Grouse Hollow Journal for the week of
March 27, 2014 by Greg Koelker
(Webster, South Dakota) I heard someone
rummaging around in the kitchen on Friday morning of our 4-day
fishing safari at dark-thirty. I was able to get myself up and
dressed before anyone started calling my name. Nephew Cory was
making scrambled eggs with bacon, and the coffee was done. The night
owls were having more trouble than me getting up and about. (A
cautionary tale, that I would forget later.) Anyway, we got off to
the bait shop and lower Waubay Lake just as streaks of red began to
paint a sunrise. Out on the ice the wind blew, hard. The boys
drilled and drilled in our hunt for fish. We moved from hole to hole
to no avail. We decided to split up. Some went to other lakes while
brother-in-law Brian and I moved about lower Waubay. Keep in mind
that Waubay Lake is like 30 miles long, so lower Waubay is no pond.
The two halves are separated by an 8' foot pressure crack in the ice.
We did not catch any fish before we finally called it and went
searching. Brian and I drove to Bitter Lake and Reeds Lake to see
what we could see. The landings at both were sketchy. At Bitter, a
full-size pickup went ahead of us, plowing through deep black mud and
then splashing through a 20-yard track in the ice filled with water
that would have been in the cab of the Ranger I think. We could see
a farm in the lake. Some lakes are rising so much that farms and
even some town buildings have been caught in the rising water. We
ended up by going to upper Waubay and a far northern bay to try our
luck. It was slow, but we did catch fish, by staying until full
dark. Our group of 12 had nearly a hundred perch and walleyes to
clean that night.
Brian had made ribs for us. They were
perfect with a libation or two and a shower. I lost a euchre game
and went to bed at 12:30.
On Saturday morning, there was no time
for breakfast or even making coffee. When I went outside, the wind
was blowing - no kidding. We were in a hurry to get on the lake
before light to get a good spot for the early bite. (I did score a
cup of coffee at the bait shop.) Anyway, the wind was so cold that
I set up my tent with my Ranger as a backdrop. I did start catching
fish right away. I had four nice perch in the bucket and I had
tossed back four small walleyes when the fish left. I mean, they
just didn't bite, they just didn't exist - there was nothing on the
sonars. I put my camera down to look around and saw a few perch
slipping along on the bottom, but not paying attention to my lure.
Around mid-morning, some of the boys took off and went searching at
lakes like Enemy Swim, Stinky Slough, and Blue Dog Lake. I turned
the radio on in the Ranger and listened to “A Prairie Home
Companion” and played with my phone. I occasionally moved about to
check on the ones left behind who were having the same luck I was.
Some guys pulled in with a “wheelhouse” ice shelter, a camper on
wheels that can be set down on the ice and fished from. They had a
32-inch TV attached to their Fish Cam pointing back across their
baits. They said they saw clouds of huge bluegills drift through,
but none would bite. I am not a big basketball fan, but I listened
to Florida squeak by Tennessee and the first half of the Badger game;
mercifully, the radio signal faded away. I aimed the camera down
the hole and watched a series of my lures in action. I didn't
actually know what they did down there, so that was entertaining and
enlightening for a while. The guys came back and Brian got in the
shack with me for awhile. He went out to hole jump a bit and
returned occasionally to warm up. No fish. At about 7 PM, Brian
remarked, “They're here, Greg.” The fish came back. We started
having a blast, pulling up dandy perch, white bass, and crappies. I
had a 15” crappie! Anyway, we fished until it started getting too
cold and the fish started slowing down.
Back at the house, we were done with 91
perch and assorted fish, when someone hoisted up another bucket to
clean! As it turned out, one of the guys made another pot of ribs
for supper, but forgot to plug it in. We had jerky, energy bars, and
bloody marys for supper at 10 PM. I hit the hay around midnight
again. What a slow and then fast fishing day - in the end.
On Sunday morning we rolled out around
5:30. I know, I know. (We came to fish, not sleep - in theory
anyway.) We had to clean the place and pack up for the trip home.
It was 5 degrees out and quiet. I carried something out to the truck
and just stood there taking in the stars and windless quiet. We
drove the hour or so back to Big Stone Lake on the border. The fish
were in! There were clouds of them on the Vexillar Sonar; however,
most were bait stealers and small. I did keep three before packing
up and saying my goodbyes and heading east by myself, driving off the
ice in Ortonville, MN and nearly six hours home.
Along the way there was little snow.
Farmers were spreading manure, but I did see some little kids playing
hockey on a snowmelt pond with just sticks and a puck, no skates.
The land is very flat. Thank goodness for coffee and 5-Hour Energy
drinks.
Until next time, get out - last week
our old friend and former neighbor Dick Swantz called and told Ellen
about seeing the play, Guys on Ice
at the Weber Center in La Crosse. He told her he immediately thought
of us and he wanted to buy us some tickets to see it. We went Friday
night. It is a riot of comedy and music. I especially enjoyed the
Leinenkugel's half-time show, “Lenies, it's not just for breakfast
anymore,” and the guys' description of Heaven, “Well, hell is hot
and full of flames, right? So heaven has to be cold and have ice!
Yeah, and the perch are all 5 pounds and the water is actually beer.
And every day is Packer Sunday!” Anyway, thanks Dick, it was great
fun. Speaking of being colder than Hell, it was -24 with the
windchill in International Falls on Monday morning. The weatherman
said, “So if you think it's cold here (13 degrees), you could be
there.” He's a philosopher. Spring is here in name only, but it
is coming; it has to, right? Enjoy.
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