Spring Springing Quickly

Spring is officially about a week away, but I'm glad to say that signs of the changing season are plentiful. A month ago today I was fishing atop the Indiana ice and getting ready to travel to Michigan, just in time to welcome a big lake-effect snow. My family raced the biggest southern storm of the winter home from that trip and soon had our coldest temperatures of this year. The snow that fell has only been gone a couple of weeks, but forecast is full of 60s, and I can count half a dozen kinds of flowers blooming in my yard.

It's not just here either. Posts I'm seeing on Instagram, facebook and Twitter scream spring. Big bass freshly caught, flowers blooming, people playing in short sleeves, families getting out... Even way to the north, where friends are still ice-fishing, the pictures suggest late ice, strangely moderate conditions and change trying to happen.

My upcoming trips, although all to different places, are definitely springish by design, and on my most recent trout outing with Asher, we shed coats in the afternoon.

I'm not saying the cold has fled us for the year. Some of our most winterish weather often comes very late some years. The trend is toward spring, though, and that's good news, as far as I'm concerned.

Ice Stories

Funny. Today has been one of the first days this spring that it has felt pretty hot around here. Not terrible, but clearly summer-like. So what have I done all day? Edited writing for a Kindle book about ice strategies that I'm putting together. That's sort of the nature of the outdoor writing business, though. A lot of what I'm working on at any given time is for magazines that will come out several months later. So when it's hot, I'm writing about winter white bass jigging or maybe ice fishing. When it's cold, I'm writing about mid-summer stuff.

Of course, I guess the ice writing isn't really that odd. In northern Minnesota, where I enjoy some of my ice adventures, some lakes have only been open for a week or two! And I know I have a couple of friends up north who are already mourning the melting of the ice and looking forward to next season!

Blizzard Bound

Winter Storm Warnings await in Minneapolis, where I'm scheduled to land early this afternoon. No notices about flight delays yet, so it appears all is good. After landing I'm being picked up at the airport to ride about four hours north. The good news is that we should be driving out of the heaviest snow. However, temps should drop steadily as we drive and may dip below zero overnight. That's good for thickening ice, though, and I have plenty if clothes packed. Rumor has it the walleyes are biting well are Upper Red Lake, so I'm eager to see for myself. Better get ready to head to Atlanta, I suppose.

Farewell to Fall

Well, our leaves are just about all down, and those that are left all brown -- and at least a few friends in Minnesota, Michigan and Colorado have been out fishing on the ice now. Our Christmas tree is also up, and the days are getting might short. The last couple of days have felt like fall in Georgia, but with December only a few days away and my first ice trip of the year only a week and a half away, I'm ready to think of it as winter.