Ice Melting Fast

Reports from friends throughout the north all suggest the same thing: Either the ice has gotten too thin to safely walk on it or it is headed that way quickly. Lots of "last day on the ice until next winter" Facebook posts, Tweets and such from my network of friends.

It was a tough year for ice fishing, from all I've gathered, with many place never having gotten good ice and others having gotten it late and lost it earlier than normal. Considering all the woes, I'm thankful to have gotten to take three good trips this winter. All three produced fish and first-rate opportunities to gather photos and story material. Each was quite distinctive in terms of the species mix, the location and the nature of the fishing.

I'm still a new guy in the ice-fishing world, but I'm fortunate that I get to spend my days on the ice with genuine experts. That really helps the learning curve.

Enough winter thoughts, though. The azaleas are blooming, the bass are moving shallow and the temperature is supposed to top out in the 80s today.