John Fussner gets out of his pickup truck, holding a hand-powered ice auger used to drill holes for ice fishing. Fussner was fishing the lake at Cosmo-Bethel Park, where the ice was about seven inches thick on Friday, Feb. 11, 2011. Fussner spent about two hours at the lake and said the ice on Friday was the thickest he ever remembered. "We wanted to come out here today since it might not be here next weekend," said Fussner, referencing the present warming trend in the weather.

Carrying a trout still attached to hook and line, John Fussner walks toward friend Kirk Bruce to show off his catch. Both fishermen were using different hooks and jigs to see which combinations worked most effectively. Starting Feb. 1, anglers with a trout permit are allowed to keep four trouth per day, according to Missouri Department of Conservation regulations. Previously, only catch and release fishing was allowed.

Two trout rest on the frozen lake surface. Fussner and Bruce were using salmon eggs, bottom center, as bait. The two have been close friends for more than 30 years, and have been on several hunting and fishing expeditions together, including a six-day river rafting and salmon fishing trip in backcountry Alaska. "We had more fun than two guys should ever have," said Fussner.

John Fussner replaces the lid on his Weber grill, which he used to smoke the trout he caught using hickory wood and charcoal. This was the first time Fussner tried the recipe, which involved a marinade consisting of oil, lemon juice, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, salt and toasted sesame seeds.

John Fussner shows off the aromatic smoked trout to his wife Charlotte in their living room. Charlotte, diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, uses a motorized wheelchair to get around the house which Fussner built four years ago. John and Charlotte both worked in education most of their lives; John as a principal at Benton Elementary and Charlotte in the administrative offices at MU.