Bo Willoughby of Winslow pulls up a salmon while ice fishing with Jeremy Burbank of Clinton on Wyman Lake in Moscow on Monday. The salmon, around 12-inches long, was the only fish they caught. At far left is Burbank's seven-year-old son Caleb.

Slow fishing wasn't a problem

Story and photos by Jeff Pouland, staff photographer
I have to admit that I have an addiction to downhill skiing. So, when a friend of mine asked me to go ice fishing on a day I was going to go to Sugarloaf, something had to have gone wrong in my mind to say yes.

During the ride from Jeremy Burbank’s house in Clinton to Wyman Lake in Moscow last Monday my eyes were constantly picking lines through the trees along U.S. Route 201 especially as we drove north of Bingham to our fishing spot on Wyman Lake in Moscow.

We arrived in Moscow around 7 a.m.. drilled our holes , set our traps and were eating deer steaks for breakfast around 9 am. Slowly my mind drifted from day dreaming about powder runs that were surely still fresh from Saturday’s storm atop Sugarloaf to hilarious stories told among friends on this frozen river.

In the end, the fishing was slow. We caught one fish all day, a 12-inch salmon, and spent more time looking for firewood and sledding down the steeps banks of Wyman Lake than we did resetting our traps. I came to realize why I said yes to ice fishing and no to skiing. Hanging out with friends can be more fun than riding a chairlift by yourself. I can’t wait to hit Sugarloaf next week, though.

Jeremy Burbank of Clinton, left, his seven-year-old son Caleb and Bo Willoughby of Winslow enjoy conversation and the warmth of a fire while ice fishing on Wyman Lake in Moscow on Monday.

Morning Sentinel photographer Jeff Pouland hangs on while sledding at Wyman Lake in Moscow on Monday. Pouland was ice fishing with Jeremy Burbank of Clinton, his seven-year-old son and Bo Willoughby of Clinton. The fishing was slow but the sledding was fast.

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