Has spring sprung?

[ctom]

All you guys in the south sucking up balmy heat don't have to think about spring temps so much, but up here spring just can't get here soon enough for me. Today at noon Ma and I were watching our local news and there was a map of snow cover for Minnesota. Supposedly here at home we have an "average" depth of 11 inches right now. I don't know where they get the data for the averages but they didn't stop at my house. And a trip planned for last weekend to a sister-in-laws cabin in the northern part of the state got put on hold because of poor highway conditions and them having 30 some inches in the yard up there. Even Ice fishing was out.

Yesterday I noticed a whole pile of mourning doves hanging around here at our feeders and up in our big oak. Just walk out of the garage and it looked like Alfred Hitchcock's "the birds". Tons of them. Same thing all over again today. These are not the same tame saps that hung around all winter again, I could almost get them to eat out of my hand. These masses of birds are super skittish....transients. Could it possibly be that along with the 50 degree Easter Day forecast and sour news of ugly snowpacks that these doves have dragged spring along with them from down south?

[Denny Welch]

I feel your pain, Tom, but not a lot.  I fished a tournament on Saturday.  Blast off was about 37 degrees with a north wind about 20 mph.  I was all the way at the far end of the lake, about 8 - 9 miles from ramp when the big motor stopped.  Client just came in...more later.

[Bassman2169]

Spring ain't sprang yet in Kansas, but I wish it was sprung.  Eighty two weeks ago, twelve this morning.  Up and down.  Get a teaser day, then I get reminded I live in southwest Kansas.  At least the wheat is doing ok, got enough moisture to keep it alive, but not enough to make any lakes up enough to put a boat on.  We need a toad strangler, or choaker, or cow peeing on a flat rock,.... It goes on.  But we need one of those.  Joey

[Jeff Little]

It doesn't matter.  The fish in my 39 degree water have started to move to spawning areas, or at least deeper water right next to spawning sites.  Photoperiod, not temperature dictates that.

[gstott]

Things have finally started warming up out west.  Most of the snow has finally vacated my yard.  It was highs in the 30s, lows in the teens with scattered snow showers all weekend, but then it jumped up to 55 today.  It's only supposed to get better the rest of the week.  Thank goodness.  At this rate I'm hoping we get some open water in the next week or two    I'm just glad it has been warm enough for me to pester the local stream trout without freezing up my guides the past couple of weeks.

[fasteddyc]

I've definitely got the itch. The lakes in Southern Ontario are thawing and pulling the boat out of storage beckons. Hopefully by mid April I will be on Lake Simcoe bringing in one jumbo perch after another. It seems as I get older the years get shorter but somehow the winters seem longer. Another of life's great mysteries. Lol. Tight lines........ Soon.

[firetiger]

"Even ice fishing was out"  That sounds brutal!

I did have someone tell me that when you start to hear the morning doves more often in the morning, the fish are getting ready to spawn.  This would be in the south obviously, since there's plenty of ice up north still.

Looks like 92 degrees for my fishing trip this weekend! I have seen plenty of beds on the lake and hear those morning doves singing!

[pjmcla]

Here in north Alabama we have been seeing a few snow flakes the last couple of days.  For the end of March this is very unusual.  And we have had very few  60 + degree days so far.  The coolest spring I can remember in a long while.

[Lamar]

It seems as I get older the years get shorter but somehow the winters seem longer. Another of life's great mysteries. Lol. Tight lines........ Soon.

  I'm with ya on that one. My bones hurt in the winter. Last week went to New Orleans for four days. The warm weather made me feel younger again. Came home and went right back to hurting. Cleaned out the Garage Saturday and Sunday went and got the boat out of storage. Monday we got six inches of snow. I'm to the point all I can do is laugh about it.

[fasteddyc]

I know what you mean. Same experience. Was in Florida to watch some spring training games 2 weeks ago. Back to the cold. We had ice pellets yesterday. Arthritis is letting me know that winter has hung around too long. Unlike you my boat is still in storage. Hoping to retrieve it next week.

[Denny Welch]

Mid-70's today, sunny, little chop on the water, pre-spawn is in full swing...and the boats broke.  Bummer.

[ctom]

There, ya see, Denny.....all that gas about Hawaii when you should have been hanging closer to home taking care of more urgent business. Like fixin the boat!

Man, that's a bummer bud.

[BareKnuckleJigs]

UH-HUH!!!  See that, Mr. Denny?!  Taking vacations when You should be handling the important things...that was YOU all over the news and the internet! 

[Denny Welch]

Hey Bones, you mean I made the news during my Hawaiian vacation?  I don't doubt it.  The first week was spent sipping Margaritas while swinging in a rope hammock next to the beach...criss-crossed palm trees, etc...very close to the pool side bar.  Very good first week and it couldn't happen to nicer guy.

The second week started with a 5 mile kyack trip up the Weimea River...head wind of about 15 mph...combined with a 3 mile "simple" hike to a "secret"  85' waterfall that can be seen from the roadway.  I affectionately refer to that hike as the Bataan Death March.  Then it was back to the put-in on the kyack with another head wind.  Go figure.  It was a day of near-death proportions.

The following day started at 4:30 a.m. when we left for the drive to Port Allen to get on the 45' catamaran for our 5 1/2 hour "tranquil", "quiet", "not-to-be-missed"
cruise along the "placid" waters of the Na Pali Coast.  About 4 minutes into the cruise a few of the stately ladies on the boat started barfing into small white buckets which were being passed out by the crew.  The "placid" waters turned into 20' seas, an incoming tide, and strong winds.  I did OK until we were ordered inside because of the heavy rain.  Because of the cramped quarters and the smell of other people's barf, I could feel that quesey feeling creeping up on me.  I lasted for about 5 minutes before I took a few giant steps and lept to the ass end of the boat and started blowing chow.  It was about that time that the whales and the spinner dolphins made their appearance.  Without any compassion for her dying husband, TPO started running around the boat squealing like a schoolgirl because the whales were as close as they were.  I, or course, was looking in a different direction so I didn't care much about the whales.  I told TPO later that the whales were close because they were feeding on what I had for dinner the night before.  I won't even get into what happened when the stomach emptied out...ugly, very ugly.

The trip was called off after about 4 hours because it wasn't safe.

I was hoping to be med-evaced back to the condo, but no such luck.  The last 5 days of the trip were occupied by me trying to replenish all the electrolytes lost on the Na Pali Coast.  The best way of doing that is by a slow drip of Margarita directly into the blood stream.  We were not able to get all the IV stuff needed so I made do with a straw.

All things considered, it was a good trip.  Can't wait to go back.

[BareKnuckleJigs]

WOW!  So, according to Your report...I will NEVER go to another country on "vacation".  Me doing what You went through would be me paying to do what I do for a living...talk about walking in reverse.  The only 360 I try to have in my life is my plastic temp (but uuhhh...).  Sorry to hear about that...although it seems the scavengers thanked You.  There aren't many things in this world that feel worse than seasickness.