South Twin Derby: How I lost my 2nd phone down the hole

Yeah, it happened again.

It's hard to explain that sinking feeling. Watching your phone go down 22 feet to the bottom of a lake. The first time it happened, I barely saw it. Off the table it fell and with one "ploop" it was gone. Completely out of sight.12 feet to the mud bottom of Upper Red Lake.

This time it was different. It was like it was in slow-motion.  I was setting my phone on a small tripod so that my friend/coworker/fishing buddy Kevin and I could take a quick photo. And then it fell over. The phone popped out of its clamp and slid across the ice and down the hole. Kevin was almost able to grab it.

The fall to the bottom was the slowest I'd ever seen. With the photo app still on and facing up, I watched it flutter back and forth, just a few inches at a time. I swear I could see our faces on the phone watching it descend. Back and forth...back and forth...back and forth it fluttered. Once it was out of sight, I then watched it drop the rest of the way on my Vexilar. A big red blob on the Autozoom then it hit bottom and was gone. 22 feet at the bottom of South Twin Lake.

Kevin's expression was one of instant sorrow and grief. Honestly, I just laughed. I mean I was kind of pissed, but there's no reason to ruin a good day fishing. Stuff happens.

"I'm fine. That phone isn't coming back and there's nothing I can do about it. So let's catch some fish!" is what I told him.

And so we did. Well actually we didn't. I don't believe we actually caught anything after that point during the derby. In our bucket already was three small northern pike, right around the 20" size. Perfect for pickling! I caught two on a Clam Caviar Tungsten Drop and wax worms and the other on a tip up and a sucker minnow.

We did not win the derby, nor did we come close. But we did have a great time. Honestly I was just happy to actually catch something this year. Kevin was not as lucky but he was fishing old school with no electronics, which can make it tricky.  My wife, who had the luxury of fishing in her slippers in my parent's Ice Castle, caught a few small pike too.

After the derby, my wife and I ventured up to Pinehurst and enjoyed a couple burgers. Props to the Pinehurst staff, who despite dealing with a lodge packed full of people, had great service! We got our drinks and food way faster than I ever thought we would. We had hopes of winning some door prizes from the derby, but our name was never called. We did, however, walk away $50 richer courtesy of the slot machines! So that paid for our trip with the exception of the new phone I now have to buy.

After Pinehurst, we ventured back onto the ice to mingle with friends. There was a group of probably 10 fish houses all from the Twin Valley area. And btw, I don't think I've EVER seen that many fish houses on that lake before. It was hard to get around on the lake because you were dodging in out of Ice Castle, Glaciers, homemade spearing shacks, and everything in between. It was nuts.

But it's pretty clear that once the derby ends, it takes a back seat to a party on ice. And that's ok!  I enjoy a good time, but I have a hard time turning off my will to drop a line and fish. As was the case this night. Chatting with some friends in their house, I was distracted by the amount of fish that showed up my friends Vexilar. I jigged his line. Nothing. I couldn't get them to bite. But I couldn't resist. I HAD TO CATCH THAT FISH.

I went and grabbed my fancy new Tuned Up Custom Panfish Rod from my truck. I was certain these were crappies or Bluegill and that rod was rigged up and ready to go for this situation. I jigged to the rhythm of the Ice Cube song blasting over speakers.

"Don't stop! Jig it! Jig it! 
You can do it put you're rod into it!"

They just wouldn't take it. Perhaps the subwoofers made them a bit timid. Finally, I spotted a fish up high on the graph and teased him into biting. But alas, it was just another small "snot rocket." At least it brought a little excitement to the house, as if it needed it.

Couple things to take away from this trap:
1. Why doesn't Clam, Eskimo, Otter, any of the ice fishing companies take it upon themselves to create a phone case that floats? There is a few on the market, but they are bulky, ugly, and just not ideal for ice fisherman. C'mon guys! I know you would sell a crap load. I'm not the first person to drop a phone down the hole.

2. Don't let accidents or stupid things, like dropping a phone down the hole, ruin your weekend. Everything is replaceable. Just move on and try to enjoy the day.

Sorry for the lack of photos, I would have posted some from this journey, but need I remind you, my phone is now at the bottom of  a lake.

So what's next for Mark Curtis Outdoors? Might be heading out to the Red River to seek out mooneyes, walleye, and maybe even catfish on ice. And my wife wants to catch crappies...so we better go catch some crappies soon.

Thanks for reading! Hopefully you got a good laugh at my misfortune!