Tough Day of Ice Fishing on Bantam Lake Derby

Conditions were rough -- windy and cold. The weatherman called for sunny and in the 40's, but we never saw anything near that, and the wind was cold and steady. The fish were not active. One guy in our group caught a 1.5 pound pickerel that was in 4th place when I left. He caught that within the first hour on a medium to large shiner. Besides that, our group of about 6 guys had one other bite all morning. According to the game warden, it was slow across the whole lake. When I left I took a look at the top fish. The first place fish was a bass probably between 2 to 3 pounds. The number of participants was down from last year. Rumor had it that the Morris Fire Department did not collect enough money to pay out the $500 dollars, and the first place prize would be reduced.
Our lack of fish was off set by some good Italian sausage and venison steaks on the grill, as well as plenty of beer for all. Depending on my schedule, I might give it a go again next week.