex hooked a fish while sitting in the chair and set the hook the sudden jolt caused the chair to sink throught he ice.
In conclusion, Alex tries to think like a fish. That must be so because I never saw anyone with so,many scenarios and so much gadgetry. (that works!) For example, his apparatus to lure the prize winner was a large spoon attached to the main line then a section of leader with a moon faced jig and a 4” nightcrawler (dew worm) dangling from that. But his theory as to why the fish, in my opinion, went for the worm, was that the jig has two tiny eyes painted on it called optics! The poor worm did not get any credit whatsoever!
All I can say is that if you have not been on a fishing excursion with Alex you have not lived yet!
Way to go, Alex!
Bob