Took the family for muskies this afternoon. Got in nearly 3 hours of casting before the weather chased us. Lisa had 3 follows on a Violent Strike spinnerbait, but that's all we saw. Water temp was up to nearly 57.
Shoulder still seems ok w/ casting.

First trip of the year for muskies today. First fish too. Left the house at 7:35 and the time stamp on the picture was 7:59. Saw several more, but they didn't eat. Oh well. According to the water temp (54F), history has show it could be a bit before it gets consistent.
Was very grateful to have that one hit the bottom of the net, and on an Operation Muskie auction lure no less.

My shoulder seems to all be in working order. I didn't baby it, but didn't push it either. Short trips will be the norm for a while I think.

5 days of physical therapy behind me. Doc says I'm in a dangerous time for my injury right now; it's too early to start using the arm, but it feels relatively pain free so it's tempting...
My biggest threat now is an early re-injury. Not gonna let that happen.
Hopefully I'll get out a bit this weekend; weather's been crappy, so it makes it easier (or at least bearable) so sit inside and do nothing.

6 more days in the sling. Gonna try for walleyes tomorrow; that is, if I can get my boat ready by then.

Closing in on my 3rd week in a sling post-surgery. Inactivity is getting real old. Going in on the 31st to chart next course of action. This is way harder than waiting for open water...

Well, it's about as bad as it gets and still be able to be fixed. Surgery on it tomorrow; might be as long as 4 months rehabbing it.

At least there's nearly 2' of ice.
New carpet, floor and rear casting deck in my boat. Talk about all dressed up and no place to go...

Well, confirmed as a rotator cuff tear; meeting w/ the surgeon Monday to chart a course of action...

Been a while, eh?

Might be a bit longer too. Busted up my shoulder last Sunday night in hockey. Dr. suspects a torn rotator cuff. I go in for an MRI Wednesday morning to verify the diagnosis and determine the severity. Hopefully I can get this behind me before I need to do a bunch of casting. But then again, I can troll for a bit early too...

Kind of an interesting weekend...

Thursday evening after work I was able to get out for 2 hours before being blown off by a storm (actually a series of them). The fish were active, as you might expect and I boated a small one but had looks and/or strikes from several. I think I moved over a half dozen. Friday morning I got out for 2 more hours again. The morning was unsettled, the water had cooled a few degrees, the wind was out of the east and the whole day was just less than inspiring but I went anyway (since the best time to go is when you can). Well, I proceeded to move 9 fish in that 2 hours, boating 2, missing a nice one because I was fiddling w/ the net. It was a fantastic morning of breaking all the conventional muskie rules! With high hopes I hit the water again Sunday AM before church to be met w/ what would normally be ideal conditions for Pineview. I moved 1 fish in 3 1/2 hours of fishing, and it was just a lazy swipe at the Wabull. Everything seemed backwards, but what the heck, I'll take it. Three fish in the boat in just under 8 hours of fishing and a nice one missed that was totally my fault. OF my fish this season, all but one have come on my WA Baby Wabull, the remaining one on a fly. I better get a couple more of those...

We're planning on getting up early tomorrow and heading to Newton for another shot at fame and fortune. I'd love to see the boys hook up when they are casting for muskies. So far all of their fish have been trolling. I'll try w/ a fly rod for a while but when my shoulder inevitably fatigues, I'll just watch them for a while. They'll sure get a chance to see what a follow looks like and try some figure 8 practice. I hope the weather holds.

Only 1 follow (that I know of) this morning. Nik and I hit Pineview for an hour and a half before I went to work. It was overcast and light winds, I thought it might be pretty good but found out later that they had some pretty intense thunderstorms up there the previous night.
Working w/ glasses and clip-ons, so I may have had more action than I saw. Nik casted the whole time pretty enthusiastically, which was nice. He's got a pretty good cast and when he pays attention, he stands a good chance of hooking up. Would love to see one try to yank the rod out of his hand!

2 more weeks w/ glasses...

2 more tigers this morning; 36 & 34. Both on WA Baby Wabull; that lure is pretty magical it seems. Had another one on momentarily on a Humpy Beaver; wish I could have landed it.
The water is still a bit off color, must be a bit of influence from runoff or pleasure boats. Could have been rain, but don't know how much they got up there last night. Temps in the mid-60s and the reservoir is completely full and spilling.

Well I'm about 4 days into a 3 week stint of wearing glasses instead of contact lenses. My evaluation for laser surgery is on the 16th of June. Our Flex$ plan at work had a mid-year re-enrollment allowing for an amended amount to be added to the account. I am hoping to take advantage of that combined w/ a $500/eye discount for public employees at one of the premier laser surgery centers in SLC.
I never really had a problem w/ contacts until recently; now my duration of comfortable wear is down to about 6-8 hours/day. I hope the laser thing works well.

Hope to get out for tigers tomorrow AM early.

Great trip over Memorial Day weekend to Flaming Gorge for salmon. A ton of fun w/ the family and no stinky muskies to worry about!

Took the fly rod to Newton yesterday and had one of the best times of my life chasing and catching stinky muskies. We got 8 and saw, in my estimation well over 100 fish. I'm pretty sure we had 80 or so follows, many multiples. Craig's gotta tie me some Bunker flies and I'm headed back up! Nik's been wanting to learn to tie flies...what a great opportunity.

First fish of the year today. A pretty 44"er on a WA Baby Wabull; great way to start the year. It still slightly below 56F so the fish really came as a surprise. Usually nothing til 60F. Could have been a fluke, but I'm happy w/ it nonetheless.
Weird windy front blew in today - I watched the whitecaps move in toward me as I sat in dead calm water. Have never seen a front so well defined.

Been on the water a couple times with the same early spring luck...zero. It's a good way to work the kinks out before the fish get active. To be productive, I should probably troll, but I had some lures that just needed to be casted...the Dingo looks awesome in the water. Water temps should approach 60 in the next few days, that's when things begin to get more active. I'll be ready for 'em by then.

I suppose I ought to get back on track w/ this thing again. I doubt I'll have any muskie fishing until well into April. Maybe get some walleyes and big pike in other places though. I need to get on the water soon.

Not much left of the season I'm afraid. Today marks the close of the season back in Wisco, mine is open all year, but functionally closes w/ ice up. I got one today and it was a nice change from hours of nothingness that has been the norm this fall. I wish I knew where some bigger ones were.
I should have about 2 weeks of open water left. I doubt I'll be able to ice fish Pineview prior to heading back east for Christmas; quite possibly not on the ice anywhere before I head back. I guess I'll make the most of the open water provided me.

Somebody give these fish a tetanus shot! They have lockjaw.

Back from my river restoration training in Colorado. That was one of the most intense and informative training sessions that I have attended. Long days, very data intensive. Glad it's over.
I spent the first couple of days back at home not fishing; just time w/ the family. That was fun after being away for 2 weeks. I'm not used to that. I'll probably try for muskies again on Tuesday. Probably not a long trip, but it will be good to get back out on the water again. It's snowing hard here now - the first one of the season is always a bit of a shocker; puts the kibash on the ol' tomato crop.
Glad I'm not travleing anymore for a while, but really will miss the fall outing at PI. That one holds some pretty special memories for me.

Big days on the water this weekend. The boys and I boated 4 the day before yesterday and in a match yesterday my partner and I managed to get 9 in the net. None were big, in fact, Dane got the biggest one of the weekend at 35". Nik had a 3 fish day and Dane got his biggest. A very memorable weekend all in all.

There's big fish out there, I'll find them eventually.
Now I have a couple of people I need to take out for their first ever.

Putting someone on their first muskie is fun. Two so far this year...shooting for four.

Seems as though my kids aren't that interested in fishing w/ me now. I guess they go so much now the fun has worn off. Looks like there's a few 'stay at home and do yard work' days in store for them. I guess everyone has to learn a lesson the hard way once in a while. My lesson is not to try to turn something I love into something they 'should' love. If they want to go, they will eventually. But for now, it looks like I'll have to not let them go a few times so they begin to look forward to it again.
At any rate, I'll continue to get a few trips by myself, like this morning...got a nice 35 incher trolling. Didn't even see a fish while casting - I admittedly got REAL spoiled by seeing so many earlier in the year. They've probably pulled offshore a bit now as he water is dropping fairly dramatically now. The offshore trolling bite is beginning to come on. Hopefully, I'll be able to get into some nicer fish now that the water has started to cool off.

If I ever get sick of numbers, just shoot me in the head. We had our first match yesterday and Drew lobbied to head to Newton - I'm so glad we went. I usually opt for Pineview since it's so much closer and the chance for a much bigger fish is always there. We had a 10 fish day in 6 hours of fishing, with a double thrown into the mix. It was one of the most enjoyable fishing days I've ever had, despite the average size of the fish was not special. We got a couple nice ones, but most were around 31. Still way fun! The 11th fish was within net range for about a half second...

Well, true to form, I've managed to put off Matchfishing until the last minute and now have to do some finagling to get them all in. I've kind of lost the passion for winning this year though. I never really took it seriously (much like most things I do), but liked to put up a good showing anyway. This year I really don't care; I just don't want to leave anyone else in my pool in the lurch. So, I'll fish a half day tomorrow against K2, then sometime against Pointer and partner TBD, and finally the 31st against the Buddies.
Water temps are starting to drop here, overnight lows at Pineview are in the upper to mid 50s now. Soon fall will be in full swing and the lake will once again be mine. It would be nice to get a visitor or two this fall.

Back in Utah. It's hot. One week in paradise and you get adjusted to a bit of humidity, but it was not hot all week. Here it's been the 5th hottest July on record. At least I got to skip out on a week of it.
Vermilion was fantastic. Lots of good times and added a few more friends. I have however come to the conclusion that I do not really enjoy fishing at night. And I am still haunted by a botched net job. No depth perception at night, I don't like that.
Steve and Joe went over the top at Spring Bay making everyone's stay great. It was probably the best lodging value that I have come across.

Ah, one more day of work then it's off to Vermilion! The boys and I have been doing ok locally, but haven't been able to get the nicer fish to commit. Had my first real experience w/ topwater fishing today. I went out before work for a couple hours and had 5 fish take a shot at a Baby Weagle. The two muskies missed completely, as did one unidentified fish. The other two that hit it were a couple of pretty nice smallmouth bass. One 17" and the other 19". I know I shouldn't be disappointed w/ fish like that, but they were not what I was after. I wish the second of the two muskies that whiffed would have gotten steel; I think that was a nice fish. If nothing else, it gave me some hope that topwater is a viable option here.
Off to pick a couple lures for Vermilion...

Lisa picked up another half day of work so I'm taking the boys out again for a bit this afternoon. Perhaps we'll get another chance for Nik to practice his netting...hopefully I'll get the chance to net one or two for him.
Emergency C & R rules were just placed on the tigers in Pineview yesterday. Doesn't affect me any; probably not many people. Hook ing and handling kill way more fish up there than harvest. It's so unfortunate that people here seem to refuse to take even the most basic precautions beneficial to the fish. It's just another organism on their 'life list'. Hopefully the little clip the boys and I did will help educate a few people anyway.

Ah, back to muskies after 2 weeks in California on vacation. We had fun, but it's good to be back. Back from one vacation and already anticipating my next one - Vermilion. Scarcely over 2 weeks away, I have done virtually nothing to prepare. Not that I have a lot to do (thanks to lambeau graciously allowing the use of his gear), it just seems like it will be upon me before I know it. But that's ok, I don't like waiting anyway. Looks like quite a different group than the usual cast of characters I have gotten used to hanging around with at Presque Isle. I'm looking forward to meeting a whole new batch of people as well as seeing some 'old' friends.

We had a great day on the water today with Lisa getting her first fish in several years - not that she's had a chance to try much though. I think it was a full 10" better than her previous big fish. It was nice weather and everyone had fun. I'm still seeing an unusually high number of fish; a dozen or more follows during the course of a 4 hour trip is about normal. I wish they'd eat more frequently.

We finally got a fish in the net! Two actually. The unreasonable number of follows still continues (had 8 or 9 yesterday), but actually had 5 fish hit the bait. They are not following fish in the classic sense, or if following they're deep enough that I can't see them, but they come screaming in and just annihilate the bait without any warning. That proved to be good and bad since I was completely unprepared for it. I was able to collect my thoughts and set the hook on one, the other just basically hooked itself. Two others just let go as I watched like an idiot while the third just didn't get hooks on the set for some reason. This was all in about 4 hours or so. I wish Pineview would stay like this for a long time.

I did solve the netting 'problem': I get the fish hooked and get it about half way to the boat and hand the rod off to one of my boys to fight it the rest of the way in. I then net the fish. So far, it works.

Ah, nearly the first fish of the year today. Took the boys out for a couple of hours and put the WA Baby Wabull on. Just started right by the ramp and casted for about 10 minutes before one decided (finally) to eat. It was clear out at the end of my cast and I had to bring it through a bunch of willows en route to the boat and get Nik rallied to the net - which proved to be a bit of a substandard decision. As the fish nears the boat, I see it's pretty much 'beak hooked' and didn't know how much longer it would stay pinned up, it wasn't quite worn out, but not green either, so I tried to pull it to the spot I thought would be easiest for Nik to scoop it. I told him to go ahead and net it and he less than gracefully drops the hoop of the net squarely on the top of the fish's head! The Wabull quickly became separated from the fish and I just had to laugh. Fish was about mid-30s, so it's pretty hard to get upset over something like that; it was good practice for him (and me, I guess) and neither of us was too shook up over it. We'll keep having fun, but I think if there's a fish that I really want to bag, I'll retain the responsibility of netting it for a while! hahahhaa

Well, so far it looks like '08 is shaping up to be another 'year of the follow'. Last 2 trips 17 follows, 0 bites. Oh well, last year started slow and finished w/ a bang.
Matchfishing could get interesting this year. Definitely going to take multiple fish days to get out of our pool. A 7 fish day could get you a loss...
Looks like we're looking at 4 full days of rather unsettled weather. That's probably good - I can get some work done instead of burning annual leave on the water. Cold weather over the holiday weekend screws the power squadron too; that makes me smile. Maybe we can get back to thanking the vets on this holiday instead of just going on vacation.
Nik got me a 'free fishing trip' certificate for my birthday this morning; can't wait to use it - there's gotta be some good Mojo in that!

Well Nik scored his first for the year. He takes great pleasure in letting me know I'm still on the big zero too! Sure is fun taking those guys out; Dane missed his first one (but admittedly, we have no idea if it was a muskie as it got off part way to the boat). We need to find a sitter for a day so I can take Lisa out; when both she and the boys are along, there's no way she can get much fishing in.
Pineview is just a few feet from full now; the water should start to clear after this weekend - looks like the big pulse of runoff will occur in the next few days. Spring has sure been cool this year; could be a lively runoff if it all comes down at once! Did a little piece on safe release yesterday for our website. Went through the tools, methods and theory, but didn't have a fish to demonstrate it on...maybe next time. Hopefully we'll get a nice concise video we can use as an instructional piece.
Going south a few miles this weekend to hit Yuba Reservoir for walleyes primarily; it's got a good population of northern pike though too, so I'll bring some stuff for them also. Camping for the first time of the year - find out what works and what doesn't!
Water temps should be about 60 or so; pretty much ideal one would think.

Got out for a bit yesterday w/ the family. Didn't get anything but that's pretty much the norm for me for the first few trips of the year. Sometimes I think having a season would be better - (but not for biological reasons) at least I wouldn't up as disappointed on my first half dozen or more trips out. I don't think I've ever caught an early season muskie at water temps appreciably below 60F; currently, Pineview water temps are running about 12F lower than this time last year). They bite rather readily in the fall down to 39 or so, but spring has been a real mystery to me. Oh well, gets the kinks out of the shoulders anyway. Perhaps I should throw more jigs.
Got a Rollie and Helen's Catalog a couple weeks ago and a Smokey's Catalog today. That's all well and good now that I have no money. The pictures are pretty anyway. I need a new Mojo cap; mine's been washed one too many times I think and it's looking a bit too pointy. Maybe I'll have Baldy throw one in w/ my order for WA Wabulls.
Winternet is almost over and I say good riddance. This year was the year of the a$$hole apparently. Such demanding people muskie folks are; the harder you try to please them, the more they hate you. I'm glad I'm not managing fish anymore, people are incorrigible.

Well, I tried to make it to the weekend, but couldn't. Went to Pineview this afternoon. I think I was the first muskie fisherman on the water this year. I have heard of a couple taken from shore, but nothing from a boat. There was a trailer in the parking lot, but I didn't see any other boats out so I just figure they were deep in a bay fishing for crappies. Dane and I trolled for about 2 1/2 hours with only a snagged carp to show for it. We had fun though. Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer, but I have a few things at work that need to be done, so it looks like Sunday is my next time out.

I did verify that the trouble w/ my electric trolling motor is due to the foot pedal. I guess I'll call MinnKota tomorrow and get a new one on order.

Ice came off Pineview today. Trying to decide if I should blow off work tomorrow and give it a shot...

I never really do that good in the spring, but I sure love to get out. It's always good to see what winter has bestown upon the rising shoreline and watching the willows become inundated again. Bring on some sight fishing!

In other news, it looks like the tiger muskie program got one step closer to permanence today. Our Blue Ribbon Fisheries Advisory Council, in an unprecedented move towards being visionary, approved the funding of a warm-water hatchery facility capable of growing our own tigers. We are one step from getting our own brood of true muskies in order to cross with the northern pike we already have in a southern Utah reservoir. The news put a big grin on my face and the players who made it possible, despite considerable stonewalling from upper administration in our own organization, will be rewarded with copious amounts of homebrew.

Well, I finally got out yesterday. Pineview is still frozen, so I had to make the trip to Newton. Water was still a chilly 45F and it showed in the fishing. As about par for my first trip of the year, my electric trolling motor had issues (I deeply suspect the foot pedal). So we fished w/ a favorable wind for a few minutes until the wind became unfavorable. Stupid weather. We decided to throw out 4 lines and troll the day away. It was good for me as I learned a bit about a reservoir that I spend precious little time on. There will be some spots that I re-visit for sure. It also added to my confidence about open water trolling; not that I got any fish, but when seeing big arches in a reservoir where there are no other species of big fish, you kinda get a good feeling about being in the right place. The bottom of the reservoir was a solid layer of baitfish about 8-10' thick. As soon as I got shallower than about 38-39' the baitfish were no longer below me in numbers. I wish that little puddle was a bit closer, I could see myself spending a considerable amount of time there. It's hard to drive past Pineview to get there though. 77F and windy today, expecting a big cool-down the next 2 days then a slower warm-up. I hope Pineview is open by Friday, Sunday at the latest.

Brewing another batch; in fact the wort is boiling as I type. In it's present form it's planned to be an oatmeal stout although since coffee went so well w/ my last batch, I may add some after the initial rush of fermentation. It really doesn't add a coffee flavor as much as just a smoky flavor. I figure a coffee-oatmeal stout might make a dandy breakfast beer!

C'mon open water!
Just when it seems like it's going to be a reality, the weather changes and we get more snow...
I'm ready to fish.

I'd just as soon not write what I'm really thinking tonight, even in a blog...

Big arguments about catch and release. Seems such a waste of time and energy. It's hard sometimes to separate the people who are chest-thumping from those that have a genuine and legitimate concern. I can't pick them out. What's funny is that they have painted themselves into a corner now, no matter how big their biggest fish boated now becomes, even if it is a record fish, it is incumbent upon them to release it lest their own camp turn on them. To some, that decision is going to be easy - my hat's off to them; to others...well, they are going to agonize, rationalize, make excuses, and ultimately make themselves miserable over a silly piece of paper with their name on it. There's probably not a big chance any of them will ever face that decision, not because they're not good enough, it's because the odds are not in the favor of any angler. It is, however, my most sincere wish is that all get the opportunity. I'll be the first to admit that I'm one of the luckiest people alive, and I get to fish a bunch too. Take another person fishing, show them the proper gear, proper way to land and release a fish and let them know why you do things the way you do. It will go much further to bring people 'into the fold' than to stand at the ramp and rant about the fish that they may have kept. That just alienates people.

One more party left and youth hockey is over for the season. That's not until early April though. Nice to have it done, but with no open water it makes weekends just a tad more difficult to deal with now. There's just no pleasing me I guess...
Making buffalo chili for supper tonight. Starting it now and letting it steep in the crock pot all day. Me and the boys are going to get some starter sets of squash going for the 'garden' this summer. Most likely they'll die in this wonderful Utah dirt.
I'll be taking my boat in this week to get new trailer tires put on. I seem to go through a lot of rubber 8 miles at a time. I guess for car tires, the ones on it did pretty good lasting 3 years. I still need to powerwash the interior and do a once-over on the screws/connections, etc.
Rain/snow in the forecast for the next few days; cooler at first, but warming up to the mid-50s by about Thursday. That should help chew up the ice - precip and warmth are the keys here since we don't get a lot of wind (despite my wishes for it in the spring).

Drove around Pineview yesterday. Ice is starting to turn a bit gray, so it gives me hope that open water is just a couple weeks away. We need a good pulse of runoff to lift the ice cap away from the shore and let some wind do it's magic. It's supposed to snow and/or rain (depending on elevation) for the next couple of days. That should help. I would love to catch a muskie in March, so far my track record w/ that is pretty dismal...despite high expectations. I always seem to just be quite satisfied w/ just being out!
Krushers float; Pointer needed to know so I floated one in a bowl of water for him last night during the chat. Norm does a good chat; as usual, I learned a thing or two.

Ah, upper 50s today. The inlet areas of Pineview have areas of open water growing by the hour. There's 3 storms backed up in the Pacific putting the western US in their sights. Hopefully, they'll produce rain in the low and mid elevations and pound the mountains with a few more feet of snow. Many of the ski resorts still have bases of 10 feet or more. I know, my hopes are high, but I think in 2 weeks I'll be launching my boat.
Daylight savings time is kicking my butt; I just can't adapt like I used to I guess!

Wow, a good portion of our low elevation snow has melted. It kind of gets my spirits up but then only a short drive 'uphill' manages to shake me back to reality. I hope I can get on before the last of March.
But then again, I have a bit of work to do on the boat/trailer before it's really ready for fishing. I didn't get time to properly clean it last fall before the snows hit and it was basically buried. I also need new tires on the trailer. The wheel bearings should be fine, but the ever-present trailer wiring gremlins were probably hard at work over the winter. How does that happen anyway?
Youth hockey ends next weekend, so I'll have my Saturdays and Sundays back again for a few months. I may take my fly rod out and go to the park across the street and practice on some 'grass carp'. I hope my shoulder will respond favorably to a casting motion that it hasn't used in several years!

Well, got more snow yesterday, not a lot, just enough to remind me that open water is still a ways off. I'm going mildly nuts this winter waiting for it to end. That's kind of weird for me since I normally like winter so much. Ice fishing has even lost nearly all of it's appeal for me this year.
It's supposed to warm up again and for the next 2 weeks warmer than normal even. We'll see - the forecasters out here can't even seem to get yesterday's weather right....I've never seen such a bunch miss forecasts so consistently. And so unapologetically.
Got a package of stuff from lambeau on Friday and contained within was a 6" jointed Believer; it'll get bit. I got a couple of packages this winter of 'must trys' from friends. I can't wait to send them some pictures back!

Warming up this week - highs in the low to mid 50s. Things should melt pretty fast. I'm not sure about the reservoirs, but I'm operating under the assumption that since most of the ice is just frozen and re-frozen slush, it will go faster. Gotta keep the faith anyway; I'm so ready for open water. If it stays warm I may be able to put the boat on in mid-March. I sent a few trinkets off to Bret for Operation Muskie yesterday; I know it's not nearly enough, but it's the thought, right? Well, not really, those guys went over there preparing to sacrifice way more than thoughts...I hope they all get 50s.
Well in addition to my muskie cabin fever, I have the mid-winter office blahs too. I will get out tomorrow though for a trip to Bear Lake to do some field work. I have a great job; if I get sick of my desk, I jump in the truck and go do/see stuff outside.
I hope more people visit this summer.

Well, I put another 5 gallons of beer in bottles today. Now the endurance test begins...it's at least 2 weeks and better to wait 3 before trying it. It's kind of an experimental brew this time - a vanilla coffee stout; probably something I should have done in December or early January, but I'll probably be able to put up w/ it now too. If I was smart, I'd get another batch going right away, but...
Mix of rain and snow today; it was supposed to be just rain, hopefully most of the snow will stay at elevation. That way I get to fish in it in August.
I keep ordering baits despite my goal to slow it down. Last year I did pretty good, but kind of 're-discovered' trolling and now it seems that there are a bazillion things I want to try. I suppose I'll satiate that need too.
Maybe Dane will want to fish tomorrow.

Well, I guess it's about time I jump on this bandwagon too.
For you easterners (from my point of view, that's almost all of you), the show season is in full swing and I visit as best I can w/ dial-up to the many videos and myriad of pictures from the coverage. I should probably be thankful that I can't participate in real life. Or at least my bank account should be. It would be fun to attend one just for the visiting though.
I'm still ice fishing, and yesterday I managed my first tiger through the ice. A cute little guy (probably about 30" or so) tried to take advantage of my 1/16th oz. jigging spoon. It was a much shorter battle that I had anticipated, but it was cool to see his head poke up through the hole; very pretty in the light of winter. He was hooked right in the side of the mouth, so I didn't even have to take him out of the water (yes, they can back down a hole on their own). I also got an 18" brown; that was much more of a battle.
Looking forward to my trip this summer. I love the outings; it's more than fishing. Way more.