Hard Water Fishing 2009

The Saturday started out as a COLD, but sunny day in the Valley. To get things started out right I had to make a trip to metropolitan Spring Valley for some essentials for a day of sitting on the ice.
The first stop was at the local gas co-op for a St. Paul, Wisconsin Edition, Pioneer Press and a Eau Claire Ledger newspapers. You can only stare at the tip-ups so long without passing out. While there the candy shelf called my out my name so I had to go see what was up. Well, the Giant Snickers were on sale, 2 for 2 bucks, a bargain in any one's book.
Next stop was at Gale's Bakery, a staple in Spring Valley for, as you can see, a raised glazed and a jelly filled bismark. My snacks had enough calories for breakfast, mid morning snack and lunch.
This photo shows that I was not the only one who thought the fish would bite. There were several cars and trucks on the ice and even one new fish shack was pulled out while I was there.
In the back ground is The Midwest's Largest Earthen Dam. It is quite large and was built by the Corps of Engineers in the early 60's after a flood nearly wiped Spring Valley off the map. The metropolis of Spring Valley is just on the other side of the dam.
Oh by the way, one flag and no fish. It was just as well I didn't catch any fish as it was 7 degrees out and was to cold to try and land anything.