First Time Ice Fishing!

My husband and i decided to go out ice fishing on January 13 2012. I'm a 26 year old homemaker, and have never truly went. When we arrived at the bait store the cashier thought i was crazy for buying a license so later in the year. She urged me to buy the one day pass, i refused and sprung for the year pass. Arriving at the first lake , there was little action. We tried or luck there for about four hours. Nearing dark my husband's friend suggest we go to a different lake closer to home. Our group of four all got on the ice, got or poles in the water, and my husband decided to set his on the ground and to set up tipups. He made it about 150 feet away, when i looked down and his pole. His pole was getting ripped down the hole. Not thinking twice, i grabbed it and set the hook. Then i brought her in. The fish put up quite a fight, i was figuring it would be a large pike. Finally at the surface i seen its girth. It barely fit through the hole! When i got it out my husband ran up, couldn't believe his eyes! A 15 inch Crappie! May not sound like much, but around here that's huge! Needless to say, I'm now addicted. And that year pass will surely come in handy.