Looking forward to the next season

As we venture forward into the next season, I always seem to have this little voice in my head saying, “it aint over ‘til it’s over.” I guess that I always have trust issues when it comes to Minnesota weather predictability. I can remember when we had a snowstorm in May and Santa Claus was water skiing on Fountain Lake in December. So, as far as our great state and weather are concerned, anything is fair game.

I look back to many years ago when my son, Brian, and his brother-in-law, Jeremy, were camping at Spider Lake in July. The weather was not at all July-type, but cool and rainy. We were sleeping in a tent, but luckily we all had cots to sleep on. It rained during the day, and at night, the skies would clear and the stars came out. We all had rain gear, but we were cold and damp. We soon purchased a load of wood and used our camp grill for a fireplace. We did this in the screen tent that we had brought along to relax in. You could buy a wheelbarrow full of wood for $5, which was a deal. You loaded the wood yourself, so you got whatever you could load. It was not like convenience store wood where you would pay the same price for 5 or 6 little pieces. This was how we dried off and warmed up after a few hours of fishing in the rain. We had a radio for entertainment and the only station we picked up played the same ten songs over and over for our listening pleasure.

We caught a few fish and had fun making the best out of a bad weather experience. Just thinking about this time has me excited about the upcoming season, and fishing in general.

In past years I have cleaned and organized my tackle boxes and put new line on all of my reels. Over the past few years, I have half-heartedly re-arranged my tackle boxes and only check my line to see if there is line that I need to replace. Putting the line between your fingers and pulling the line through it will let you know. If the line feels rough and stiff, it needs to be replaced.

At my age, I tend to approach the upcoming fishing season with a little less vigor than I once did. I still get that little kid feeling when I start thinking about getting on the water or fishing from shore. I hope that this feeling never goes away. Whenever I make a cast and catch a fish, no matter the size, I still get that same excitement that I did as that little kid. I still get that same excitement when my sons or grandkids catch a fish. Now it is more important to me that they catch fish than it is for me to catch one. During my lifetime, I have caught my share, but there’s always room for one more.

Until next time: A recent string of warm weather means many ice shelters already have been removed from inland waters in the northern one-third of the state. Anglers who still have a fish house on the ice should plan ahead to ensure they meet the March 17 removal deadline.

The DNR reminds all fish house owners to pick up and properly dispose of any trash as part of hauling their shelter off the ice.

As they venture out, anglers always should keep in mind that ice conditions vary widely, that ice is never 100% safe, and that they should check the ice thickness for themselves.

The final removal deadline is March 31 and applies to fish houses on Minnesota/Canada border waters.

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