by Larry Whiteley
Spring Is Almost Here
March days tease us and then remind us that winter is still around but growing weak. Be assured though that spring will win this tug-of-war and it sure is worth waiting for.
I look forward to the first trilling sounds of the spring peeper frog because I know they will be followed by the haunting sound of the whippoorwill, the blooming of the redbuds followed by the flowering dogwoods. My thoughts turn to crappie fishing, finding mushrooms and turkey hunting.
Spring is also a time to do something new, try something different. Learn to cast a fly or tie one. Buy a new rod, different lures or think about new places to fish.
It’s a time to look up some old friend’s like that big smallmouth in his secret hiding place or that huge largemouth that hangs out by the dock. It’s a time to enjoy a white bass run, catch a delicious walleye, go snag a sucker or dip a minnow for a crappie. It’s a time to take a nap by the stream in the warm sun, or roar around the lake looking for new fishing holes and then listen for turkey gobbles as you drift into coves.
If you love the smell of power bait and moonlight reminds you of great fishing trips, if you remember the date and weight of your biggest fish and forget your wife’s birthday, if you hope this is the year the fish will be bigger and more of them but really don’t care, you’re a fisherman and spring is almost here.
An Invaluable Asset
A good fishing partner is an invaluable asset. Study them, watch them carefully and if he is courteous and thoughtful of you they are a rare companion. Show your appreciation by trying to outdo their admirable characteristics.
Turkey Fact
Turkeys are known to exhibit over 20 distinct vocalizations including the distinctive gobble, produced by males, which can be heard a mile away.
Meet a Bird that Goes Fishing
Birds are incredible creatures. Consider the green heron, for example, a small wading bird often seen feeding along the shores of lakes and streams. It commonly drops “bait” such as bread crusts, insects or feathers onto the water’s surface and grabs small fish that come to investigate. And now you know what you might not have known.
Native American Quote
“Whenever, in the course of the daily hunt, the red hunter comes upon a scene that is strikingly beautiful and sublime – a black thunder cloud with the rainbow’s glowing arch above the mountain; a white waterfall in the heart of a green gorge; a vast prairie tinged with the blood-red of sunset – he pauses for an instant in the attitude of worship. He sees no need for setting apart one day in seven as a holy day, since to him all days are God’s.”
– Ohiyesa, Wahpeton Dakota
