Still searching....

For spring that is. Talk about some crazy weather... on Sunday April 10th here in Granger we hit a high of 82 degrees. One week later, we had minor snow flurries. C'MON!! Unfortunately, this crazy temperature pattern held true in Ontario also, with the last week reverting to daytime highs in the 30's and 40's and overnight lows in the teens. Yeah, I know thats MAKING ice, not MELTING ice. Now the good news is that rain and warmer temps are in the forecast again for this week which will help to get things going again.

Most reports I have from the area are indicating anywhere from 16-24 inches of ice on area lakes and still tight to the shore on the bigger waters. Fortunately, most accounts are also reporting that very little of the remaining ice is "good" ice with lots of slushy layers between. So once things get moving it should (with just a little help from Mother Nature) go pretty fast.

UPDATE: Village Corner

Many of you have asked in emails, phone calls or by other means about the status of the Village Corner (gas station, restaurant and tackle store) located at the junction of Hwys 17 and 105 in Vermilion Bay. There has been no progress made to date in starting any rebuilding and so the likelihood of any reopening for the 2011 season appears slim. Bobby's Corner to the west about a mile is still open for gas, phones, tackle or other last minute supplies if necessary, as of course will be Dutchie's General Store right there in Perrault Falls. Some cell service is available in Vermilion Bay as well, depending upon who your carrier is. If you are calling by cell to arrange pickup at the landing, I would strongly suggest pulling off the highway right in Vermilion Bay to place that call as the reception can get pretty sketchy as soon as you have headed north on Hwy 105.

On a final note and as evidence that spring (despite many outward appearances) is HONESTLY getting here, I have one more local fishing story to share. A friend of mine back from the days of my involvment in the Michiana Steelheader's called me last week to see if I was available for some bluegill fishing. We had actually tried this once before about two weeks prior with little success and left the lake with a consensus opinion that "spring isn't here yet". Well on Thursday, April 14th we decided to try it again. This time with much better success as we caught about 75 bluegill on the day, culling through about 25 of the smaller ones, to keep a two man Michigan limit of 50 fish mostly in the 7-9 inch range. What a treat it was to have fresh bluegill for dinner on Friday night! After not getting in any ice fishing this year, those bluegill fillets sure didn't last long on our table with Milissa and the girls chowing down like it was their last meal (and I guess I probably ate a couple of pieces myself)! May just have to try that again one more time before heading north!

Just a few of our 50 fish limit...gosh were they good!

Until next time--keep thinking Spring and some excellent fishing on the cool, clear waters of Wabaskang Lake.