This past weekend we took a trip to Devils Lake, ND with Mike’s parents.  Devils Lake is the perch capital of the world and we wanted to try our luck ice fishing on the lake.  The area was incredibly dog-friendly, so we decided to bring Ava with us on our fishing adventure.

We arrived in Devils Lake on Friday night so that we would be able to get up early while the fish were (hopefully) biting.  We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express that night, where Ava quickly settled in.  In addition to their comfortable rooms, extended-hours hot tub, and early morning breakfasts, we were very thankful for their dog-friendly policies.

On our first day, Ava got to spend the entire day with us two different ice houses, which were rented from the Woodland Resort.

Ava liked to look down the holes and was especially interested in our bobbers.  In typical Ava fashion, she spent a lot of time curled up next to the heater, but we would occasionally go outside to slip and slide around on the ice.  Even with her sweater on, Ava would be ready to get back inside pretty quickly!

On the second day, we went fishing with the Perch Patrol.  They find where the fish are hanging out early in the morning and then set you up to fish in a small, two-person tent with a heater.  Since we were sitting directly on the ice, Ava spent most of the day lounging about in trucks so she wouldn’t get cold.

In the morning, during the coldest part of the day, our Perch Patrol guide let her sit in his heated truck while we fished in our tents.  When it warmed up later in the day, we moved her to Mike’s dad’s truck where she got pretty comfy in her seat-heated blanket pile.

The trip ended successfully.  We caught a “boat-load” of fish with the Perch Patrol and Ava got to experience all sorts of new places, tastes, and smells on our little family vacation.