Bummer. Winter has barely begun and already I miss those open water bass fishing forays of the past season. Reluctantly, I've stashed rods, reels and related gear until, "Ice Out," again signals my return to favorite angling haunts around Thompson Lake. Just taking a final head count of old battered and paint starved lures that include a Crazy Crawler, Hulla Popper, Pikey Minnow and Zara Spook, sparked nostalgia that lingered long after the lid snapped shut on my tackle box. Sportfishing is my magnificant obsession, bass fishing in particular. Rarely a day goes by that I don't give some thought to getting back on the water to catch 'em and release 'en.
Most of my fishing buddies, tend to mark time when winter bites in earnest and their world becomes locked in ice. Granted, there is that rugged breed of anglers who can enjoy their sport in a blizzard, as long as they can clear a spot on the ice to chip holes and set their traps. Just add a portable shack complete with a small stove to make coffee, heat a can of beans and cook those tasty red hot dogs...and they are good to go.
For fair weather fishermen, coping with bleak winter weather means being snug in a comfortable chair in front of a warm TV set with a cool brew in one hand and a bowl of barbecue chips within easy reach of the other. Thoughts of sassy brook trout, smallmouth bass and marauding pickerel are tuned out by the sights and sounds from the beguiling magic box. Please, pass the chips...