December 2021 • Nebraskaland 51
everyone in our group was together for
our annual pilgrimage to a Ponca State
Park mini-lodge for a couple of nights
to fi sh, hike and play cards with our
families and their kids. Until the adult
stuff took over. Until kids went away
to school. Until divorce. Until we no
longer made the trip.
Nothing stays the same, but for
a split second on this night, when
longtime ice fi shing partner Kevin
Green was cutting holes after dark, I
was sure we had just opened the door
on our next level of ice fi shing — the
night bite.
We could return to Ponca and do this
for years, I thought, knowing that the
crappie and channel catfi sh seemed
to become especially aggressive after
dark at times using the same jig-and-
a-waxie tactics we used during the day.
Now I'd be happy if all of us could
make just one more trip together,
whether we catch a fi sh or not.
N
OPPOSITE TOP: Don Cox of Minden
ice fi shes at the Valentine National
Wildlife Refuge.
OPPOSITE BOTTOM: Maddie Kurrus,
with brother Eli in the background,
holds a bluegill caught through the
ice.
BELOW: Kevin Green of Omaha fi shes
at night at Ponca State Park in Dixon
County.
