
I never thought I’d see the day when there would be anglers fishing from their boats, but it happened Friday Dec. 29. The three vehicles and boat trailers were parked in the Hwy. 55 access and I couldn’t see the angers, but I assumed they were in deeper water, hopefully behind a point and out of the wind. I think the high that day was 40 degrees. Anyway they’ll have some stories to tell their grandchildren! Remember the brown Christmas in ‘23 etc.!
There were four or five fish houses on Buffalo Lake’s southern shore earlier in the week and one on Maple Lake out from the Hwy. 55 swimming beach, but they all had been pulled off by Wednesday, Dec. 27, I think, when the warm weather took out most of the ice. The swans seemed to enjoy the open water, but it’s a bummer for anglers who have to wait for a solid footing on their favorite lake. My brother Charles said he hasn’t been out on Rush Lake yet, but a nephew, Steve and his son Joel, had given Rush a try on Christmas, fishing on the east end. He also said what ice they had, is pretty much disappeared as have the anglers when it rained. He said most of Ottertail Lake was wide open too. 122 anglers were rescued on Upper Red Lake Friday when the ice broke away from the shore.
Beltrami County is restricting access to parts of Upper Red Lake beginning at sunset Saturday.
Motorized vehicles, including snowmobiles and ATVS, are prohibited from going on the ice. Violating the restriction is a misdemeanor and could result in a fine, Beltrami County Sheriff Jason Riggs said in a Saturday press release.
This warm weather is not what the bait dealers wanted for this time of the year when they are usually very busy. And I would guess that goes for any business that needs snow to keep them in business. The ski resorts are suffering to, but they should bounce back when it snows or it gets cold enough for them to make snow.
Maybe the old saying “What is good for the goose isn’t always good for the gander!” That may take some imagination but the internet suggests it means, “A goose and a gander are the same species, but one is male and one is female. The saying is reminding people that both partners in a marriage need to play by the same rules.” It may have something to do with our warm weather, if you let your imagination be part of it.