Open Water! Of Sorts…
At the time I am writing this, Fairy Lake will finally be open. However, that wasn’t the case when Darrell and I pulled into Prospect Park in Acton last Sunday and saw far more ice than open water. In fact, the only open water was around the shoreline, and aside from an area by the launch, it didn’t look like we would be able to fish much of the lake. Did that stop us? Of course not. Have boat, have some open water, have fun fishing!
The sunny, perfect spring day had brought people to the lake, eager to get their lines wet. I bet they didn’t realize they were going to get a free show, as well. We launched the boat and as I waited for Darrell to park the truck, I took the boat for a little tour to see what changes winter had left behind. The hump by the creek mouth was even higher than last year, but otherwise, things looked pretty much the same.
In the boat! And heading for the ice…
I picked Darrell up and heard the laughter from some fellow anglers when he told them we would be fishing the other side of the lake. There was no open path to get to the other side so I can understand their mirth, but they didn’t realize they were looking at an Alumacraft icebreaker! With Darrell piloting the boat, I leaned over the front with an oar and started smashing the ice to help the boat make it through. It didn’t take long and we were on the other side of the lake, happily moving along the shoreline. I noticed more than a few funny looks from bystanders.
Darrell wanted to take some casts near a favorite crappie spot. The water was just too cold for them to have moved in yet.
While Darrell is forever the optimist when we go fishing, I was really not expecting to catch anything. With water temps hovering between 37F and 39F, things were just too cold, and there was too much ice on the best early spots to really get on top of the crappie. It was nice to have the chance to cast again, and I enjoyed cycling through baits and working on some rusty techniques. With the sun shining and the ice gradually melting, I enjoyed the feeling of being in the boat again. I even took a moment to lay down and close my eyes – the boat is my favorite place to sleep.
The ducks were having a hard time walking on the ice. These tracks were left by one that I watched struggle his way along.
The ducks were happy to be in open water.
As the afternoon went on, the ice was noticeably melting away. While we were only able to fish the outside of lake, we were pretty sure it would be open in the next day or two with the warm temps. We would have been back the following day if I hadn’t gotten sick!
It was just a beautiful day on the water and it felt wonderful to have the first boat outing of the year under our belts. While we didn’t catch anything, we both felt better for getting out. I was really disappointed by the amount of trash I saw both in, and around the lake. On our next visit there we will be bringing some garbage bags and doing a quick cleanup. I would encourage anyone planning to visit Fairy Lake to do the same.
Pulling the boat out was another chance for me to practice my boating skills. By the end of last season I had gotten pretty good at driving the boat onto the trailer, but I was afraid I would be a little rusty to start this year. Fortunately, the skills seemed to have stuck and I managed to get the boat on easily. I have to admit, it feels pretty good that I’m getting better at handling the boat.
The Alumacraft icebreaker! She did a great job getting through the ice and passed her first test of the season with flying colours.
I can’t wait to get out on the water again. Hopefully things will work out for us to get on the water this weekend. I’m waiting for nice enough weather to launch in Lake Ontario so we can troll for some football browns. Until that happens, I’ll be more than happy to head back to Fairy Lake.
argosgirl
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