Not Much Going On

Its been one of those weeks that before you know it it's a week later.  It's amazing sometimes you seem to be so busy you can't find time to do much of anything yet it seems like you have done everything.  Besides snowing every day this past week I did make it back home on Saturday to see my dad.  He got a positive report from the doctor that his cancer was knock down as he continues to learn to swallow normal food.  Before stopping there I dropped my wife off with her sister and cousins and hit a few of my favorite spots in the area.  First stop was the Leinies Lodge in Chippewa Falls.  Leinenkugels Beer is brewed in Chippewa and they have a nice store where you can get a number of branded apparel.  My goal was to get a more formal Stormy Kromer hat, one with Leinenkugels embroidered on the side.  I like my red plaid Stormy Kromer but it's a little too farmer for those special occasions.  Finding a charcoal colored hat, I am pretty well set for any event!  My next stop was Schell's Sporting Goods in the Oakwood Mall.  I like Schells as they seem to have a good collection of stuff as well a full selection of Green Bay Packer merchandise.  I found the perfect shirt for my friend Phil Gordon.  A Packer green T-shirt with gold letters that spelled out "Brett Who?".  Obviously us Packer fans have all but forgot Mr. Favre as we celebrate the second round of playoffs with Aaron Rodgers.  Phil lives in Indiana yet he is a die hard fan and tells me he is on his way to see the game in Atlanta.  I hope the shirt brings him and the team good luck!  My next stop was to check out the rumor that Walter's Beer was once again being brewed in Eau Claire.  Back in my younger days Walter's beer was a staple of the area.  It's tag line was simple, "The Beer that is Beer". As a teenager I would work with guys like Bud Tollefson or Ronnie Semingson and Walters is what kept us going.  Like many local breweries, the Miller Lites of the world took it's toll.  Walter's closed in the late 80's, a victim of the changing times.  Arriving at the brew pub, yes they had Walter's, another goal in reach!  I ordered a glass, trying to relive that taste I had not experienced in over 25 years.  It was ok but I guess it just seemed to be better when I was 25 years old.  I did buy a six pack for home, it will give me something to talk about with the neighbors.

I did make it fishing to Mille Lacs on Sunday.  Deciding to try to evening bite, my friends Jason Rombalski and Lory Brasel filled the empty seats in my truck.  Getting a late start we headed to the pond and drove out past Indian Point.  Heading for my spot in 28 feet of water, we got the holes drilled and houses set up just before the witching hour, 3:00 - 5:00.  Although we have been fairly successful the last few times, the fish were skittish and I ended up with 2 smaller walleyes.  Jason had a few chasers and Lory caught a small one.  Certainly not my best trip, as always, it's nice to get out.  On Thursday I plan on heading down to the St. Paul Sportsman's Show to check out the first big show of the year and say hi to my friend Keith Holtan.  Keith and his wife own  Beaver Creek Cabins on the Kenai River in Alaska and was our guide in 2002 when we chartered with my friend Jeff King. 

I am leaving you with a picture of my dad, his brothers and sister.  From left to right is my uncles Gordon(Dewey), my dad Don, Uncle Keith, Aunt Lavonne, and the little guy in front is my beloved Uncle Jerry.  This picture was probably taken around 1937 or 1938 and really shows the style of the day, bibs!  Implying that time flies, although this picture was taken almost 74 years ago, dad remembers it like it was yesterday.  It's a great reminder to enjoy life while you can..........

A Two Gloved Day

I have traded the cold weather for a little reprive and am writing from Los Angeles, California. It has been interesting as it is a balmy 65 degrees and everyone here is complaining about the cold. These people have no idea what cold is.....................like our trip to Mille Lacs on Saturday afternoon. The weather was predicted to be 48 for a high, perfect for that last fling before the ice freezes. This last time outing also gives me a chance to make sure everything works before I put the boat away, dump a can of Seafoam into the gas for storage, and maybe catch a few fish as a bonus.

Arriving on the lake I was surprised to see the surface temperature at the Cove Landing at a blustery 39.3 degrees, burrrrrrrrr. Water is an interesting substance. It is at its greatest density at this temperature, meaning that is sinks to the bottom. This causes the phenomenon called turnover as the denser water displaces the warmer water on the bottom, stirring the lake up. At around 39 degrees the water is pretty even from top to bottom. As water cools below 39 it starts getting less dense and stays on the surface. When water reaches 32 degrees it freezes, expands and floats. Ice is a very good insulator, protecting the water on the bottom which will essentially stay at 39 degrees all winter long. This allows life in the lake to enjoy an environment that is quite a bit warmer than freezing.

One nice thing that occurs in the fall when the water temperature in higher than the air temperature, the time on the lake can be warmer than that on the water. When it is colder than the air temp, it will feel much colder on the lake. Well Saturday my partner Tom proclaimed it a Two Gloved Day and offered the above pose. Our plan was to start in Wakon Bay for perch before heading to Anderson's Reef to pull some cranks for walleye. There were a few guys fishing perch and actually catching a few. They were all pretty small. Tom had the most unique method of catching these perch. We were in 4 feet of water, he had his bobber stop at 5 feet allowing his jig to sit on the bottom. Pulling it gently off the bottom he could actually sit and hold a fish on his minnow for minutes at a time as they played tug of war with Tom watching his bobber sit suspended 2 feet under the surface. This technique rewarded him with 3 nice perch including this nice 12 incher. Although we didn't kill them, tom was able to go home with a nice meal. About 15 minutes before sunset we headed to Anderson's. The water on the lake was a little warmer, 41 degrees. At this temperature the tullibees should be spawning on the reef. When tullibees spawn they essentially chase all the fish off the reef. It must have been the case as we did not get a single walleye. Based on the current water temp this did not surprise me. It was a so so year but I have a feeling that ice fishing could be excellent this year. At 39 degrees in cove my prediction of ice by mid November may be right on.

Finally I decided to model a favorite hat of mine, the Stormy Kromer. I sort of collect hats and this is my favorite cold weather hat. Previous post of me ice fishing will almost always feature this hat. So what is a Stormy Kromer? Well Stormy was a ball player in the early 1900's before he became a railroad engineer. Apparently he would wear his baseball hat while running the locomotive and it would often blow off his head by wind gusts through the cab. He became frustrated with this so he asked his wife, a pretty good seamstress, to modify his hat so it would stay on. The idea worked so good that it became a legend. You can tell a Stormy Kromer by the string tie in the front. Although most people think that the pull down flaps are for your ears, the real reason is to give extra grip to your head. It really works well and for a hat, it's pretty warm. They are still made in the good old USA in Ironwood Michigan. You can check out their website at http://www.stormykromer.com/ . And of course, my friends state that I look good in a hat..........as it covers up more of my face! Off to make more cider this weekend (we made over 17 gallons last Sunday) and I really do need to get my deer stand up.