Woods & Water by Dick Herfindahl

 

Spring has sprung! The weather has finally turned to more spring-like temperatures and it seems that everyone has a little extra spring in their step these days.

I have noticed something a little peculiar the past few days. Once the snow melted and the weather turned the corner, the birds frequenting my feeders have all but vanished. The black birds have returned like every other spring, but even they are not as numerous as in past years.

Each spring I am inclined to write a little plea to pet owners urging them to keep their furry felines indoors for a few weeks. This is the time of year the birds are having their little ones and those birds are easy prey for a cat on the prowl. I have already chased one cat away from my yard this spring and I fear there will be others. Keeping Fluffy inside for a few weeks will at least give the birds a little more of an even chance. A couple years back, I found a dead red headed woodpecker in my yard and I knew at once the culprit was one of the neighbor cats. Cats don’t kill these birds for food, it’s just what they do.

Now that the weather has finally changed for the good, I am getting that itch to wet a line. The ice seems to be going out fairly fast on area lakes and that is an encouraging sign. I plan on taking a trip north soon to check on the cabin and hopefully not have to cut or move any fallen trees. I will take a chainsaw along this year so I don’t have a repeat of last year. Cutting trees up with just an axe and a hand saw was a lot of work. Playing lumberjack just doesn’t seem to be as appealing as it did 20 years ago. It seems every time I take the chainsaw there are no trees down, so I will definitely be taking it with.

With all of the snow and lingering wintry weather we’d been experiencing, I just had no incentive to inventory my tackle boxes nor put new line on my fishing reels. I now have the urge to spring into action, although at my age I am not sure I am all that springy. I guess I will have to settle for a slow, even pace instead.

The northern ducks have been frequenting our area for some time, along with the pelicans and other fowl that send the signal summer is finally on its way.

While tossing around the word “northern,” I want to weigh in on the reasoning behind the new pike regulations. In each case the reasoning makes total sense. I do enjoy a meal or two of pike when I am at the cabin, so following the new regulations will still give me enough meat for a good meal. Nothing beats a meal of fish fresh out of the lake and into the pan.

The following are the new pike regulations for each zone:

North-central zone

The north-central zone is the largest of the three zones, and here the possession limit is 10 northern pike, but only two can be longer than 26 inches; and all from 22 to 26 inches must be released.

Through anglers keeping small fish but protecting the 22 to 26-inch pike, the objective in the north-central zone is to both reduce the abundance of small pike and allow medium size pike to grow larger.

Southern zone

In the southern zone, where reproduction is limited, the regulation intends to increase pike abundance while also improving the size of fish harvested.

Anglers in the southern zone can keep two fish, but the minimum size is 24 inches.

Northeastern zone

In the northeastern zone pike reproduction is good, but these lakes do not have the high density problems of the north-central zone since they still have a nice balance of medium to large pike. Here, it makes sense to provide protection for large pike while they still exist.

In the northeastern zone, anglers can keep two pike but must release all from 30 to 40 inches, with only one over 40 inches allowed in possession.

Until next time, we are now only two weeks away from the opener, so check your tackle boxes, reline your reels and sharpen your hooks, because the bewitching hour is almost upon us.

Please take some time to honor those who have sacrificed so for the freedoms we enjoy today. Also, take some time to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice, those who served and those troops serving today.