Gone Fishing: Harsh winter brings lake temps lower, although not for lengthy - WBEZ

Dr. Philip Willink stands in the shoreline of Chicago’s 63rd Street Beach, searching onto Lake Michigan.

“So exactly what do the thing is whenever you consider the lake?”

He asks this of anybody who joins him on his frequent outings towards the shoreline. Willink is really a senior research biologist in the Shedd Aquarium, and thus he frequently visits the shoreline to evaluate the healthiness of the river.

“Something I love to do is whenever I am going out, I attempt to complete as numerous things at the same time: monitoring invasive species, searching for endangered species and merely kind of assessing the city around the Chicago Lakefront,” Willink stated.

And in the surface, it’s impossible to determine everything. Based on Willink, at a place, there might be hundreds of 1000's of seafood swimming around: Just a little-known fact for a lot of local swimmers. Another example: Willink stated you will find likely quadrillions of invasive zebra mussels and quagga mussels in Lake Michigan.

Frequency higher their dead shells crunch while you walk across the shoreline.

This season, Willink stated, he’s happened on the couple of species he isn’t as accustomed to seeing, like Coho fish, perch and bloaters—all seafood that favor cooler, much deeper waters.

“When the bloater turned up it had been like ‘oh, okay, something's really happening,’ since i think previously ten years, I’ve only caught another bloater inside a internet,” Willink stated. “So catching one half-dozen of these really resulted in different things happening.Inches

Normally, temps in Lake Michigan this summer time happen to be chilly than usual. Based on data in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, surface temps happen to be a couple of.75 levels Celsius substandard. The managers of the data believe that’s likely due to all of the ice cover that arrived last winter. The Truly Amazing Ponds were a minimum of 90 % ice covered last winter, which hasn’t happened since 1994.

Willink stated everything cooler water urged seafood that always stay deep, deep-down within the lake to go swimming to the surface.

“Everybody think it is a harsh winter, and we’d have less seafood. I’ve really found more this season,Inches Willink stated. “It might actually be exceptional Ponds seafood like harsh winters, because in the end, which was an infinitely more typical winter.

However, many other anglers aren’t so certain of that connection.

Captain Ron Bentley has Windy City Fish Fishing Charters. He uses groups fishing off Waukegan Harbor in Lake Michigan, so thriving seafood alllow for better business. And that he stated this spring, the Coho fish fishing was the very best he’s seen.

“It was excellent. Lots of occasions in April, we’re awaiting Coho to obtain here. They sometimes mass in schools in route extreme south finish from the lake,” Bentley stated. “But we'd them right at the outset of April whenever we began fishing.”

Bentley stated he takes note of all of the ice cover. It covered the harbor until April tenth, that they stated is unusual. But he is not convinced the 2 situations are related.

“You must have a number of individuals winters consecutively, so we really haven’t were built with a winter like this shortly,Inches he stated. “So whether or not this was because of the wintertime, we’ll need to see about this.Inches

According to Marc Gaden from the Great Ponds Fishery Commission, Captain Ron Bentley might not can make that assessment. Gaden done 2010 national global warming report and that he stated all of the research points within the other direction from the thermometer.

“The downward trend is very unshakable because the seventies. And thus we’ll see less and less winters where we’ll obtain that tremendous amount of ice cover within the Great Ponds basin, that’s obvious in the trends. And also the types of global warming situations suggest it is not likely to change,” Gaden stated.

As well as in the decades in the future, Gaden stated that may, among a number of other things, result in the ponds “quite a welcoming spot to a few of the invasive species that we’re very worried about like Asian Carp.” Based on Gaden, that warmer water may also result in an growth of species like ocean lamprey, quagga and zebra mussels which are already within the lake.

Back at 63rd Street Beach, Willink stated on one side, sometimes people often forget the Great Ponds will always be altering plus they probably always will be: Seafood, creatures and plants have made it both warm and cold years before. And, he adds, it's difficult to fully realize how one pattern will modify the ecosystem long-term.

Consider it has been an unparalleled rate of change, the way the seafood will respond is definitely an open question.

Lauren Chooljian is really a WBEZ reporter. Follow her at @laurenchooljian

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Adjusting to a winter bite, Part 2

As I recall, when I stopped writing last Tuesday, we were talking about slowing down and fishing with the same Luck “E” Strike baits on the second day. That was the core of how things were. There’s no doubt in my mind that was the biggest thing I changed. But I also did something else different that helped a bunch. I expanded by areas.

It was bitter cold both days, at least as far as I was concerned. It didn’t seem like there was much of a reason for the bass to move or go anywhere else. I really didn’t see any significant changes in the lake. Nevertheless, I discovered something interesting. The fish did move, just not very far.

I expanded some of my spots by about 100 yards overall. That’s not much in a lake as big as Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees but it seemed like it helped me put fish in the boat. My observation is that with relatively stable weather conditions winter bass will still move from day to day. If I fish in those conditions again, I’ll make sure I keep that lesson in mind.

I have no idea why they do that but I suspect it has something to do with their feeding cycles or the forage. It’s cold and they’re lethargic but they still have to eat. In February, in that cold, nothing else makes any sense to me.

The biggest thing I learned, though, was about myself as an angler. I have to keep my emotions under control. It didn’t matter to the fish that I was the 2012 Bassmaster Classic champion. They could have cared less. All that mattered to them was how fast my baits were moving.

I played into that on the second day and ended up with a sack that weighed over 18 pounds. My first bass was in the livewell early and she weighed about 5 pounds. In short order, I had two more 4-pound beauties with her.

When I tried to force the fish to do it my way, instead of my doing it their way, I blanked. The problem was my presentation, not my lure and certainly not where I was fishing.  

As I look back on things, I have to say that for a guy who lives in a neighborhood where we worry more about sunburn than frostbite it was a real eye opener. Bass might be bass, but cold water bass don’t act like warm water bass.

That may sound obvious, but it’s something I needed to learn in the real world. It was important that I see it for myself. It’s one thing to know that in your head. It’s another to experience it on the water. The water lesson stays with you longer.

I just wish I hadn’t learned it the hard way. I hope someone out there can learn a little something from my mistakes and from my successes in Oklahoma. If so, it’ll make your winter bassing one heck of a lot more productive.

Chris Lane’s column appears weekly on Bassmaster.com. You can also find him on Twitter and Facebook or visit his website, www.chrislanefishing.com.

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"Freeze Coverage" Insurance Takes Worry Out of Winter Power Outages and Other Snafus

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Boaters who store their boats over the winter in heated storage facilities or garages have it best. But when winter storms bring power outages and the heat goes off, inside temperatures plummet. That's when a good thing can go bad quickly as the boat's motor likely has not been "winterized," causing water in the engine block to freeze. Even a small amount of ice in an engine block can exert tremendous pressure, cracking cylinder walls or other internal engine passageways leading to irreparable harm. And, unfortunately, most boat insurance policies won't compensate the owner as this kind of damage is considered a maintenance issue.

BoatUS says that's where boat owners may want to consider adding supplemental "Freeze Coverage" insurance to their boat's insurance policy to cover the unexpected consequences of winter snow and ice storm power outages. Keep in mind, however, that most insurers only offer this coverage up to the end of October.

"Adding Freeze Coverage costs very little, but will cover freeze-related damage to the single most expensive item aboard a recreational boat - the engine," said BoatUS Vice President of Marine Insurance, Mike Pellerin. BoatUS freeze coverage, for example, starts at $20 and has an October 31 deadline - after which it's unavailable until the following season.

In addition to those who store their boats in inside heated storage, Freeze Coverage may also be a smart option for do-it-yourselfers who want peace of mind and are concerned about possible winterization snafus, or by trailer boaters who occasionally travel south for vacations or fishing trips. "When your return home, any water left in the wrong place can freeze," added Pellerin.

Supplemental Freeze Coverage is usually only offered in regions with consistent below-freezing temperatures, because engine winterization is not optional there. Those in temperate states usually have this feature automatically added to their policy - including all BoatUS policies - but you should check with your insurer.

For more information on boat insurance, or to get a free quote online, go to www.BoatUS.com/insurance or call 800-283-2883.

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About BoatUS:

BoatUS - Boat Owners Association of The United States - is the nation's leading advocate for recreational boaters providing over half a million members with government representation, programs and money-saving services such as boat insurance. For membership information visit www.BoatUS.com or call 800-395-2628. For a free online insurance quote, go to www.BoatUS.com/insurance or call 800-283-2883.

Media Contact
D. Scott Croft, 703-461-2864, SCroft@BoatUS.com

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