Vicarious Ice

I admit it. I spend far too much time looking at weather conditions in Minnesota the Dakotas and the rest of ice country. I wonder about how the ice is thickening and get concerned about strong winds or heavy snowfalls that might break up or sink newly forming ice. Most aren't even places I'm likely to travel this winter. When home is Georgia and every ice trip calls for at least a couple of airplane rides, it's tough to bring everything together more than a couple of times per winter. I just like to watch how things are developing and joining my friends in various parts of the ice belt as they anticipate good ice and time on it.

I also enjoy reading the reports and seeing the photos and am thankful that social media sites let me see who is catching what, and where -- sometimes almost as it is happening. Occasionally I even pull up Google Maps, type in a few things and think, "Hmmmm. It would only be a 20-hour drive to..." So far I've only thought about it!

I'm not sure if it's the ice culture, the ridiculousness of the conditions or the fishing itself that I like best. I suppose it's a blend, and I know the visual game of watching fish on electronics and figuring out the bite plays a major part. Whatever the mix of reasons, there's little doubt that I'm way more interested in pulling fish though holes in the ice than are most fishermen who call Georgia home. I have ice plans in mid-January in Western Pennsylvania. Whether I'll make another trip between now and then I'm not sure. If not, I'll have to keep ice-fishing vicariously.

Home from the Wintery North

It seems I left North Dakota just in time. It was -2 and snowing sideways when I got on my airplane early this morning. I just looked at the weather, and it's currently 10 below and dropping, with the wind howling at 25 mph and warnings for folks to stay inside.

I spent two fun days fishing mostly for yellow perch with Jason Feldner of Perch-Eyes Guide Service and learned a tremendous amount about prairie lakes and strategies for jumbo perch and walleyes. Devils Lake has an amazing perch fishery with fish that are ridiculously fat.

I also was able to add three species to the 2012 list: yellow perch, walleye and northern pike. It's early in the year, so that doubled the tally. The next set of travels will be radically different in character as I will be Florida bound.

Weather Extremes

It's well before sun-up on a January morning, and the thermometer shows 55 degrees. Meanwhile, just outside our dining room window, our first daffodil of the season opened yesterday. It's strangely spring-like but I'd better not let myself get too used to the warmth. Four days from now I fly to North Dakota for a couple of days of ice fishing, and the forecast temperature range for the entire time I'll be there is -5 to 12. I suppose I'd better prepare myself for weather extremes because as I look at my calendar, the next four major trips I have confirmed take me North Dakota, Florida, South Dakota and Costa Rica.