Still Cold But . . .

Well, I got to do something today that I've never done -- I went across a lake that was covered in ice. And I was in my boat.

That's right, I've officially declared it spring -- even if the weather still says it's winter. It was 23 degrees this morning and it's the last day of walleye season here in Michigan before it closes for about two months to protect the fish during the spawning stages. So I decided to pull my boat out of the barn and hit the lake to see if the fish might have started to stack up in the mouth of the river. Having not started my boat motor since October, I was pretty happy when it fired up right away and we were headed for the river. Well, we got about 100 yards before I realized the water ahead of us looked a little funny. Yeah, it was skimmed over with ice. What to do? Well, we slowed down and chugged on, busting ice as we went.

It took a lot longer to reach the river mouth than expected but when we got there it was free of ice. We spent the next two hours looking for willing fish and found none. But you know what? It didn't really matter. As the sun climbed higher in the sky, the temperature began to climb and it topped out at about 50 degrees. It felt really, really good. We heard a turkey gobble and saw a ton of waterfowl winging their way along the river.

After trailering the boat, we headed to one of the farms we hunt and searched for sheds. And we didn't even have to wear a jacket.

Not a bad day. Not a bad day at all.

Tony Hansen, Michigan Man