Ice-fishing opportunities fast melting away

1/15/2002

Ice fishing opportunities in the region are all but gone with the wind - unless a polar cold spell settles in - and soon.

The Ohio Division of Wildlife has closed its popular Lake LaSuAn chain of lakes in Williams County because of unsafe ice conditions brought on by the recent thaw. Other ponds and upground impoundments in the region also are unsafe for ice fishing, said Larry Goedde, supervisor of fish management for Ohio Wildlife District 2.

The relatively mild weather and strong winds also have eliminated ice that was setting up on western Lake Erie, especially around the Bass Islands. Ice guide Pat Chrysler was out yesterday looking for walleye, but he was aboard his fishing boat.

Even well north at Mitchell's Bay, Ont., on Lake St. Clair, the only way to get around is by airboat, said Cathy Shaw at Bass Haven there. Last week some “walking ice” was available for anglers.

In southeast Michigan's Irish Hills, ice on most lakes also is questionable, though a few anglers tried fishing over the weekend, according to Three Lakes Supply at Brooklyn, Mich.

  • A series of workshops for bald-eagle nest-watchers has been set by the state's Crane Creek Wildlife Research Station in Ottawa County to train volunteers for the upcoming nesting season. The schedule follows:

  • Saturday , 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., conference room, Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station, State Rt. 2, Oak Harbor. Participants must register in advance by calling Crane Creek, 419-898-0960, extension 25.

  • Jan. 24, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Mosquito Creek State Wildlife Area, Trumbull County, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., call Tom Henry, 330-644-2293 at Ohio Wildlife District 3, Akron.

  • Jan 26, Killdeer Plains State Wildlife Area, Wyandot County, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., call Crane Creek.

    Ohio record fish website - Anglers interested in learning more about the official Ohio record fish program maintained by the Outdoor Writers of Ohio can find details on the Internet at www.outdoorwritersofohio.com.

    DATEBOOK

    Tomorrow Program on bald eagles, 6 p.m., Sandusky County Park District headquarters, Countryside Drive off U.S. 20 bypass, Fremont, call 419-334-4495 or 1-888-200-5577; also, Monday, program on winter “weeds,” noon to 2 p.m., log cabin at White Star Park, off County Road 65 east of State Rt. 300, Gibsonburg.

    Tomorrow - Erie Shores Birding Association, 7:30 p.m., Room 201 Life Sciences Building, Monroe County Community College, 1555 South Raisin Rd.; program by Dave Brakhage, regional biological supervisor, Ducks Unlimited, on DU's conservation program in Michigan; call Eugene Naujock, 419-269-0608.

    Tomorrow through Sunday -Chicagoland Fishing, Hunting, Travel, & Outdoors Show, Stephens Convention Center, Rosemont, Ill., near Chicago O'Hare International Airport; call 1-800-511-8376 or visit www.chicagolandsportshow.com/chicago.

    Tomorrow - Workshop on conservation easements on the Sandusky River and tributary watersheds, 2 to 5 p.m., Holiday Inn, State Rt. 53 at Ohio Turnpike Exit 6/92, Fremont, sponsored by Black Swamp Conservancy, Perrysburg, presentation by Jill Clark, American Farmland Trust, call BSC, 419-872-5263; also, Thursday, workshop on Clean Ohio agricultural easement purchase program, 2 to 5 p.m. for community leaders and organization professionals, 7 to 9 p.m. for farmland owners, Northwest Ohio District Cooperative Extension Service office, Findlay, co-hosted by the Black Swamp Conservancy; call Vicki Garrett, Ohio Department of Agriculture, 614-728-6211, for daytime workshop reservations.

    Thursday - Winter bird walk, 9 to 10:30 a.m., Oak Openings Preserve Metropark, Buehner Center; also, Thursday, Friends of Secor, 6:30 to 9 p.m., Secor Metropark Nature Discovery Center, Secor Room, program on the history of the park; call for reservations, 419-535-3058 extension 143; also, Saturday, volunteers to help restore Girdham Road sand dunes, 10 a.m. to noon, Oak Openings, Buehner Center, call for reservations, 419-535-3058 extension 101; also, Saturday, backyard bird program, 1 p.m., Wildwood Preserve Metropark, Metroparks Hall; also, Saturday, family program, fireside storytelling, 2 p.m., Pearson Metropark, Packer-Hammersmith Center.

    Thursday - Public trapshoot, 6 to 9 p.m., Ottawa County Conservation League, Martin-Moline Road, Martin, call Rick Temple, 419-666-1399.

    Thursday - Trapshoot, 6 p.m., Sandusky County Sportsmen's Club, State Rt. 600 east of Gibsonburg.

    Thursday - Trap and skeet shooting, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monroe Rod and Gun Club, 6280 Lighthouse Rd., Monroe, Mich., call Jim Warren, 734-243-9774.

    Friday and Monday - Public trapshoots, 6:30 p.m., Wolf Creek Sportsmen's Association, 349 Teachout Rd., north of State Rt. 2, Curtice; call Frank Schaffer, 419-691-2769.

    Friday - Public discussion of proposed drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, 3 to 5 p.m., 101 Olscamp Hall, Bowling Green State University, sponsored by the Canadian Studies Center, Environmental Action Group, and Environmental Programs, and Government of Canada; call 419-372-2457.

    Friday through Monday - Upper Michigan field trip for wintering hawks, owls, finches, and waterfowl, Black Swamp Bird Observatory, call Tom Bartlett, 419-447-0005.

    Friday through Jan. 27 - 45th Cleveland Mid-America Sail & Power Boat Show, I-X Center next to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport; call Shawn Fergus, 440-899-5009 extension 15, or Lake Erie Marine Trades Association, 216-621-3618, or visit BOATOhio.com.

    Saturday - Annual winter hike, Hocking Hills State Park, 9 a.m., Old Man's Cave parking lot; six-mile trail; prehike activities Friday, 7 p.m., Hocking Hills State Park dining lodge; park is on State Rt. 664 off U.S. 33, 12 miles southwest of Logan in Hocking County; call the park, 740-385-6841.

    Saturday - Open house for prospective student volunteers, Van Buren State Park nature center, 1 to 4 p.m., State Rt. 613 east of I-75, Van Buren, north of Findlay; call Ron Bowerman, 419-299-3807.

    Saturday - Volunteers to collect and burn brush from restoration projects, 10 a.m., Kitty Todd Preserve, 10420 Old State Line Rd.; call The Nature Conservancy, 419-867-1521.

    Saturday - Toledo Naturalists' Association, 7:30 p.m.,. The Andersons' activity center, 1833 South Holland-Sylvania Rd., program by Terry Seidel, The Nature Conservancy, on conserving the Oak Openings region.

    Saturday and Sunday - Maumee Valley Gun Collectors Association, Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Woodland Exhibition Center, Woodland Mall, State Rt. 25, north side of Bowling Green; call MVGCA, 419-893-1110.

    Sunday - Maumee Bay Carvers, 6 p.m., Oregon Fire Hall No. 1, Wynn and Seaman roads; new program for novice carvers, carving and painting a drake bufflehead duck; call Jim Manning, 419-698-8612.

    Sunday - SKS, AK, and M-1 Carbine Shoot, noon practice, shoot at 1 p.m., Sandusky County Sportsmen's Club range, State Rt. 600 east of Gibsonburg; call Bob Caswall, 419-862-2861

    Steve Pollick is The Blade's outdoor writer. E-mail him at spollick@theblade.com.