By Harold Brutlag
Punxsutawney Phil didn’t see his shadow in a ceremony Friday morning, Feb. 2 at Gobbler’s Knob in Pennsylvania. Per tradition, that means he’s predicting an early spring! I think he might be right if the mild winter is any indication of spring! Those of us in the midwest would refer to the animal as a Groundhog!
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On County road 12, north to Buffalo from Montrose last Thursday I was surprised to see the Buffalo Lake lake access nearly filled with vehicles about 4:30 p.m. It was obvious they were winter anglers fishing on the south end of lake, apparently a hot spot for crappies… The only other lake that was mentioned Monday at Cenex was French Lake which was producing large bass and sunfish. Steve Loch said the largest bass they caught was 19 inches and the bite wasn’t fast, but could be termed as steady, as they fished in about 20 feet of water. He said the sunfish bite was good, but you needed to keep the jig moving. He had his camera near the bottom and said the sunfish were curious. Activity on Maple Lake off Hwy. 55 has tapered off, with most of the fishing on East Maple… I visited with Mike Muller, who is wintering in Florida as he does each year. He had been out fishing and he and his guide caught 15 crappies to make the trip worth-while and interesting. He hopes to go again soon.