RUSHING THE SEASON

ICE FISHERMEN ON CHEQUAMEGON BAY AT ASHLAND

Saturday, 8:15 AM.  9 degrees F at the ferry dock, 7 on the back porch.  Wind N, mostly calm with light to moderate gusts.  The sky is cloudy and light snow has been falling after 4" to 5" of new snow fell last night.  The humidity is 87%, the barometer 30.0" and rising.  The week ahead is predicted to be cloudy and somewhat warmer, with little or no snow (thank you very much!). 

   We ate Friday fish fry yesterday evening at Checkers, a nice little family restaurant in Washburn.  They had bluegills on the menu, which is unusual, maybe unprecidented.  I asked if they were fresh and the answer was yes, from a local source, and we tried them. I don't believe I have eaten bluegills since I was a kid.   It sure brought back pleasant memories of fishing with Dad and of Mom cooking; nothing better than bluegills pan fried in butter (the fish fry was breaded and deep fried, also very good).

   We were in Ashland yesterday, and spotted ice fishermen far out on lower Chequamegon Bay.  I didn't have field glasses along so couldn't tell whether the two objects in the photo were tents or a tent and a snowmobile, or whatever, but it certainly would have been a long walk out there.  

   The Bay has had ice for only a few days, and that covered with new snow, so I can't see how it would hold a snowmobile.  In any case I think it is rushing the season.  The worst recent spate of deaths that I remember on the Big Lake in our area was January, 2013, when there were three consecutive deaths in the South Channel, between Long Island and Madeline Island.  Those were snowmobiles going through the channel ice, which is unpredictable and often unsafe, due to swift currents.  

   Looks to me like they're rushing the season, but what do I know.