WEATHER DÉJÀ VU by Ralph Bice December 12, 1973
Note: Although written in 1973 readers may wish to compare to 2024. Y.T.
This fall, 1973, will be remembered as one of the very mild falls we have had. Listening to the weather reports on the radio or T.V. we heard several times that old records were being broken as to warm days and nights. Perhaps in another decade or so weather broadcasters will be telling the listeners that the then recent warm spell had broken records set in 1973.
There have been other warm falls. Away back in the mid thirties I used a canoe, and did not have to break ice, all the way up Cripple Lake, on December 8th. Then in the fifties I again paddled the length of that same lake on the same date. Only thing, the latter time there had been ice, but a mild spell took it all out. The warmest fall I can remember was 1918 the year the First World War ended. It was so warm during the hunting season it was more lake summer than fall. That fall the Department had gotten a bit generous. Our deer license was increased from three to four dollars and we were allowed two deer. But many of the deer had spoiled and were not fit to eat come end of the season. The next season we were back to one deer but somehow or other they forgot to put the cost back to three dollars. I do not think there are too many complaints about the mild weather. The only people affected are trappers who would like to be able to cross the smaller lakes on the ice. In spite of the warm season ice came on many of the smaller lakes the latter few nights of October and some did not wholly open. But as Mark Twain once remarked everyone talks about the weather but we still have to take what is sent. (Or, “but noone does anything about it.” Ed.) Last year at this time we were using snowshoes in the woods and except for on the lakes, using snowmobiles.
Speaking of hunting. Notice that the official reports as issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources do the usual cover up job. I guess it looks better from their angle to just use a general average. People who do not go into the woods still think there are a lot of deer. Only it might have been more realistic if instead of saying that the hunting in this section was “below average” to come right out and say that in spite of the poor hunting of the last few years this last fall must go in the books as the poorest hunting on record.
Some hunter who decided that he should get a moose got rather a heavy jolt in court. Five hundred dollars is a lot of money. Perhaps it will make others stop and think that at times laws are enforced. On the other side of the picture there will be many killed this winter and it is quite all right. Recently three men who were improving the snowmobile trail east of Kearney saw where a pack of wolves were chasing a moose. No doubt they caught it. Most will agree that with hunting pressure increasing and game getting less each year that it is not right to take animals out of season but should they be left for the wolves?
Speaking of wolves there seems to be more around than for several years. Cannot explain why for there are only a few deer also few rabbits. So the moose must take the brunt this winter.
Saw the column written by John Powers in the Star and he is worried about the lake trout fishing. This next season the three fish limit is going to be in effect all over the province. Years ago people who were interested tried to warn that the fishing was getting over the hill and were told that it was not possible to fish a lake to depletion. Perhaps not but recently it has almost come to that. A bad move was when they threw Algonquin Park open and decided to allow people to fish without a license. Even with the most stringent of controls it will take many years for the lake trout to come back to where they were even fifteen years ago. Biologists who sit in an office miles away do not agree with me but when you go to a lake where once fish averaged two or three pounds and now catch them if you are lucky enough to catch some, where a fish fifteen inches weighs less than a pound then something must be very wrong. The odd thing, the men who met several times making plans for Algonquin Park did not come up with any plans to help the fishing or bring back the game.