Introduction to the Ice Fishing Drinking Game

Sitting in a 7 ft. x 7 ft. popup shack is more entertaining than one would imagine who's never been. Being in such close proximity keeps it lively. The fifth hour on the ice led us into conversations I could never have imagined. Ice fishing has a way of bonding friends... cold beer doesn't hurt either. A flag can and will pop up at any moment, so you need to keep your eyes peeled. In order to keep things interesting, I make friends play a little game - as soon as you spot a flag pop up, you are charged with  hollering "flag!" as loud as humanly possible. If we're on a semi-trafficked lake and a neighborly fisherman yells over to let us know we've got a flag, we all need to finish our beer. It's all in good fun.

Tending traps keeps a guy fairly busy. If one particular spot shows more promising fishing than another, we drill holes closer to the productive area. Should a certain depth be more successful, we'll adjust the other lines. Hooked bait also has a way of disappearing via tricky fish and an empty hook produces no fish. If nothing is working - we'll adjust everything. If that doesn't produce fish, you drink more. I can't say that tends to help us haul in large fish, but it helps keep the cold at bay.

Today we throw out 10 traps and test lake depth with a sounder. We hover our shiners 2 feet off bottom. Our goal is to find a school of perch, but hopefully a hungry trout. Before an hour's time, we enjoy a nice fight with a handsome white perch. Hoping this catch is a promise of future activity, we drill additional holes nearby and move a few traps around. Within the afternoon, we release three white perch as well as haul in three keepers. As w pack up to  head home for a fish fry, I describe to the others my famous fish recipe. Perhaps I'll share it with you soon... Cheers!

Ski Lessons at Maine's Saddleback Mountain

My first skiing experience was 10 years ago. I was 18 and took the big hill without a single lesson. Just moments into the first run, I realized I didn’t know how to slow my downhill approach. My rental skis tumbled through the air – into the woods –  just seconds before I followed behind. It was a bad experience to say the least. That all changed last weekend. Since I began working at L.L.Bean, I realized everyone enjoys alpine skiing and I should give it a second chance. So, I headed West.

Saddleback’s Riding School was rated #2 for Top Ten Places To Learn To Ski In New England in 2013 and they boast plenty-of-face-time, individually-tailored ski lessons on classic New England terrain. It didn’t hurt that 2-hour lessons were only $75 each (including rentals and lift ticket). And if you buy two lessons, your third is free. If you’re looking to learn to ski – ask for “Lori” – she provided the best experience we could ask for. This isn’t to say that other Maine mountains don’t have a superior program – I was simply looking for affordability.

In 2 days , 4 lesson-hours and 12 full hours of mountain time, I left able to control my speed, confident in my turns, well-versed in proper form and really excited about my new sport. Saddleback Mountain is definitely a haul for those of us near Portland, but the locals say you can count on beautiful drive, smaller crowds, a family atmosphere and some of the lowest ski prices in New England.

What to look for:

$29 Maine Days (available to Maine residents on Feb 2, Mar 2 and Apr 6)

Ice Storm | Fresh Snow | Maine Winter

The trees in New England are still weighed down and bent over by the heavy ice accumulation that has been left behind. A walk through the woods sounds eerily like a constant, but slow, shattering of glass all around you. Small chunks of ice give way from the tall pines and come crashing to the snow's crusted surface. A fresh foot of snow has been a weekly occurrence. Now it's knee-deep in the woods and we have plenty of powder for snowshoeing and skiing. Or to simply keep a man busy with a snow shovel. At least the power is back on now (which for us means heat and water), decorations are put away and most importantly, the in-laws have packed up and gone home. Coincidently, in relation to my last point, that's also when the dog stopped puking. Thank God. I hope you all had a great holiday - now let's get outdoors.