The ice fishing season has come to a close. I took
advantage of the late ice last week, for a few more attempts. Three days at
Chippewa Bay produced some hefty perch, just not in large numbers. I do not
remember another season when I was able to fish into April. Snow geese have
made their migration and some spent a few days along the river. The ice has
been an issue for ship traffic too. There have many days where I have seen them
stacked up facing the flow, waiting. I presume the constant shifting of large
ice chunks have made progress nearly impossible at times.
The river will open up in certain locations during the
day, when it is warm. Ice comes in from the lake and piles up against the
remaining ice pad. Each day it looks different and some mornings it appears to
be solid, out to the channel. This morning I watched an ice breaker make another
run up-river. Just minutes behind, two red CSL freighters followed the smaller
vessel out to the lake. A bit of wind and rain is all that is needed to
saturate the ice and send it on its way. The ice has changed color and is now
dark enough to drink in the warmth of the sun. It looks dark green to almost
black and the river below is rising through small open crevices. Soon I will see the bright blue river surface
that comes with spring. I am more than ready…
Snow geese have come through in large numbers this
year. For a change, some of them actually spent a few days along the river to
feed and rest. On one bright sunny day I watched a large mixed flock of
Canada’s and Snow’s take flight, headed inland. It looked like a swarm of bees
tumbling across the sky or a locust invasion. The sound was absolutely
magnificent! In a few scattered flocks of snows I noticed some Blue geese mixed
in. The blue goose is a darker color phase of the snow goose, still the same
species. When fishing was slow I had my eyes to the sky each time a flock
passed overhead. Some of them were so high that the only way I knew they were
there, was by the constant high pitched gabbing.
Usually in mid-March I find the big female perch in
good numbers. That was not the case this year. From many locations I have heard
the same. “The fish are there but they will just not bite.” Tuesday I iced four
perch that were nice keepers. It rained that morning and I was so soaked by
noon, that I called it a day. Wednesday my fishing buddy (Ernie) had his best
day of the season, he took home 32 dandies. He has been up several times and
his grin more than made up for the fishless days he has endured. I kept 17 that
were between 9” and 11” that day. Thursday we were at it again. Ernie was on
the ice at daybreak and I joined him around 10:30. This turned out to be my
day, Ernie tried everything he could, but I kept catching the fish. The perch
were taking my jig like hungry wolves.
Anything under
9” and anything over 11” went back into the bay. I came home with 14 perch that
filled my five gallon bucket to a third. It was a warm generous day and a darn
good one to have for the last trip out. I even got a suntan on my hands, which
looked odd in the shower the next morning. It was not a stellar year for perch
through the ice, but the many trips helped to whittle away the winter. Now I
will have to wait for all of the various fish to get the breeding done and work
up an appetite. Sometime in May I’ll be back out in the Lyman and begin my
search during the ‘other’ season. From now until then I’ll be getting the
remnants of winter and ice damage cleaned up and out of mind.
The ground here is still harboring some ice and snow.
This is one very brown spring. Between the mud, brown grass and leafless trees
it looks like a barren lifeless world. The rabbits are so properly attired that
they can be hard to see, even when right in front of me! While grilling on a
nice afternoon, a bunny came to within five feet of me in the driveway. It was
picking up the seeds from the cedar trees trying to fill a hungry belly. I had
one old apple left in my fridge so I brought it out and sliced it up. I threw
the apple to the ground and that rabbit was in heaven. It ate only one piece
and then scaled the rock wall above my cabin. Rabbits turn out, are darn good
climbers!
I never would
have imagined that one could zip up a rock wall with such ease. Another one was
‘stuck’ in my fenced garden a few days back. I figured that I needed to raise a
corner so that the poor bugger could get out. When I did just that the rabbit
reached up and climbed over the fence with hardly an effort. This my friend,
may turn into a nightmare. Rabbits that can climb fences with such ease will
have no problem plucking my produce, proficiently, purposely and positively
barren…
Mike LaDue, Sunday, April 13, 2014
