For the first 21 years of my life I had to endure the cold of the great state of Wisconsin. Too many times I could not wait for the winter months to go away because I just got tired of the cold weather. Even though I never cared for it much, I did have a few outstanding moments during the holidays that I thought you would find humorous.

I don't know how many of you have ever experienced ice-fishing but I can tell you this much, it can be a very good time if you are out with the right group of people. Every time I talk to someone from Florida about ice-fishing their eyes kind of pop out and they always ask if I have really done that. The answer is yes.

When we were young we use to take our Christmas vacation from school and go stay with my uncle. Just so you know, my uncle is a year younger than I am so I guess you could say that he was an "accident." He is great. My brothers and I would go stay there quite a bit because grandma and grandpa's house was close to the river and we could fish in the summer. Well in the winter, grandpa use to load us up in the car and take us to Shawano Lake.

We would jump out of the car with our sleds loaded down with tip-ups and some small fishing poles. Always had to get some minnows from the bait and tackle store on the lake and then head out across the ice in search of a spot that we could drill some holes in the ice and catch some fish. We even had a small tent, that we kept in a backpack, that we would bring out and set up so we could get out of the wind. I was about 12 years-old when we were doing this and we use to have a blast. I can't ever remember catching any fish. But just sitting out there and talking with my brothers and my uncle was a great time.

As we got older, and could drive, we graduated from the tent to an ice shanty. When the ice hit the lake and was safe enough to drive on, we would hitch that thing up behind the car and haul it out there on the ice. A good ice shanty always had to have a few essentials. A wood-burning stove was a must. We could sit out there in short pants, it got so hot in that thing. The shanty also had to have a portion of the floor that was removable so you could do some fishing from inside. The hole would also double as a nice cooler to drop your drinks down through the ice and keep them cold.

We spent many Christmas vacations doing that. To look back at it now I kind of miss it. I don't miss the ice-fishing but I do miss the time with my brothers and uncle. Not only did we do this during the Christmas vacations, we did it also during the summer as well. Then we would just borrow dad's boat and head out and spend the day fishing.

Sometimes it is funny to reflect back on all of the good times that I had growing up as a kid. I never realized though how many of those good times are tied to the outdoors. Fishing has played more of a role in my life than I have realized and I am very grateful that I fell in love with the outdoors at an early age.

The other sport that we got involved in, and usually started up around Thanksgiving was ice-boating. We had boats made of wood that had runners on them that would fly across the ice at speeds up to 60 miles per hour. That was fun. During the holiday season it was just another excuse for us to get out and enjoy the wild word. The worst part about the ice-boating was that when you were going that fast in the cold, it would drop the temperature down to subzero levels at times.

I remember one Christmas we were out on the bay of Green Bay. My friend Tracy was flying across the ice when all of a sudden the ice broke and he and his boat went into the water. Luckily we would only run these things in the shallow water, early in the year, just in case something like this happened. He ran up to the car and put dry clothes on and turned the heater on full blast. He sat there for about an hour before he could get warm again. While he was in the car, we were trying to lasso his boat (without getting too close) so we could haul it out of the ice. Stuff like that seemed to always happen to Tray.

Now I get to spend my holidays in the sunny state of Florida. I have taken the kids fishing during their holiday breaks and always get to spend some quality time with them during this part of the year. It is my favorite time of year. I just wish it would not go so fast.

Memories are a great thing. All of us have special moments during the holiday season that we look forward to. The thing I like the best is that I now have the opportunity with new friends to build even more memories with them. My friends are very special people in my life and I like to spend time with them and my family as often as I can.

To all of you, I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. The readers of WaterLine are our extended family and here is a wish for all the happiness in the world during your holiday season.

By Greg Bartz