How about you?

Third time the pond has frozen and thawed now. Temps are staying cold now with 2 to 3 inches of snowpack. Hopefully got another 1/2 to 1 inch last night.

Catching fish but have to keep moving to consistently catch them.

I'd have pics but my replacement camera is not here yet!

One gill over 10 inches and 1 lb. 3 oz. yesterday by a friend fishing of the pier with three others.

Yesterday I averaged a half-inch, with one pond displaying an area of open water. After last night, probably locked up completely, but nowhere near fishable. And from looking at the forecast, it's not going to happen. Probably over for the year down here.

Got out once, which is more than I did last year.

Nothing light snow this morning barely enough to cover the ground..

I could have probably actually made more ice last night if it weren't or the 3 inches of snow, so no snow is not necessarily bad, although it does have the albedo effect of keeping air temps lower during the day. I won't know for sure until I get out there in a few minutes. All errands and other obligations are done for the day so I'll be out there until at least dark.

My two man Genz popup with a lantern fired up inside is so cozy I don't need gloves, and can take my jacket off if I want even with outside temps in the teens right now.

Looking forward to it. No interest in the slightest in the Super Bowl. Good fishing and getting paid for it trumps the Super Bowl any day.

Went to the store yesterday and got a bunch of stuff. Gal asked me if I was prepping for the game. I said nah, you just have a few good sales going on right now.

Never watch football. I only have a few functioning brain cells left

Super Bowl? is that today?? Who's playing? We're talking football, right?

I don't watch any sport that uses any of the following: A ball, club, racquet, bat, or stick. If it involves a steering wheel, there's a chance it might capture my interest, provided there are no turns involved. I hate turns.

As you can probably tell, agonizing over whether or not my team's game will be carried by any of the sports networks I have in my Direct TV channel lineup, doesn't cause me to lose much sleep..

Football is about the only sport I actively follow. Love many of them, but football - particularly the college game - is my true sports love. However, I am with you guys today as to the Not-So-Super Bowl. As a diehard Steelers fan, I have no love for the Baltimore Old Browns. I can't even bring myself to call them by their other name! I simply don't care one way or the other about San Francisco. So, this game is not attractive to me at all and I will engage myself some other way tonight!

Pond will be thawing soon, only 1 below this morning.

Aw, man, you guys have it easy now! Ice out is just around the corner!

Baltimore 17, SF 7. News channel prediction says so.

Winter is over in six weeks, rodent in PA says so.

Steelers were my all time favorite team when I was a kid.

It was cold out there today even in the pop up with a lantern! The air temp wasn't super cold in the teens but the wind was howling. I think I released a half a dozen yellow perch and the same for bluegills with no 10 inch bluegills today. The bite really started to pick up right before dark when the wife came out with the dog rather upset. She said the dog was whining like crazy because she knew I was out ther but couldn't see me. So I took the dog in the pop up with me which she hates. She let me know what she thought of it after I pulled a fish up by shoving slush in the hole with her nose. LOL

The dog was so miserable I had to call it quits. No biggie. After I ship a bunch of frozen bluegills and a replica trout out tomorrow I'll hit the ice again. Something about $40.00 to $100.00 per fish really motivates me.

Methinks the dog is a better trainer of people than the other way around!

I really wish that you'd find that camera!

That's funny Cecil. If the hole were big enough, Luna would be in it!

Thinking about another lab here this year.

You should get another dog Phil. Dogs are good for the soul. It doesn't mean you've forgotten Luna if you get another dog. However you might consider getting a different breed as in rescuing a dog from a shelter. I say that because a fellow taxidermist lost a lab that he was very attached to just like you. He said he got another lab to takes it's place but it wasn't the same. Said the personality was different with different quirks. He said it was a mistake.

A friend of mine that loves dogs like us said it well: It's not that a new dog takes over the place in our heart that was our lost pal. It's that they just take a new place in our heart.

I don't look at it as replacing Luna. Impossible to do!!!

I like Lab's. This dog will have it's own identity and personality. Won't be measured to or compared to Luna. That's just plain wrong!!!

Todd, our buddy here, sent me a story he wrote about Sue, his Lab, and it's a tearjerker!

No dog could ever replace Luna, as she is an individual, just like a new dog could never be replaced, as they also are individuals. Totally Unique!!!

Hey Cecil, how long has the snow pack been on? is it deep enough to kill my Eel grass and cause oxygen depletion and if so, how many days till I need to worry. My level is down to about 8.5' and I'm wondering if I should have the guy caring for my place turn my shallow (3.5')aerator on and for how long. Are ya gonna come down to Fl to visit your folks this yr? Have a good what's left of winter. PS I been talkin with BC about getting some YP shooters. Thought I;d see if you would have any about mis April, I don't want yer scrawny culls ha ha. Bob-O

Bill Cody, glad to recieve your pm but could you comment about my concerns? I think alot of us novices may be wandering about Ox depletion with the snow.

JKB,

Don't know the details about your lab, but I can understand the loss. I had to put down my 13 year old black lab in April '11, then my then 13 year old yellow lab in April '12. I made it 2 1/2 months with no dog in the house after 14 years, then had to get another. I ended up with another black female. She didn't grab my heart right away like I thougt she would, but after a couple months and with her personality developing she now has. It great to have another dog in the house, although my wife would disagree just a little with me on that.

Thanks for sharing your story. Luna has been gone for 22 months now. I had to put her down due to a rare form of cancer that no one knew much about. They didn't even know it was cancer until it was way too late. She just turned 7, which is kinda young. The day after I buried Luna, we found out my Mom had cancer. 7 weeks later, she passed. Doc's thought it was something else, so they were treating her for that. When they found out, it was too late. Pretty crappy spring that year.

Weather is kind of crazy, as usual. I'm not sure how many times our ponds have thawed and frozen since about Thanksgiving.

Last week it hit 73 degrees. It also hit 5 degrees.

It is again snowing. I'm on the "border" where they can't really make a good prediction because of the "upslope." They say we will get somewhere between 1 and 8 inches of snow overnight!

Oh well. We are like "preppers" with a good emergency generator and 500 gallons of propane, lots of fuel for both snow plows, and plenty of everything else we need.

We got probably 2" inside of a little more than an hour and it's still falling at a good pace. Our forecast was 2 - 5, so we're apparently a little more confident than your weather guys!

Bob-O: Your pond conditions should be similar to mine. Had 2"-4" of ice on Saturday Jan 26th then it warmed with rain and ice off and open water Jan 29 - Feb1. Open water was the second time since early Jan. Thawing and open water periods with wind puts lots of DO throughout the pond. Refroze again Feb 3rd. About 3" of snow on the ice tonight. Some light snow tomorrow and I expect the water to seep on top of ice and make slush. I expect open water again within the next 3 weeks so no worry about winter kill.

Didn't find it but got a used replacement of the same exact model today. I'll be using it tomorrow! I've also got a friend coming back out tomorrow.

I didn't icefish today due to needing the vehicle today to ship 6 or 7 boxes of frozen bluegils and a replica rainbow to another taxidermist for a bear mount. That meant I had to drive the wife in to work and pick her up from school, which means by the time we get back it's dark.

Ken here's a possible explanation from the extreme ridges and troughs we've been having in the jetstream, which cause temperature extremes in a short period of time and may even be responsible for the blocking highs and heat we experienced in North American last summer.

Not arguing whether this is true. Just a possible explanation.

http://www.climatecentral.org/news/arctic-warming-is-altering-weather-patterns-study-shows

Bob,

Bill said exactly what I would have said. As far as perch I don't have extras this year due to using one of he hatching ponds for smallmouth bass.

Cecil, "As far as perch I don't have extras this yr due to you callin my culls scrawny" probably is more accurate. Seriuosly, I still want to come over and see your RAS set up and maybe I can talk BC into coming. A long time ago you said someone should raise Talapia over the winter and I'm considering doing so (with a little help from my friends). Seems like I read they were getting a buck an inch for em.

Bob,

I'm not sure what you're getting at but I can be slow at times. Most of the culls I have are males that are inferior to the females in growth or size. I typically eat them or give them away saving a few for brood stock.

Come over anytime. Just call ahead to be sure I'm not out running errands.

If you're interested I will be doing a couple of presentations on small scale aquaculture at our Indiana aquaculture conference in Shipshewana March 2nd in the Amish Country Inn. I'll have an RAS setup just like Steven VanGorder's in his book Small Scale Aquaculture and my version that has a center drain and biofilter in a 55 gallon drum that ia easier to build than the RBC and the materials are cheaper. Cost to attend for the entire day with free lunch is only $10.00.

Cecil, just teasin a bit. I wish I could attend your seminar but will be in Fl till April.Thanks for the invite tho.

I figured you were but wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything.

You'll have to come out when you get back or when I get the aquaponics set up started next to the raised garden -- probably in May.

Just got a 5 foot diameter circular tank for under $100.00 from Assman corporation in Garrett. They make water storage tanks and if they have one that hasn't been picked up or is slightly flawed they will cut it down to whatever height I want. It's my second tank from them and they even gave me another one for free. The guy you want to talk to is Michael Gamble. I went to school with his dad.

Hey, great tip. May for a road trip to your place sounds good. Trouble now is I'll be impatient to get going on it there a bunch of variables I'll have to figure out. Nothin like over thinkin a plan that will be fun. Thanks again for being so helpfull and sharing your time and knowledge. Bob-O

No problem Bob.

BTW I found the camera. Now we have two! LOL It was in plain site on the island in the kitchen next to some clutter!

Maybe some eye wear is due?

Heavy Wet and relentless Lake Effect snow has been hammering us since noon today. Got sucked into a ditch today and did some 4 wheeling

I do that all the time.

Nope i can see just fine -- with my glasses.

It's raining here again as I type this but it will be in the teens tomorrow night. Got to love the ridges and troughs our jet stream is snaking up and down with these days. I just hope we break out of the drought mode -- especially this summer.

Cecil:

Look at the bright side. Now you'll have a camera for you to use when your wife goes on a trip or on a vacation. Glad that you found it.

That is true and I thought of that.

So THAT'S why the camera got "lost".

No. I missed some really good pictures. I wouldn't do that on purpose.