It's sort of hard for me to believe that the calendar page turned to December this morning. Of course, a few things have reminded recently that winter has arrived. Most notably, I suppose, we had some sleet a couple of days ago. Another good clue should be that I'll be ice fishing in about two weeks and that one fisherman friend I spoke with just this week was sitting atop the ice catching walleyes! I'm also looking at my family's Christmas tree as I write this, and we've been doing Advent readings around the table every evening this week.I'm looking forward to a couple of ice trips this winter. The first is to Northern Minnesota, with assorted panfish being the main objective. The second (in mid-January) is to Devils Lake, North Dakota, where I'll fish for walleyes, yellow perch and northern pike. I took three separate ice trips last year and really enjoyed the experience. I also got a lot of good story material and photos and have had fun learning about and writing about ice fishing.
Next stop, though, is the Niagara River, where I get to spend a couple of days with Frank Campbell. Steelhead are tops on the list, but it's hard to fish the Niagara with Frank without catching a variety of fish. Winter is an exciting time because the steelhead and trout pour into the river from Lake Ontario. It can be seriously cold, but the fishing can be fabulous.
It seems like I should learn to find trips that begin in an airplane pointed SOUTH this time of year, but I really am looking forward to this winter's great northern adventures.
