Spring-like temperatures urge everyone to go fishing
By TOOTSIE SNELLING
Marion County Park & Lake Reporter
What a pretty snow that was. I enjoyed watching the big flakes fall. I like it when it snows all day long but doesn't accumulate very much and the roads don't get slick. I was especially glad to see the sun out Sunday morning. It was so bright I almost had to put on sunglasses. I should have been counting the days without sunshine. I don't know how many it was, but quite a few.
It was a quiet week for the fishermen due to the weather, but by Saturday and Sunday everyone had had enough of staying inside and they were ready to fish.
We had a couple of guys fish the heated dock that had been ice fishing on Cheney. They were fishing in 6 feet of water and catching some nice wipers, they said. But the ice was only 1 1/2 inches thick. After fishing for a while they were standing in 2 to 3 inches of water and the ice was starting to bow in and crack a little so they decided to quit. How scary!! It's a wonder we didn't read about them in the paper, "Ice fishermen lost due to thin ice." I guess that's what you call dedicated fishermen. I can think of several other words.
The crappie have changed a little. Now they seem to like minnows instead of the meal worms, so you have to change tactics. Maybe because it's getting closer to spring? Small jigs also are working.
On my almost daily walk, I've noticed a lot more robins and blue birds flying around and in the yard. Isn't that a sure sign of spring? The birds sure are eating the bird food Dale puts out.
The eagle, and sometimes a pair, are still hanging around — usually across from the beach area. The geese were back in full force this week due to the cold weather. We had a lot of Sunday drivers out watching and looking at them. On the really cold days they just hunker down in a ball trying to keep warm and are quiet, but on the warmer days they walk around from one open hole to another and honk up a storm. I'm always wondering what they are saying to each other. (Hey, come on over here the water's warmer, or, should we go for lunch now or later?)
