Late Thursday afternoon Zoe got word from a friend that there were spots available the next morning for Sun Peaks newest non-skiing activity, ice fishing.
At 7.30 am Campbell arrived with Zoe and Andy already on board and the five of us headed down to the lake with snow falling steadily en route.
Unloading the truck, first came the post hole digger which Campbell quickly put to work drilling four holes into the lake surface where the ice is roughly 5 inches thick. The tiny fishing rods came next and within a very short time we were all dropping bait into our respective holes whilst Campbell set up the 'hut' for our ice fishing creature comfort.
Once we were covered with the hut it was amazing how clearly we could see through our holes and Russell saw the first fish gliding by but Andy was the lucky one to hook him with Zo matching the catch not long afterwards.
With a propane gas heater and hot chocolate supplied, conditions were cosy and comfortable. When the action slowed a little we moved camp to a different area only about 20 metres away in deeper water and Andy was hauling in before the hut was even in place!
Snow fall remained constant and when nature called a little later there was little to do but pare back the layers and get on with it by the relative cover of the truck – there were fish to catch!
Soon afterward I was lucky enough to hook the longest fish of the day ( ok Andy, yours was the fattest!) despite Russell once again having first sight of him.
By the time we packed up we were very happy with our efforts, more than enough for dinner with some left over for Andy and Zoe's freezer. Who would have thought that ice fishing would be so much fun!
Zoe unfortunately had to head to work for the afternoon so Russell and I decided to check out the largely unoccupied hot tubs.
Snow continued to fall all afternoon ( would be about 20cms by the end of the day) and we enjoyed the surreal experience of sitting in steaming water with snowflakes collecting on the tops of our heads for long enough to completely thaw out.
Ben met us for lunch at “Bottoms Bar'N Grill” and then we took it easy until 6pm when our next adventure beckoned – the horse drawn sleigh.
Two grey mares (“Victoria” and “Tudorbelle”) ably pulled the four of us around the village and surrounds for about 30 mins, a great way to see some stunning Christmas light displays in the back 'streets.'
Happily covered in snow we headed back to the apartment to dust off and where Russell did what he does best …..
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