The end of one fishing season and the start of another

A week ago, we still had close to two feet of snow and a lot of ice in the yard and on the driveways. Over the course of seven days, the snow is almost totally gone, most of the ice has melted, and the puddles which formed in the low spots have dried considerably. It’s almost like nature flipped a switch and we went from winter to breakup overnight!

Last week, I called an unofficial end to the icefishing season. That column was online on Wednesday. I was talking with a friend who told me he had a great time icefishing on Thursday. The temperatures were in the low 60’s and the sun was shining. He also said he caught several nice fish as well.

I asked about ice conditions and he responded that the lake ice out in the middle was still a couple of feet thick, at least, but was beginning to deteriorate and had a lot of standing water on top. He further stated that to get out on the lake ice, he had to go around the lake to access the shaded side. The ice near shore on the sunny side was very questionable to walk on.

I told him that, while he might still be comfortable walking on the lake ice, I was done for the season. His comeback comment was that after returning home, he immediately moved all his icefishing gear into storage. He was done for the year as well!

With the lake ice melting and shore ice opening up, it’s time to start planning for open water fishing. I plan to clean up my icefishing gear, wiping down the rods, cleaning the reels, and sorting through the terminal gear to make sure it’s clean. Some of the lures I also use when fishing my ultralight gear, so I need to reorganize the tackle boxes to contain the right stuff.

I currently store all my icefishing gear in an aluminum box I had Gary Feaster at Greatland Welding make for me probably twenty-five years ago. This box fits on top of an aluminum framed tow-behind sled Gary also made for me to use when running my snowmachine while ice fishing. Recently, I’ve converted over to the heavy plastic sleds available for towing my gear, but the box is still an excellent equipment storage container.

I use a covered 7 x 14 utility trailer to haul the snowmachine. I’m planning to move the aluminum box into the front end of the trailer to get all my gear consolidated in the same place. Then, when it’s time to go fishing, I don’t have to look in several different places to make sure all my gear is collected.

I need to do some measuring to make sure everything will fit like I think it will and I need to come up with a tie-down system to hold the box stationary in the trailer. After this project is done, I’ll need to come up with a way to haul the plastic sled in the utility trailer, but it could be as simple as flipping the sled over onto the top of the box and away we go!

In addition to this end-of-season work, I’ve also got to get the ultralight gear ready. I’ll be doing the same thing to the rods and reels (wiping them down and cleaning them), checking the condition of the line, and cleaning and reorganizing the tackle boxes. Believe it or not, I enjoy these projects, partly because I refamiliarize myself with the gear and how it works, and what I have and what I might need.

While all this might sound time consuming, it’s not. After these projects are complete, taking, at most, a day, my next effort will be checking out my riverboat and making sure it’s ready for the coming season. Once the lakes are open, I can launch the boat and go for a test run to make sure things are operating properly.

On an unrelated note, the muzzleloaders are holding their Thousand-Point handgun shoot at the Mat Valley range south of Palmer on the Glenn Highway this weekend, May 1-2. Matches will be shot using single-shot percussion and flintlock pistols and cap-n-ball revolvers. To complete the entire match, you will need all three guns, but not to worry. Loaner guns will be available if you don’t have all three of your own.

I probably won’t shoot the whole match. I’ll shoot the “easy” targets and help with the RSO work.