The City Girl's Guide to Ice Fishing

Since as far back as I can remember, my father - Wes - has taken my sister, Felicia, and I to the annual Meredith, NH Ice Fishing Derby. It takes place every February and you spend one very cold weekend out on the ice hoping to catch the big 3 lb rainbow lurking in the waters below.

The derby has taken place for over 30 years and Wes has never missed a weekend. He has also never caught a fish...but we have always had the best time just being together and enjoying the outdoors.

This derby weekend was the first time we stayed in a nice hotel which was located directly across from the lake in Meredith. We used to stay at my Great-Grandfather, Roy's, house until he passed away when I was in my late teens. In the years that followed, we stayed in some seedy motels and one year even stayed in an RV on the ice. But now that I'm older (and much pickier about having a bed, pillows, shower, and *most importantly* toilet) I took the initiative to secure the fam rooms at the Inn and Spa at Mill Falls - http://www.millfalls.com/

I really enjoyed this hotel. It's part of a large group of small hotels all located right in Meredith with views of Lake Winnepsauke and each hotel has its own camp-style restaurant. The whole place reminded me of Foxwoods with their little houses all lined up to look like Disney World.

 I also thoroughly enjoyed the indoor hot tub when we got back from being out on the ice all day! This is a great spot during the fall if you want to get up to see some foliage and also a great summer spot when visiting the Lakes Region of NH. There are plenty of hotels to choose from, all ranging in price, and all the restaurants have really great comfort food.

After telling people that I'm heading ice fishing I am always asked how I possibly stay warm. I know that I appear like a girl who would wear a pea coat to ice fish, but I can assure you that I am a New England gal born and bred...and also, Wes would have disowned me if I didn't dress accordingly for these weekends.

When heading to where temps will be a balmy 12 degrees, I strongly recommend layering. I start with covering my entire body from head to toe in Hot Chilly's, which are undergarments for people in the cold who might also be sweating. When your body sweats, the undergarments will wick away the moisture and keep you dry and warm. Doesn't this chick look so much like me?

Then I add a durable pair of snow pants. For me, I personally love the ones made by North Face that are NOT the nylon ones. Nylon will easily tear and get burn marks from ash embers. Gloves are essential and I really like the K2 gloves, but you'll want to put some hand warmers in there for added coziness. You'll also want a wool hat that is lined with fleece because heat escapes from your head the most, according to a very credible source - my mother, Carol.

The most important layer I put on is my last layer - my Canada Goose Chilliwack jacket. These jackets, which come in all different styles, are worn by the teams that do work in the Antarctic...which clearly means I need it to go ice fishing. Here are the Carr sisters all bundled up for the day:

So now that you know WHERE to go and WHAT to wear when you get there, I'll assume that I'll be getting plenty of requests to join the Carr family next year! Wes built a new bob house this year but has plans to expand and remodel for next year. We're hoping to have a wood-fed hot tub out on the ice with us as well as a working bar. We might even try and catch something next year ;-)