Fishing Michigan

One of the reasons I went up to Bass Pro Shops yesterday was to pick up this deep fryer for cooking fish up outside.  Its a 10.5 qt model,  and came with everything you see plus a 5″ thermoter for $29.99.  Why cook outside, less mess and smell in the house.  it was easy to install, but you will need a 10mm nut dryer, wrench or socket.  That or a phillips screwdriver or large fathead.  Notice the extra support at the base?  Its designed not to tip over, plus for extra stability when used with a bigger pot for frying turkeys.

This was forwarded to me by one of the paper’s staff members who thought it might be of interest.  It should be for anyone who has questions about the status of the Detroit River and Lake Erie.  It looks as if the information is a part of a study actually conducted on the whole Great Lakes ecosystem, and since this area’s location is close to the river and our side of the lake, they narrowed it down.

The presentation, ” Coming Home “ will be given by Dr. John Hartig this Thursday at the community college’s theatre in the La-Z-Boy Center.  In the announcement on Monroe Talks  it mentions sturgeon, bald eagles, mayflies, walleyes and falcons.

You know what happens when you assume things, but I would be interested in the return of sturgeon to the river.  When my grandmother (dad’s mom) was alive she showed me pictures of sturgeon stacked like cord wood on the river’s edge,  men stood around while other’s set them on fire like funeral pyres.

Also, to see if he mentions anything about the return of the spawning whitefish to the river.  It is said, that whitefish are one of nature’s indicators that the river is really cleaning up compared to what it was during the city’s industrial heyday.  Dad’s family was from Ecorse,  and it was said you knew what was being produced back then by the color of the Ecorse and Rouge  flowing out to the Detroit River.

Overall, the presentation is free, and takes place at 7 pm  this Thursday.

I just got back from running to Monroe.  For whatever reason I am in Meijer, I usually check out the small sporting goods section before starting my shopping.  They have a small closeout section with some ice gear on an end of a rack.

Usually I look at what they have and its kind of the same ol’ story.  Have that, don’t need that and want that, but not for THAT price.   Today, was one of those good days where the seasons change and things are starting to get blown out the door.  I picked up two scoops/ladles for $1.50 each.  They even have small chisels at the end of the handle.  For 99 cents each, I picked up two pair of HT rubber traction slip-ons.  Made of rubber, they fit right over your boot.  I have never used this style before, but cannot go wrong for the price.  If you ever have tried walking on glare ice, you know how important they can be.

Bet you thought this had something to do with St. Paddy’s…hic.

Actually if Crown Royal were an Irish whiskey, then yes it would, but it isn’t, so it doesn’t.  Sooooooooo, what does CR have to do with fishing?  Not much, but the nice little purple bag that comes with it does.  Remember the bag full of reels in the last blog?  After taking the reels apart and greasing them, its time to put them (most of them) to sleep for the warmer months.  Call it reverse hibernation if you will.  Now you can go out and get yourself all the little expensive reel bags for 7 or 9 bucks a pop,  but if I bagged up all the reels that I have, that’s just another expense I do not need to deal with.  Call it cheap if you will, but my mother called it frugal.  And those who lived through the depression and the rationing of WW II,  well they knew what they were talking about.

Don’t drink the hard stuff yourself, usually not a problem.  Somebody does, ask around.  If you strike out there, go to your local pub or tavern.  The bags tend to pile up, and for some reason, they just do not get thrown away.  Ask around, you might get lucky and score a stash of these little gems.

I had all the heavy stuff put away yesterday morning/afternoon.  In the evening I did the light tedious stuff, taking the reels off the ice rods

Not exactly a quick task in my case, but there are things that need to be checked when putting away the gear.  On my cork handled rods, not sure if I told this trick already or not, but its worth doing again.  Specially with the price of things already going up.  It is definitely worth the time to put a few light wraps of masking tape on the handles where you put the reels.  This will save years off  your cork handles,  because little pieces can be pulled off when removing the electrical tape at the end of the season.  Also, a good idea to check your rods for any wear and tear that might have occurred for one reason or another through the season; check the guides, handles and the blanks themselves for nicks, cracks…etc.

When pulling off the reels,  also check for nicks, specially around the roller guide.  This can happen for a number of reason,  most commonly from using a swivel.  Although great for preventing line twist while fishing, they can do serious damage to the equipment if not used carefully.  After all the reels have been removed I check the bearings in the reels, these are located in the handle assembly and be inspected simply by removing the handle and looking through the opening.  Just like greasing the bearings on the trailers before trips,  neglect can cause equipment failure down the road.  These for the most part are my ultralight reels, Abu’s and Daiwa’s.  I do use them briefly during the spring and a few trips to the Upper, so I want to make sure they are greased up.  Not all the reels will be used so, the reels that look like they have a fair amount of grease in them are good to go for the next trip.  You do not want to over do it, because too much grease next winter can make the reel sluggish, or hard to crank over.  The six or so reels that I will use on open water, will be greased once.  By winter time, they should have the proper amount in them for next season on the ice.

Proper care is important.  It really doesn’t look like much in that little Plano bag, but the replacement costs on poorly treated equipment can be high.  Roughly in my head, that’s just a hair under $900 in their.  With proper care, that is one expense I should not need to attend to for many years.

One of the sad things about the end of the ice season is putting all the gear away.  Its obvious that I need to wash down the Jet Sled XL from the last trip to get rid of all the mud, but I started thinking about the rest of the gear.

With shanties, its not all that hard to either, but some things can get over looked.  If you have been using them on a regular basis some of these tips can get skipped between trips, but when putting away for the year,  its time to stick to the details.

Make sure all the water is out of the tub.  Soak up as much as you can, and if still damp, just turn a fan on to finish off the process.  Next leave the shanty up for a day, with all the poles up and fabric stretched.  This will help dry any water that might have been trapped in the folds while in use.  Look for any new holes that might have developed,  even with the best care on the ice this will happen to you.  Mark these holes for future repair.  Its too cold now for glues or sprays to work, so save it for a rainy warm day later.  When dry, fold up all nice and neat and if you have a travel cover, there is one more step to consider.  If you have cats in the garage, shop or barn, they usually take care of the rodent problems for you.  But if  you aren’t blessed with such a curse, throw in some cedar wood chips.  Not only do they smell better than mothballs, but they work just as well for keeping mice out.

Its also a good idea to run some brand of fuel stabilizer through your auger.  Drain what is in the tank back to your fuel container. Mix the stuff in, give it a couple of shakes and then put back in the auger.  Run your auger to make sure the treated fuel has gone through the carberator.  Cover and store for the year.  I use an auger cover from Ready Rig, easy to zip on and off, keeps the dust out, also keeps the spiders from doing any damage.

One of the sad things about the end of the ice season is putting all the gear away.  Its obvious that I need to wash down the Jet Sled XL from the last trip to get rid of all the mud, but I started thinking about the rest of the gear.

With shanties, its not all that hard to either, but some things can get over looked.  If you have been using them on a regular basis some of these tips can get skipped between trips, but when putting away for the year,  its time to stick to the details.

Make sure all the water is out of the tub.  Soak up as much as you can, and if still damp, just turn a fan on to finish off the process.  Next leave the shanty up for a day, with all the poles up and fabric stretched.  This will help dry any water that might have been trapped in the folds while in use.  Look for any new holes that might have developed,  even with the best care on the ice this will happen to you.  Mark these holes for future repair.  Its too cold now for glues or sprays to work, so save it for a rainy warm day later.  When dry, fold up all nice and neat and if you have a travel cover, there is one more step to consider.  If you have cats in the garage, shop or barn, they usually take care of the rodent problems for you.  But if  you aren’t blessed with such a curse, throw in some cedar wood chips.  Not only do they smell better than mothballs, but they work just as well for keeping mice out.

….for St. Patrick’s Day, but this is what I had tonight.  It was either freeze the bag, or fry it up,  you can guess the rest.  I did run into one snag,  I WAS OUT OF FLOUR.  Kind of hard to mix up my fav homemade mix without it.  Nothing else thawed out to eat, so I started scrounging.  What I came up with just replaced flour from now on,  Jiffy all purpose mix with just a bit of Mc Cormick’s All Season Mix,  down right yum.

And for the die-hard Irish in me,  I will be having some of this on Monday.  Might have been born in all places  New York City, but its pretty darn tough to beat a Reuben.

I LOVE SPRINGING FORWARD, well kind of anyway.  One I don’t have to wake up so dang early to go fishing, but it also marks the nearing of the end for ice fishing.  That said, I made what could be the end of my season up to Saginaw Bay again.

We started fishing shortly after 7 am,   it was a slow morning with Adam (up above) catching the only walleye for quite some time.  We started shallow, moved to a hump and then to the “Black Hole”.  If you aren’t familiar with the term or place,  it is a deeper hole inside the bay running 22 ft or so.  Some spots deeper, but mostly that depth.

With late ice conditions we set out to cross some cracks, but not before inspecting them first.  I was still packing up some of my gear when Adam went over to check one out before we crossed.  I had asked him to stay over there while I snapped the shot.  Even though the ice was still 15 inches and plus in some areas, there were others eroded by the under currents.  Always get out and check them before crossing or jumping a crack.  Take a spud if you aren’t sure and inspect both sides first.

I  installed the bucket rack the other day, so this was the perfect chance to test it out.  Have to admit I was quite happy with it.  I used the middle bucket to keep my minnows in their water.  There were four walleye in the left on the way in, and I used the far right for my scoops and trash.

Even though it is hard to tell,  I had quite a bit of gear packed into the sled this trip.  Besides the usual fishing gear, I learned a lesson the last time up.  Cold sandwiches will feed the hunger, but something hot goes a whole lot better with a day on the ice.  Besides my spud,  7 rod bags, tip up bag, and  2 soft sided coolers inside,  I had packed a small Weber grill, the charcoal, coal starting chimney along with newspaper and matches.  There was also a board for putting the coal starter off the ice while it did its magic.  The grill is the large hump in the back of the sled.

After a long day, the old back tightening up, catching one silver bass and night fast approaching, we started marking fish on our Vexilars.  The bite turned on, and overall the group caught 15 walleye.  With ice conditions changing, it was time to head in before it became pitch black.  I just finished cleaning the fish, and have my bags of fillets and cheeks in the fridge.  Maybe, just maybe there might be one more trip in the forecast after this weekend.

for one last fling on Saginaw Bay.

Going to do it right this trip!  The Weber Grill is packed, charcoal, starter chimney and matches.  On the menu, dogs and brats with only one condiment, mustard, the way it should be!

If the mid-day bite slows down like it has been I am ready to do some cooking for the crew.  There are some who go to even more extremes, and for a bit you can 20 to 30 folks gathered round talking the bite, the conditions and how they caught ( or didn’t ) their fish.

For those who gather back at deer camp, it is not an uncommon ritual.  For those who have not experienced fishing on the ice, it happens too.  Its all part of the grand experience, for those who partake, they enjoy, for those who do not…..they are missing out.

Pictures and hopefully successful story, to follow!