The winter moves on and still there is just a slight threat of snow and for the most part, the temperatures are still fairly mild. I know this is not earth shaking news or anything that we don’t already know.

I guess my point is, that I would like to see just a little resemblance of an old-fashioned Minnesota winter. Now I don’t like snow and cold any better than the next guy and if we get a storm in the next couple of days I will probably hear about it, but sometimes it is necessary for our natural resources. Farmers need ground moisture for planting and a little snow would surely help with the lake levels.

With the unstable temperatures we have been having there are more and more reports of people falling through the ice. I am glad to see that none of our area people have been driving on the lakes with their vehicles.

When I was a teenager of about 16 or 17, myself and some of my friends would take a Sunday or maybe a school holiday and do a little tobogganing.

Now that in itself was fun, but of course there was more to it. There were usually about four or five of us teenage geniuses that would come up with our own brand of fun. All it involved was about 50 foot of good barn rope, a toboggan and four or five extremely intelligent teenagers to execute the plan.

We would find a gravel road that was snow-packed and hook the rope on the bumper of the vehicle and the other end to the toboggan. We would then have one, two or three on the toboggan and two in the vehicle. It usually went pretty well unless you got too far into the ditch with the toboggan and hit an in-drive. Then you would usually fly up and off the sled. I guess it was kind of like water skiing, but when you fell of it wasn’t quite as soft.

There were a couple of times when I put a few chips in my old toboggan, not to mention my body.

We may have been original, but this plan would never be listed under creative genius. To say there was an element of danger involved would be an understatement. To say we, in our own (genius) minds, were actually aware of it, would be a lie.

We somehow survived some of the dumber things we did as teenagers and, hopefully, learned from them.

Probably one of the smarter things we did happened on a winter night when we were about 16. We were out in the country pulling the toboggan and decided it was time to quit. One of the guys was going out with a girl that lived a short distance from where we were. My friend Pat had borrowed his dad’s Jeep Wagoneer and it had a spotlight on it. We decided it would be really neat to drive into her farmyard and shine the light on her bedroom window.

As we shined the light on the house, we knew right away it wasn’t her bedroom window we were shining. Her dad shot downstairs and out of the house like Super Man on a mission.

We shot out of the driveway and turned down a side road and just then Pat, using all his 16 years of wisdom, turned the headlights off but kept driving. I had a funny feeling about that, but to say I was smart enough to say anything would be a lie. The next thing we knew we were rolling upside down in the ditch. Luckily we were not going very fast and none of us were hurt. My Buddy Holly looking glasses were in two pieces, and I had a lump on my head. Pat had a grip on the wheel and his foot on the gas was buried to the floor, the motor roaring like it was about to blow.

Unfortunately, we were upside down and the tires were spinning in nothing but air.

The next move, after convincing Pat that the vehicle wasn’t about to move from its present position, was to find a farmer with a tractor that would pull us out. We finally accomplished this and the Jeep was actually still drivable.

We drove back to town and parked it in the garage at my dad’s gas station. The next day we had a meeting of the minds at the station and there were four guys trying to kick the roof back up to normal height. Needless to say that was a bad plan and we finally resigned ourselves to the fact that our good friend Pat would have to face the consequences when his mom and dad returned home from their trip.

We also did have some less dangerous fun when we went on skating or tobogganing parties (on an actual hill). We spent a lot of time on the pond that used to be on Bridge Street about where the Sunshine Pre-school was.

After an evening of tobogganing or skating, the night would usually end at home with a steamy cup of hot chocolate topped with marshmallows. Somehow that always seemed a lot better than getting a car towed out of a ditch in the middle of the night.

Statewide fishing report:

BRAINERD/NISSWA: Gull Lake and North Long Lake are producing quite a few walleyes in 18 to 26 feet of water. Shiner minnows seem to be attracting the majority of fish right now. Sucker minnows are producing northern pike on most area lakes in 10 to 18 feet of water. Look for sunfish and crappies on most smaller lakes in this area over 10 to 28 feet.

CASS LAKE:The flats of Pike Bay Lake are giving up numbers of jumbo perch in six to 12 feet of water. Find an area with some vegetation and you’ll find better concentrations of larger perch. The sharp breaks near Tom’s Bar, Buck Bar, and Stoney Point on Cass Lake are producing walleyes early and late in the day. LeRoy’s Bar on Pike Bay has kicked out quite a few walleyes as well. Northern pike action is very strong on Wolf Lake, Lake Andrusia, and Pike Bay.

LAKE MILLE LACS:East &045; The bays remain your best bet for a few nice perch in 18 to 22 feet of water. The shoreline structure, deep gravel, and main lake flats are starting to produce a few more walleyes as well. The best bite has been late in the day and after dark for better numbers of fish. Colored-glow jigging spoons or glow hooks under bobbers are turning the majority of fish right now. West &045; The tops and edges of most mud flats are turning out a few fish in 22 to 24 feet of water. Look to Seguchie Flat and the Banana Flat to provide a few more fish. Snowmobiles and ATVs are being used to reach the flats farther out in the lake. The bays are kicking out a few walleyes early and late in the day, but the midday bite has been slow. There are enough good-sized perch biting in the bays worth noting as well. The majority of these fish are hitting in 22 to 25 feet of water.

LEECH LAKE:The Walker Bay humps are producing walleyes during the evening hours in 20 to 40 feet of water. Most anglers are finding 14- to 17-inch fish to be most common. The shallow water off Sand Point seems to be holding quite a few walleyes as well. The perch bite has remained consistent in eight to 11 feet of water off Pine Point and Sand Point. Expect numbers of fish here, but you’ll have to do some sorting.

PERHAM AREA:Fatheads and shiner minnows are producing walleyes in 12 to 20 feet of water on Otter Tail Lake, Rush Lake, Little Pine Lake, and Big Pine Lake. Little Detroit Lake, Star Lake, and Dead Lake still are giving up sunfish and crappies in 12 feet of water. Northern pike actively are feeding along the shallow weeds of most area lakes.

LAKE WACONIA: You’ll find numbers of panfish and northern pike near the milfoil edges in 12 to 14 feet of water in Waconia Bay and near Harm’s Point. The best walleye reports are coming from 16 to 20 feet of water near Center Reef, Cemetery Reef, and Anderson Reef. The evening bite has been best with shiner minnows.

WILLMAR:Green Lake is producing walleyes in 19 to 25 feet of water. Look to Diamond Lake for a few walleyes in 15 to 20 feet of water. On Lake Florida, you’ll find active walleyes along the 15- foot weed edges. Shiner minnows and setlines are turning the majority of fish right now. Norway Lake continues to kick out crappies in eight to 15 feet of water. Sunfish reports have been limited, but look to Monson Lake and Lake Calhoun for better numbers of fish.