April Snow and Other Issues

Our Mid April Snow Storm

It would be nice to say that everything is back to normal but trying to figure out what is normal these days is a mystery in itself!  Because of the current Corona Virus situation, our illustrious Governor has extended the Stay in Place order until May 4th and there is talk that he might extend it till June. Our 47th annual Minnesota Fishing Opener is looking more like a delayed event than something that even a later than usual Ice Out in 2013 could not diminish.  Even if all the restrictions are lifted by the May 9th fishing opener there are quite a few that may opt to stay home or in my nephews case, simply cannot fly from Portland, Oregon to MSP.  We do have Plan B, which is to move our annual event to the first of October.  Given the situation it seems like it would be a good time to reschedule, especially as one of my favorite ways to fish walleyes is trolling shad raps, it would be a great time of the year for doing that!  We should know shortly but I am not putting any money that it will happen in May.  This issue drags into our trips planned for Lac Seul this spring which was scheduled for May 16th, Ontario's walleye opener, as well as the usual trip in June.  It may be too soon to predict the outcome but it may not be until July before this thing settles down.  To top it off Mille Lacs Lake is only catch and release this year with the entire lake closing down for the month of July.  There are tons of walleyes to catch in Mille Lacs so this will probably be the Goto destination for May and June, we'll have to see.  The great weather the last couple of weeks inspired me to get the dethatcher/bagger system on my lawn tractor (more on that below) which required the snowblower and cab to be removed and put away.  Well you know what that means, if you do this before April 15, it's going to snow!  After getting the blower cleaned off and with the help of the neighbors, the cab properly stored, we got 3 - 4 inches of snow on Saturday night/Easter Sunday.  Luckily we were on the northwest corner of the storm and to our southeast got the brunt of it yet it goes without saying that the curse is still in existence!  The good thing is the concrete surfaces were warm enough so nothing stuck and the snowblower wasn't needed yet it seems as though someone was saying....don't
try that again!

Dethatcher hitch

So after getting the hitch attachment for the dethatcher on the lawn tractor, it finally got mounted and admittedly it works pretty slick.  There were a couple of snafu's to deal with including the frame was a little warped so the click in pins didn't click in, the mounting holes through the main mounting were hand drilled and not exactly perpendicular to the mounting holes, plus the green paint was not John Deere green so it's close but not the same!  After mounting the attachment to the quick hitch, with a hammer attempted to make a mark by the hole to see where it needed adjustment but instead it clicked in, good enough!  Next the holes that mounted the dethatcher to the hitch were off so using an 11/64th drill and a mild reaming, the bolts now went through the tube so they could be tightened up.  As far as the green paint, Fleet Farm had John Deere Green spray paint and after the season it will be repainted in the right color.  After a few issues of my own like hooking the hydraulic lines to the wrong place it finally is working and it is certainly a lot better than trying to lift it via the pull bar that came with the unit originally.  Unfortunately the snow has put a damper on any year activities for a few days however the forecast is for the 60's to return next weekend.  There are a number of neighbors that I let use this system as it really works great yet maybe there could be an opportunity to make some cash as it makes the lawn look great and along with an application of Scott's Truf Builder, one is set through the summer.  Then again, that would be work!

Pink Clown Rippin' Rap

So this isn't Yard Maintenance with Dave so I did get some things done on the fishing front.  Deciding that the tackle boxes need better organization as there were 3 separate boxes that stored Rapala Shad Raps, they got organized into a single box.  Another box was assorted Rapala lures with another box of Flick'r Shads, Smash Shads, and other shad style walleye crankbaits and it's starting to look good.  Last fall we did really well with jigging raps on Long Lake in Wisconsin, as well Ben Aiona caught his share of nice walleyes using Slab Raps and Rippin' Raps through the ice yet a search of YouTube videos shows some interesting open water catches on these types of jerk baits.  I separated a box of these types of jigging lures and was excited to experiment with them on both the Minnesota and especially the Ontario fishing opener.   Lac Seul's water is a dark tea color and the rattle aspect of this lure might hold some real promise as we mostly vertical jig fish walleyes.  We'll see what becomes of our season but there will be a time to experiment!  There is a lot to do before any official Fishing Opener so stay tuned!