1974 Windy, Wet and Cold
Couple of times I have set myself up as a weather prophet and tried to forecast the conditions for a few days or weeks ahead. Mostly I was wrong. That should set me up as an expert, for the weather we are told we are going to get by the TV predictors has been wrong more often than not. But some of the old signs still work. Years ago one of the sure signs of a cold spring was to have a lot of thunder in April or late March. I can recall when we live on a so-called farm some of the farmers would plan their crops by the type of weather they expected, and they were mostly right in their forecasts.
This spring we had a lot of thunder, and we certainly have had a backward spring. Few warm days did appear once, but mostly the oil has been on and heavy underwear is getting a real work-out.
The backward weather has interfered with spring fishing. Opening weekend the ice was still in the lakes, and the next weekend was cold. Then, when everyone was set for the next weekend, we had snow. The papers and the news told us of an inch, perhaps two inches, and perhaps more to come. But in the fishing areas we had snow. There were cars at the camp site on Rain Lake, and with more than a foot of snow they could not make it with summer tires and had to be pulled part way out with a power vehicle. Then, on the road to Magnetawan Lake there was even more. Same thing, cars had to be helped out, and I believe there were sixteen inches of snow there.
I have seen snowstorms in May, even in June, but in the almost sixty-five years I have been around here, I do not recall so much snow to come after the winter snow had gone and the lakes were free. At that, ice had not gone enough from McCreaney Lake for fishermen to get down to the lake as late as May 6th.
The cold weather has put a damper on fishing. Besides being too cold for spending much time on the water, the fish were not biting. Many parties went home empty handed, some had only a few to show for their trip. It is to be hoped that next weekend, with so many people in the woods the fish will be a bit more co-operative.
One young man in a party I was with, one of my old parties, was by himself in a canoe, and hooked a nice one. He had to have help with netting it, as it was very windy, but after nearly forty minutes struggle, with only a six pound test line, his fish was in the canoe. It weighed just over eighteen pounds. Not a large lake trout, as records show, but for this day and age quite a large one. Believe it is the largest fish taken on light tackle ever recorded in this area.
The most unusual thing in the woods this spring is the fact that the partridge are not drumming. Some people claim to have heard them, but I have been in the woods a lot, and not even one has been heard. Perhaps the weather is against these birds, or perhaps this year they are more quiet about it.
Have seen an eagle, in fact two of them. One at Rain Lake, and I was close enough to have a good look. It was a Golden, and I wish I knew where they nested. Then I saw another here at Kearney. It too was a Golden. Quite a few hawks, more blue herons than usual, and perhaps more mergansers than in the last several years.
Saturday I paddled up Cripple Lake, with two fishermen, and suddenly from behind a bit of bog two geese got up. We had seen many flocks going north during the morning, but this pair looked so different. I am quite certain they were Giant Canadas. It is a bit out of the ordinary to think they might nest there, but I will certainly be watching.
At any rate, while it is of little comfort on these cold mornings, it is making the flies and mosquitoes keep off for a while.
