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By Louie Stout
If you’re looking for safe ice to fish this weekend, it’s out there.
But man, you gotta be careful.
Reports coming in from area bait and tackle shops indicate several anglers are getting out and catching fish, but not every frozen water you see is safe.
Ice thicknesses range from very little to about 5½ inches. Channels, ponds and protected bays seem to be the safer bets, but everyone is advised to proceed with caution.
“It’s all dependent on the lake,” says Steven Szymczak of Clear Water Tackle in Edwardsburg. “Here’s an example…guys were getting out on Eagle earlier this week but Juno (right next to Eagle) still had open water.”
Pat Hamilton of D&R Sports in Kalamazoo said some of the lakes around his area have 2 to 3 inches, but that’s mostly in the channels and on small, wind protected lakes or bays.
It’s about the same west of Elkhart.
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By Louie Stout
When dealing with hatchery fish, you’re at the mercy of Mother Nature.
A lot of things can go wrong.
Like this year.
The Indiana Fisheries Division learned recently that Wisconsin will not be able to meet the 225,000 king salmon eggs it agreed to provide Hoosiers due to a hatchery issue.
Indiana will get 168,000 instead.
Wisconsin harvested enough green eggs to meet Indiana’s egg request but an unusually low number of viable eggs has resulted in shortages.
Several weeks after fertilization, the eyes of the salmon embryo become visible, signaling the egg is viable. At that point, the eggs are referred to as eyed eggs.
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By Louie Stout
Hunter’s 100-year-old Deer Mount Is One for the Record Books
Back in the early 1990s, Bill Nielsen was looking for some loose antlers that he could use to help rattle in bucks during the mating season.
For those who don’t know, a deer hunter will bang a pair of antlers together to imitate two bucks fighting over territorial rights when there are females around. Such a tactic can call in a big buck that has already claimed that turf.
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By Louie Stout
Leo Economakos with 15 lb. walleye
Leo Economakos is an avid walleye angler.
But like most Michiana fishermen, he just loves to fish. That’s why he was fishing off the St. Joseph, Mich. pier on Lake Michigan two weeks ago. He had time to kill, so he decided to grab his gear, some spawn, and go after winter steelhead.
“I heard some guys were getting some steelhead, so I figured I’d go give it a try,” said the St. Joe retiree.