Happy Valetines Day everyone! My
valentine and I took to ice this last weekend out on Stoddard Bay.
We set up about 150 yards out of Tully's Landing. I drilled three
holes in a row with my Lazer auger in the maybe 15 inches of ice and
lined up our two-man, two-person that is, Frabill ice shanty. I got
El set up with a small Swedish Pimple tipped with a rosy red minnow
and went about getting my Fish Cam lined up on our holes so we could
watch our baits. Yup, it is like cheating and it is first rate fun
too. El said it was like looking into an aquarium. After we pulled
the tent over us and started the Little Buddy heater, I dropped a
sparkly teardrop down my ice hole with two spikes impaled on the
hook. We could both see our baits in the TV picture along with some
weeds and such. We did not see any fish – at first. We were
wondering out loud about the barren river bed when Ellen exclaimed,
“Uh oh!” Previously camera shy ring perch came gliding into
view. Several checked our baits and moved on. We also saw blue
gills and bass. The fish seem to be moving through as if on tour,
returning every few minutes. Ellen was finally able to hook a small
blue gill and a small smallmouth bass that hit her wax worm. We
tried whole minnows, minnow heads, spikes, and wax worms. The wax
worms got the most likes, but no takes. Watching the fish swim
through and check out our baits is a pleasant learning experience.
The time passed quickly and I was surprised when the noon whistle let
fly in Stoddard. An hour later, we pulled up stakes and headed in
with no fish in the bag. We stopped at the Thirsty Turtle for
lunch, cheeseburgers and fries and caught up on the deer hunt and
Stoddard news with our old friend Chad Myhre, (AKA Wild) from behind
the bar.
As far as the deer hunt went, it sounds
like we all harvested fewer deer in 2012 than in 2011, but that there
appeared to be many deer out there, based on sightings and trail
cams. The discussion quickly turned to the recenly announced deer
management program put forth by the governor. The lack of details
appears to be raising some suspicion, with the locals at least. New
deer counting technology is being proposed. One man at the bar said,
“Yeah, what's this all gonna cost us?” Chad said that people he
talked to were wondering just what these “mini-hunts” are. I
agree with that as I don't know either. A
“La Crosse Tribune” article called the announcement about the
proposed deer plan “vague.” The article says that, “. . . the
budget will authorize the DNR to establish what’s known as a deer
management assistance program, which would allow landowners and
hunting clubs to run their own mini-hunts after consulting with DNR
biologists and pledging to share data on kills, gender, weight and
antler spread.” What exactly does this mean? Is this private
hunting for pay or something else? One guy is worried about what is
going to happen to public hunting land as the report's author is
allegedly not a big fan of public hunting. Dr. Kroll was quoted in
one article as saying, “people who call for more public hunting
opportunities are “pining for socialism.” and “(Public) Game
management is the last bastion of communism.” “Deer and Deer
Hunting” magazine says Dr. Kroll despises public hunting land. So
far no one knows for sure. I wonder if it will just be made law
without public hearings and input from the public. I guess we'll
find out.
On
Sunday morning, Scout took Ellen and I for a walk down the coulee.
We went that way so the wind would be at our back on the way home.
Once again, it was an ambush as the wind changed when we were nearly
half-way done with our exercise and we walked both ways into the
wind. On the way back the wind added some rain. Hats, gloves,
jeans, jackets, and dog were soaked by the time we came up our
driveway. I guess we got home just in time.
Ellen
was telling me that while she was getting ready to go fishing on
Saturday, that she was thinking about how two weeks ago we needed our
YakTrax to walk on the bare ice and of the Amish family that passed
us on the way out to deeper water to tip-up fish. There were
parents, youngsters, and two young Amish men who were ice skating on
the slick surface. Ellen said that family reminded her of the days
when she was a kid and her dad and Uncle John Uppena would load them
(Ellen had 10 brothers and sisters by the way) in the station wagon
and drive out on the ice at Burtom Lake. After getting holes drilled
and the kids all fishing, the men would make a fire on the ice for
warming and cooking. Some of the kids would skate or explore the
islands. Her mom and Aunt Pauline would make hot chocolate and hot
dogs on the fire. Somebody always got their boots and/or mittens wet
and they had to be dried by the fire. El said that they caught fish
too, but that wasn't the priority. We have some 8mm film of one trip
and it looked like a lot of fun. People should still do that.
This
last month's fan mail was welcome and instructive. Okay, I got one
phone message, a letter, and a call from my mom. The phone message
was from a nice lady who suggested we make a Grouse Hollow Journal
calendar and promote as a fundraiser for the area FFA or some other
group. We shall see. Former Viroqua area DNR warden and black
powder rifle enthusiast, Dick Wallin, wrote me in regards to the
journal about the history of the rifle. He said that I was
inaccurate about the rifle being the reason we defeated the British
in the revolutionary war. Dick writes that actually, while accurate
a great distance, the rifle was not reliable. That after three shots
in a row rifles became impossible to reload until they cooled off.
Also, that the so-called Brown Bess musket used by the British were
eventually captured in great numbers by the rebels and the ammunition
and parts were easier to resupply as they were all the same caliber -
.75 caliber. Dick wrote “think 10 ga.” Yikes! Think Elephant
gun. Anyway, what Dick said made sense. I appreciate the
clarification, still I just can't see the Swamp Fox with a Brown
Bess! Mom's call was wondering why I don't call more. Anyway, . . .
Until next time, get out - I hope you
do better than poor Charlie Brown does when it comes to valentine
wishes, and remember to mark your calendars on April 8 for the WDNR
and Conservation Congress statewide hearings. Enjoy.
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