OK, It's Winter

Jeff Reardon

Jeff Reardon

Well-known member
We should hit zero tonight, and it looks like it's going to stay cold at least into the middle of next week.

I'm "scheduled" to be launching a boat on the salt at 5:15 Saturday morning. It will be my first ever below zero hunt.
 
You're a better man than me, Gunga Din. I call it quits around 20 now. And I'll only do that if there isn't much ice!
 
Jeff~

I hunted at 5 below once - river was steaming so much I walked right up onto a bunch of roosting Snow Geese.

More important, though, it was the closest I've come to frostbite. My hands are generally cold-tolerant (usually pick up the rig bare-handed) but that day was a challenge. Be sureto have a pair of heavy mittens with you.

Best of luck,

SJS
 
I put together a bag last night with 2 pairs of gloves/mittens on top of the two I usually carry. Extra hats, too. I'll experiment tonight with how many layers of fleece fit under the waders.
 
Check your boat and all your emergency gear twice and make sure all batteries are fully charged. So much stuff doesn't work as well when it's that cold - sometimes including our own common sense. Listen to your gut and don't be afraid to pull the plug and head in if it doesn't feel right.

I had a gas line break one time, right where it plugs into the motor. It had gotten stiff over time but worked fine in 'normal' weather - below zero and it broke. Talk about 'cold', holding a leaky hose on the motor all the way back to the dock with a bare hand was brutal.

With the said, have a great time. Some of my most memorable hunts have been in that kind of weather. It's a magical time with the frozen mist, GE's whistleing through the ice fog, and usually having the place to yourself.
 
We should hit zero tonight, and it looks like it's going to stay cold at least into the middle of next week.

I'm "scheduled" to be launching a boat on the salt at 5:15 Saturday morning. It will be my first ever below zero hunt.
Click to expand...


River is completely frozen.... Going down the coast tomorrow. I'm not launching until I can see.... and we have a big body of water to cross- Forecast low is -7....
 
We should hit zero tonight, and it looks like it's going to stay cold at least into the middle of next week.

I'm "scheduled" to be launching a boat on the salt at 5:15 Saturday morning. It will be my first ever below zero hunt.
Click to expand...


Hope you had a great hunt. We were down to 8 early evening and the temp rose all night and it was 20 this morning. I should have went out.
 
It's 23 degrees here this morning. Feels like SUMMER! Got 7-8inches of fresh snow on top of the 18+, and it's still snowing. Duck season is out, but muzzle deer is still in. So away I go... Life is Good.
 
Crank the motor occasionally. The lower unit won't freeze but water in the power head can. Don't ask me how I know...lol

Good luck and be safe.
 
Damn, that is cold.
Coldest I have seen down here in the blind was twice back in December 1999 we got down to around 18 degrees.
First time, it was dead calm but cold. The little bay we were in froze over at 7:00 am, first and only time I have seen that happen here while I was on the water. We had a limit of gadwalls by 7:15, they poured in after the front and decoyed with reckless abandon.
The other time, it was in a screaming north wind that blew all the water out of the small bay we were in except for the deepest part of the channel. Same deal, ducks poured in, trying to land in what little water was left. We had to pick our shots because we couldn't reach birds that fell more than 5' out of the channel.


Damn sure glad I don't have to deal with the cold yall do up north. Good hunting, but BE SAFE!!!
 
Good point Ed. Also, I always keep my lower unit in the water when it's that cold - don't tilt it up.
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Pete finished my thought....lol....thanks Pete. Sometimes my mumbling doest get put into text.
 
Tod
"I should have went out" That from a college professor? Tod, I just couldn't let that go. Have a nice holiday.
wis boz
 
Tod
"I should have went out" That from a college professor? Tod, I just couldn't let that go. Have a nice holiday.
wis boz
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I was out hunting most of the day Wednesday and all day Thursday. You know us old guys don't have three long days of hunts in a row in us, especially in the cold. Had I known it was going to be 20, not 8, I may have went out for just a couple hours, but that is water over the bridge. College professor, almost sounds as bad a retired guy.

T
 
Tod
You are getting old. You missed the point , it isn't "I should have went out", it's I should have GONE out. Me thinks you've been too long in the East. Time for you to come back to the midwest. What do you think? :) By the way, I'm not bad mouthing professors, I taught and coached .
wis boz
 
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