Where did spring go?

Huntindave McCann said:
TimJ said:
We seem to have gone backwards again.
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That goose is one hardy SOB. [w00t]
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Hahaha...yep that sillywet has survived a lot of weather.

Mark,
Yeah the geese went by my area fast this spring. Didn't see a lot of snow locally but maybe saw the most whitefronts I've ever seen.
I think the ice is going to hold on in the NE for some time yet.

Tim
 
TimJ said:
Huntindave McCann said:
TimJ said:
We seem to have gone backwards again.
Click to expand...



Mark,
Yeah the geese went by my area fast this spring. Didn't see a lot of snow locally but maybe saw the most whitefronts I've ever seen.
I think the ice is going to hold on in the NE for some time yet.

Tim
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Am considering ice fishing tomorrow but am uncomfortable. It has been warm enough lately that the ice started turning that light gray and then black color signaling its strength is waning. With it currently snowing, I don't want to drive on the ice if I can't see it and dragging the flipover over all the fresh snow we are getting sounds like a bunch of work.

Mark
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The ice on our lakes has that same look, spots of grey and black. I usually walked the dogs on it but not now. Still will be around for a few more weeks with night time temps in the teens
 
Mark W said:
TimJ said:
Huntindave McCann said:
TimJ said:
We seem to have gone backwards again.
Click to expand...



Mark,
Yeah the geese went by my area fast this spring. Didn't see a lot of snow locally but maybe saw the most whitefronts I've ever seen.
I think the ice is going to hold on in the NE for some time yet.

Tim
Click to expand...

Am considering ice fishing tomorrow but am uncomfortable. It has been warm enough lately that the ice started turning that light gray and then black color signaling its strength is waning. With it currently snowing, I don't want to drive on the ice if I can't see it and dragging the flipover over all the fresh snow we are getting sounds like a bunch of work.
Mark
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I'd think that your ice would still be ok but dragging anything out on new heavy snow sucks. By my brother's biggest issue in SW MN became the 10 inches of heavy wet snow they got just over a week ago. Too much water gets on top of the ice making it hard to walk around and everything gets wet.
I never made it out fishing this winter. Timing of bad weather and not feeling the best at times kept me home. I'm raring to go now once it opens up here but we are in that not yet spring limbo.

btw A bunch of those whitefronts I had been seeing go north were going south today. It's funny to see flocks of a couple hundred geese heading south at this time of year.

Tim
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Mark,

Walleyes are hitting open water right now on the river. I've been going out almost daily. I ate fish both for lunch and supper today, just because I could.
 
Congratulations! I'm jealous, we ran out of salmon a month ago...seven more inches and another storm forecast for Thursday. Both the upper and lower harbor are packed with flow ice extending nearly out to the horizon. Silvers are rumored to be running smaller this year, but mine are so small that they are actually nonexistent.
 
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Well,,,,,,,,,, we didn't get a lot of snow last night, only about an inch or so. The temp dropped to 9 degrees with a wind chill at negative 5 degrees. I don't think I'll be sitting out in the boat today. I am soooooo ready for some warm sunshine.

Dani, you need to post some pictures of green grass and a dead gobbler, please.
 
After a disastrous mile plus snowshoe stint (snow was so "packy" that it kept balling-up under my crampons), I took the dogs down to the lower harbor to swim them in the heated discharge plume area from the Marquette BPL's plant. About a hundred herring gulls arrayed out on what I thought initially was open water. Dogs were on the ground when I heard geese calling a perfect "spit note" ! Kane and Flynn lit up immediately with their noses in the air. I whistled them back in via recall, to sit at heal. One pair of giant canadas popped off the snow below the crest of the parking lot hill and sailed out onto open water where the skidded to a stop ON an ice sheet that had formed on the open water pocket. The discharge from the BLP plant varies from 55-58F. There was an open water area just off the alluvial fan where I was able to stand in three inches of flowing warm water and toss dummies alternately for the dogs. There were three pairs of geese that popped up out of several sites and flew off to join the first pair. I was amazed by how close they held to where the dogs were swimming-down dummies, moving in each time I tossed a bird. Flynn REALLY wanted to go swim down that "good smell", requiring me to stop him with the whistle and redirect him to the fall. I was so focused on what the dogs were doing and keeping them on task that I never realized that those geese were likely being fed routinely by the "white bread crew". I stepped into deeper water....once. Yes, water with ice on it is cold, even when wearing insulated boots!

Karen said she saw her first group of spring geese when she stopped at the farm to rotate horse blankets on her Morgan mare at lunch. Right now I know the snow line extends down to Grand Haven.
 
Spring is springing here in southern ohio, the clover i planted on 3/17 is up lots of tree budding apparent the bees are out of the hive and foraging. Nights are still cold days are considered cool for this time of year but the sun sure feels good.

Pair of geese on the pond,one just left i assume the hen to lay an egg. Spotted a flock of turkeys on the woodlne,5 hens and about as many "roosters", big birds, gives me hope.

Hang in there,spring is[as in warm weather] on the way.
 
Green grass and a few snow mounds left yesterday, and into this morning.

Streams and river high.


Started to snow about 7am this morning.

Snow plow just went by, not a good sign...

Warmer this afternoon and then high wind again.

Good thing I am painting drake Wood ducks to keep me busy. As I feel a bit like Jack N. in The Shinning...


Did see about 20 turkey in a field, 3 gobblers strutting, Easter Sunday on our way to church. Most birds I've seen around here in a long time.


Went fly fishing for trout Monday. Stream bank, woods, fields, very desolate and beaten down flat from all the snow and ice. Large rocks 10-12 yards from the stream placed there by ice.

Did see some Snow Drops, and small sprouts of Skunk Cabbage poking up. A few Robins.


No waders, fished from the bank, wearing Muck Boot Wetland boots (very impressive boots).

Water very cold, high, but good color.

A good Brown hit the conehead Muddler. Put a deep bend in the 6wt for awhile, then a LDR about 12ft from shore.


Prior to that met a young fellow further up stream. His girlfriend caught a nice 16" Brown, her first trout ever. He and his buddy got skunked.

I asked to see a photo of the fish.

He took out his smart phone and showed it, while he cooked it over a fire by the stream for their lunch. He is a chef at a local eatery.

Nothing better than seeing young folks enjoying the life we love so much. That girl is now hooked, in fact she was still upstream fishing when he and his buddy stopped fishing.

Down side was, his buddy tore a huge hole in his new waders. So a 6+ mile trip around to the other bank to fetch him.

So ya Spring Is Here.
 
TimJ said:
Yesterday



Today



Yep.... I'm an optimist...yes I am... This is $%&#*@% *#$% &#@$!!!!
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It is supposed to hit here about 1:00pm today and snow thru the night. THEN we get into the 50's yay! That will turn the Walleye on for the spawn.
 
IF your ground is open and the frost is starting to melt-out, it will be warm enough that the snow accumulation will be limited. Then when the melt does come, not only will you have rising water, but a couple of degree temperature spike to nudge spawning fish start egg deposition. How long do your walleye stay "dormant" post-spawn before they begin to feed again in earnest?
 
RLLigman said:
Tim, what are you hearing out of NoDak regarding frost seal and snow depths?
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I've asked a couple people I know from ND but haven't really got a good answer yet.
I am sure they are better off than they have been for a couple years. No doubt the ground up there is still frozen. When/if we warm up it should cause some runoff.
I don't look for anything major but it should be marginally better.

Tim
 
RLLigman said:
IF your ground is open and the frost is starting to melt-out, it will be warm enough that the snow accumulation will be limited. Then when the melt does come, not only will you have rising water, but a couple of degree temperature spike to nudge spawning fish start egg deposition. How long do your walleye stay "dormant" post-spawn before they begin to feed again in earnest?
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The local rivers were just getting into spawning temps when we received 13.5 inches of snow a week ago last Friday. It quickly melted and we lost 10 degrees in water temp, back to 39 degrees right now. By Wednesday of this week I expect the runoff from this snow will be hitting the river. The resulting "mud bath" will warm quickly as long as we have clear skies. This should drive the river temps up quickly and the fish will be just as quick to respond.

I expect to be on the water as much as possible starting Wed. Retirement is a good thing. [;)]

I don't really see a huge "dormant" stage. I think the Walleye just become less concentrated and we see a decrease in catch rate due to that.
 
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