Crazy "Critter Adventures" with Muskie Matt

With all the goofy things happening to Matt on the ice last night you'd think he was Marlon Perkins (Wikopedia him if you don't know kiddies). Here's Matt's latest adventure in his own words.

Was out yesterday evening, couple flags near sunset, one pike. 3-5in of ice, using my power auger now. It was a cold one, could only pull it off by "truck fishing", no way I was going to stand outside any length of time, especially after dark.

I did have a couple interesting wildlife encounters... caught a small pike, laid it on the ice, turned and took maybe 6 steps to get pliers/jaw spreaders f...rom sled, turned back and the pike was gone! An eagle was flying off with my fish! Dropped tools and went yelling after him and it dropped the fish with maybe 50ft of line spooled out. Whew! Turned, bent down to pick up my tools and ANOTHER eagle grabbed my fish! This one spooled the remainder of my line off the tip-up and continued on, dragging my tip-up across the ice! I took off yelling after it and set an intercept course for the tip-up, it was heading out over the thinner ice and I wouldn't get my rig back if the eagle made it across the lake. Just as I caught up with the tip-up the bird dropped the fish. WHEW, for a second time! Now I had to pull the fish back before they tried to reclaim their prize, re-spool a crap load of line, and its 8 degrees outside... got er done.

Oh, but the world of critters wasn't done ****ing with me yet...

I'm finally back in the truck, starting to feel my fingers again, amazed those two eagles were so brazen, generally recovering from a very chilly fiasco. Now along the shoreline comes a freaking herd, pack, gaggle, whatever you call em', of otters. Very cool critters to watch and I'm thinking "awesome, freaking Animal Planet night", when this covey of otters decides to make a turn and cut across the lake... on a trajectory that'll take them past my sled sitting out on the ice. I did a few quick mental calculations and came up with "oh,oh". Sure as shit, as this mob passes my sled they start to do a Rodney King on my minnow bucket which is sitting in the sled! I jump out of the truck, take off yelling after them, they scatter and resume their journey, rolling and squeaking all cute-like as they go... the little shits.

And that was my evening of fishing, battling the elements, wildlife, etc.