We of the North Need Hope

Diane · March 6, 2006, 11:56am

OK, all you lucky warmwater popper-loving, bass-busting, gill-catching people south of the ice line… I’m losing it. I’m tying poppers lately and dreaming of long days in my canoe pestering smallies under lilly pads.

Please, for the love of all that is holy, please post some photos of open water, boats, fish, frogs, rushes, muddy banks, whatever you’ve got.

We need some pictures. We need some hope up here. Please. I’m begging.

BobC · March 6, 2006, 12:25pm

Winter! I read what you had to say - “Ain’t it the sad truth!”
Bob

white43 · March 6, 2006, 12:50pm

Indeed, it’s time for the choir to sing! JGW

beadleech · March 6, 2006, 2:12pm

I have really high hopes for this coming weekend [I’m in northern Indiana]. The forecast currently is “high 50’s starting thursday and low SIXTIES saturday and maybe sunday”!!! Also rain possible//probable; however, I have a really good rain jacket. Now, it’s entirly possible [and probably likely] that the forecast will change 10 or a dozen times B4 the weekend but we have hope!!

Donald

lee_s · March 6, 2006, 4:31pm

Jed · March 7, 2006, 10:17am

Diane,

Next week it will be in the 50’s
Hang in there its only a few more weeks before we’ll be able to start fishing in earnest.

jed

featherchucker · March 7, 2006, 12:30pm

We had 82 last week and that’s no brag that’s a whine as there were skeeters also whining about…not enough hard, deep bug killing cold here in NC this winter. That said we did have 1 inch ice on the neighbor pond but on New Years Eve during the day my sooon to be 4 year old girl and I caught these two guys.

And did this with them many times in homeschool art class.

…and one from March 2005 which means it is time to put th etruck rod and reel back into the truck! Yee Haaaaa! Sorry …a little southern boy exhuberance escaped…

[This message has been edited by featherchucker (edited 07 March 2006).]

gqualls · March 7, 2006, 1:04pm

Diane,

I don’t have pictures but maybe I can paint one … went yesterday to a small lake and threw a black bugger for a couple of hours. Wind was up, a little cloudy and not much happening the first hour. Then it turned on … my first fish was a black crappie – about 13in., then my next was a LM that went straight under a floating dock and then about 25 yards on the other side. I kept pressure on that ol’ bucket head and about 5 minutes later proudly hoisted him in the air – right at 6 lbs. I caught several bull bluegills, a couple of more bass, and two more crappie. I was using a 3wt. TFO rod I bought on the FAOL bulletin board. It was a great evening. Hang in there. Busting smallies on a popper in Pads … I feel your pain. I can’t think of a more exciting way to catch smallies. I think the temps this weekend are supposed to be unbelievably warm. Hope it makes its way to your neck of the woods.

“Warm” regards,
Greg Qualls

system · March 7, 2006, 2:19pm

Here in remote NE Washington at 48-44 North we are north of anything in Maine and dreams of panfishing are just that-dreams! Still lots of snow on the ground and up to 3" of ice on the road. But down in town-about 500’lower-things look much better and ice on the mill pond is actually starting to recede. The best spiny ray lake around is about 70 miles south and they were still ice fishing that last weekend. About 3 more weeks and we should be back in business.

IveofIone-Ivebrakesforlakes

Diane · March 7, 2006, 11:02pm

Thank you thank you thank you.

system · March 8, 2006, 11:44am

Here in southern NH the temps for this weekend are predicted to bump into the sixties. Most of the flat water around still has ice although there are open spots. The streams, however, are open. I have determined this year to focus on some serious warm water fly fishing. I really haven’t a clue, except from what I have been able to learn from this site, as to how to properly fly fish warm water. But, nonetheless, I have a good supply of woolly buggers, woolly worms, muddlers, nymphs and streamers, so I guess that should be pretty good for a start. I’ll probably wade, exploring different location availabe at present. Later on I’ll use my kayak when the ponds and lakes open up more widely. No matter what happens, however, it certainly does sound like this weekend will be a weekend to be fishing for something - anything!

Fly_Line · March 8, 2006, 12:37pm

featherchucker
Those fish stamps would make a great T-Shirt.

Diane
I feel your pain . I am going a few miles north fishing this weekend. I guess they are still drilling through 23" of ice.

Micropteris · March 8, 2006, 12:57pm

I took my kayak out of storage yesterday in hopes of a short paddle tomorrow in the Narrow Estuary. There is still a thin sheet of ice on all the ponds and the stupid rules of RI shut down all the trout water from March 1 until the second Sat in April. All the open rivers are stocked so they are off limits even to bass and gills right now.

Who has time for stress when there are fish to catch.
Nick

Rick_Z · March 8, 2006, 1:03pm

There is hope. The ice is off the ponds in Southern Iowa. We also got so much needed rain for the sever drought we are in.

I hear the water calling Sat afternoon.

Rick

fishlux · March 8, 2006, 1:23pm

Hope is the thing with feathers… -Emily Dickenson

So take hold of that hope, pluck a few of those feathers and tie up some very hopeful flies.

Lux

Mike_G · March 8, 2006, 11:36pm

The birds are singing in the mornings now, the geese are back (1000s) and I even saw a woodchuck yesterday

Presenation,Presenation,Presenation… L Chandler

EdD · March 9, 2006, 10:17am

Diane, I can offer you two words, “Spring Break”. Come on down. We’ll save a few for you. Yes, I went out again, for the third time in as many weeks. And yes, the fish were rising to take flies off of the surface. I didn’t catch anything, unlike last week, but I had fun standing by the stream and trying. There IS hope, Diane. June follows January, although there are some other months in the way. Soon you will have soft, open water of your own to play in.
Ed

featherchucker · March 9, 2006, 12:14pm

You’re welcome for the fish and fishprints. Tee-Shirts? Yea, they would look good with a whole school of colorful fish swimming around the front and back of a Tee. I might even have to paint a few flies and print them on there too for the fish to chase. A big old carp wrapped back to front on a Tee would be neat too. We’ll see what my casting skills dredge up.Gonna get the truck rod back inthe truck this weekend and maybe hit a pond on Saturday.

I fish, therefore I swam.

[This message has been edited by featherchucker (edited 09 March 2006).]

beadleech · March 10, 2006, 3:08am

As predicted on the 6th our weather forcast has changed all week. Latest had today warmest day and it started out that way. So, around lunchtime I headed out to the lakes. Twenty minutes later when I went thru next town the temps had dropped 6 degrees! Checked the water temps in one set of channels and 3 small lakes. With 56d air temp the water way 46-48d. That suggests [from experience] that the temps in the larger, deeper lakes will prob be 40-42d or thereabouts. As this is a warm water fishery we have a while. I said “darn” and went home. Oh, did I mention the nasty cold drizzle?

Donald

lee_s · March 10, 2006, 4:46am