WHEN NATURE CALLS : Continuing cold weather gives angler bad case of cabin fever
Posted on Sunday, February 24, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/Sports/62548/
Idon’t know about you guys, but the cloak of cabin fever has enveloped me like the black of a moonless night. Unfortunately, the immediate prognosis looks grim as Mother Nature continues with her unfunny sense of humor. It’s a pitiful thing to see, an outdoorsman’s nose fogging up an icy window instead of smelling fumes from a firedup outboard motor.
Usually, when February fades into March, I’ve already notched a fishing trip or two but not this year. And I’m probably not alone. Seemingly constant cold fronts with ice or frigid rains keep most boats in the garage and most anglers on the inside looking out.
Water temps that should be nearing 50 are struggling to get past the 40-degree mark. Add cold, muddy inflows and you have the perfect situation for staying home to work on that stew or chili recipe. Knitting, anyone ?
Really, where’s the love from Mother Nature ? Maybe it’s La Nina. Maybe it’s El Nino. Or hey, everything else is blamed on global warming so maybe that’s the reason for our sorry weather. Regardless of the cause, I’m ready for a belch of warm air to ride in on southerly winds and kick start fish and fishermen alike.
I sashayed into the garage the other day with bare feet and the ice-cold concrete hastened my return trip to the kitchen. Put simply, my garage is like an icebox so I don’t feel a great sense of urgency to do my usual tinkering and piddling with my fishing stuff.
While the shape of my boat and fishing equipment may confuse the state of my preparedness, I am so ready to go. I’m so ready to shake off the fever and grip my boat’s steering wheel and feel the early-morning mist on my face. I’m so ready to pop a jaw knot on a big ol’ bass. I’m so ready to fill the livewell with slab crappie. I’m so ready to chase white bass and walleye. I’m so ready to get out of this house !
Now, if it’d just get warm enough to open the garage door. That’d be a start.
• • • Aldo Leopold was one of our nation’s first conservationists and he loved the outdoors and the natural world around us. He also loved to write and even though Leopold died way back in 1948, his work lives on. On Saturday, March 1, the Rogers Public Library hosts the “ Rogers Reads Leopold” and both the public and area personalities will be able to participate. Selected folks will read essays from Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac, published a year after his death. Festivities go from 9 a. m. to 5 p. m. A variety of activities for the kids are planned from 10 a. m. to 3 p. m.
• • • With bow season closing Friday, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission reminds qualifying hunters to apply for the Triple Trophy Award by the April 10 deadline. Started in the mid-80 s to promote primitive weapons, the award honors the hunters good - or lucky - enough to take at least one deer by three legal hunting methods: modern gun, muzzleloader, archery. Of course, taking three deer in one season by any method isn’t easy and, well, it’s not supposed to be. Have I ever sniffed a certificate for the Triple Trophy ? Ha ! In the words of John Wayne from the film, “ The Searchers, ” “ That’ll be the day. ”
• • • Despite the weather, fishing and boating season is right around the corner and now is the time to get that boating education certificate from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. If you were born on or after Jan. 1, 1986, passing this class is required to operate a motorboat.
Washington County has many classes available in the coming months. Registration isn’t required and all classes will be held at the sheriff’s office at 1155 Clydesdale Drive in Fayetteville. Interested parties need to sign in at 7: 30 a. m. and the course ends at 3 p. m. Class dates (all on Saturday ): March 8, 22. April 5, 19. May 3, 17. June 7.
Bobby Hill is the outdoors columnist for the Times and lives in Fayetteville.