February 2006
February 16th, 2006
I looks like more sub zero weather coming in for the weekend! It warmed up to temps more friendly to Diet Coke (left in a vehicle) for a few days, but alas we are destined to make sure that all cans make it into the house. (I did put it inside the cooler the last trip out, to keep it contained, who said you can't teach an old guy new tricks)
I went out and put sand on the ice yesterday. It was warm enough so that the salt and dark sand could work well. It started to melt almost at once and the roads improved in just a short while.
As I was driving along I noticed one fox run across the road and then another. February is mating season for foxes and coyotes and I would guess that the last one across the road was in love! I looked up the old road that they ran up and the two of them were getting along pretty good.
The moose has moved on to another area, as I have not seen its tracks along our road for several days. I kind of miss not having it right around, although I know that it could be just a short distance away, poking holes in the snow someplace else. I sure would not want to have to spend the entire year outside in all of the weather that we get up here.
I talked with a couple of ice fishermen the other day and they had caught a couple of nice Splake out of one of the local ponds. These are the cross between the Brook Trout and the Lake Trout. I will be going out next week for a day or two of fishing when Jed and Maureen arrive. I will have to have Jed help me put in the bait trap and get a few bait for the trip.
Soon it will be time to start cleaning up the campground. I have a ton of blow downs at the sites. The wet heavy snow last October really made a mess down there. The good thing is that I can use all of it, or at least most of it for firewood for the camps! Mother nature will give you what you need I guess. I have been cleaning blow downs up every chance I get and have a lot of the stuff cleaned around the cabins so far. I have some big brush piles to take care of, but I will wait a bit on that project.
I put out some bait on the pond for the coyotes and the very first thing to find it was the eagle. It was a mature adult and they are very impressive sitting on the ice like that. I have been seeing them a lot this winter, all over the place. We have a healthy population of them around these parts and it is a nice thing to know that they have made such a comeback.
The weather is calling for snow today, but the sun is shining and it is 33 degrees outdoor right now! Rain is in the forecast as well as snow and then below zero. Is there anyplace else in the world where the weather changes so fast?
An interesting thing is that I have one of my browsers set to check the weather in Alaska, and Anchorage, Fairbanks and Nome have been having about the same temperatures as Millinocket and Greenville, or higher!
GT
February 11th, 2006
I knew better than to mention the temperatures the other day. It has cooled off even more and we have been having below zero temps at night for the past few nights. It has been sunny during the day and at night the sky has been great for watching the stars overhead.
One of the downfalls of the cold temps is a phenomenon known as "splodingsoda". This happens when you forget and leave a can of soda, tonic, pop or what ever else one calls it, in your vehicle over night. When the temperature is only getting down in the 20's it does not happen very often. When it is getting down below zero it is almost guaranteed that this will happen.
Did you know that one can of Diet Coke will cover an area of approximately 596 square inches when it freezes and explodes all over the inside of your vehicle! Something about the carbonation in the stuff makes it cover everything. I am speaking from the wisdom of having had this happen to me many, many times over the years. (the latest was the night before last) On would think that in time I would learn, but what happens is a can of soda gets lost in the vehicle and then freezes and explodes. It is amazing that even if the can is under a seat, behind a seat, or under a jacket, it will come to the top and cover the dash and windows, along with the seat of your vehicle when it happens!
The secret is to get it cleaned up before it melts and becomes a sticky mess. The carbonated ice cleans up well with just a paper towel or what have you. Then when it warms up you can wipe off the rest using your regular cleaning methods.
You see, I really do not have time to get bored up here in the winter. Now off the carry wood to the cabins as we have folks coming in for varied activities next weekend and I do not want snow storms to get in my way. Have fun and stay warm for the rest of the winter.
GT
February 8th, 2006
More rain over the weekend and I spent both Saturday and Sunday scraping the Golden Road to try to get the ice build up off the road. I had to put chains on all 4 sets of wheels on the rear of the truck to get in and out of our road.
That moose has decided to take up residence here on the road coming into camp. It has been hanging around and has the whole woods tracked up where it has been feeding. I have yet to lay eyes on it, but just about every day there are more tracks where it has been.
I still have not been ice fishing yet this year! I just have not had the time to get out there. I hope to soon, and I know that when Jed comes up later this month I will be taking him and Maureen out for a day or two. There is a couple of feet of ice from what I am hearing, at least on Chesuncook Lake. The rain has kept the snow down on the lake so there does not appear to be much slush on the ice. Chesuncook Lake has a big problem. There are no fishermen using the lake and the salmon are not getting enough feed. You can have 3 salmon a day per fisherman and folks need to start keeping their limit in order to have bigger fish. Sometimes the catch and release thing works too well! By keeping the smaller fish you will actually be helping the lake produce larger fish because there will be more feed for the remaining fish. Even closing the lake to the dipping of smelts cannot help much as most of the lake never saw anyone dipping smelts. The Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife closed this body of water to the taking of smelts by dipping last year.
You can have some excellent ice fishing activity on Chesuncook Lake. I have seen days out there when there was as much action and flags as when I used to go pickerel fishing when I was a kid! In a time when you can go out salmon fishing for a weekend and not even get a flag on some lakes, it is amazing that you can go out here and catch and release a dozen or more fish a day. (remember the limit is only 3) This is not necessarily per fishing party, but for each fisherman! I have talked with parties who caught over 50 salmon on a weekend of fishing! I am probably repeating myself, but this is the 3rd largest lake in the State of Maine and on any given day you could actually be the only person fishing the whole lake! When we have people staying here at camp I try to give them tips on where to fish the lake for the best action.
The temperature is a cold 10 degrees today. It is funny to think that 10 above zero is cold for February! We have not seen any of the 20 and 30 below weather so far this winter. I think it has been below 0 only several nights so far this winter. I will probably pay for these statements with sub zero temps for the rest of the winter! That will teach me not to speak the unspoken!
GT
February 2nd, 2006
Another snowy stretch here at Frost Pond, and it looks like more snow for the next couple of days. They claim that we may get a little rain at times as well, although we do not need it. There is a crest gate open at Ripogenus Dam, about 2 feet open by the looks.
It was all frosty down below the dam this morning when I went out. The moisture and temperature must have been just right again, as it does not happen like that all the time. It is just so pretty when it is like that and I always take a minute to enjoy those scenes. The lake is still very full, although it looks like it may have dropped a few inches. (I have seen more years than not that we measured it down in feet this time of year)
On the road out the other night I noticed cat tracks up around the ledges. I am not sure if they were bobcat or lynx tracks as the snow was very fluffy. I was in the plow truck and was using a flashlight to examine them. I was just too tired to get out and investigate and my eyes were having a hard time to stay open long enough to get a good look. We then got more snow and it covered them up.
Today a moose was out in the road walking back and forth. I noticed the tracks on my way out and when I came back home I saw where it had been spending quite a bit of time browsing on the hardwood brush along the road. It looked like a bunch of cows had been walking around on the road and the edges of the road. I have determined after checking out the tracks, that is was just one moose. All of the tracks seemed to be the same size. It was not a large animal, probably a 2 year old moose.
The ice is much better on the lakes up here now. I talked with a couple of guys who caught some salmon out on Chesuncook Lake. They did not keep any, which is becoming a big problem on that lake. This is the 3rd largest lake in the state and it has almost no fishing pressure. There are so many fish and they cannot get enough feed. They closed the lake to all dipping of smelts last year, but I think it will take more than that to bring the big fish back.
On of the reasons is that everyone wants to catch a big one to take home and they are putting the smaller fish back. (every once in awhile the catch and release backfires on us) I think that the new head biologist for this area will be able to get a good handle on it in a few years.
I do my part by catching the white perch to give the salmon more feed! That is the best tasting fish in Maine as far as I am concerned. I used to like the large fish, but as I have aged I now prefer the medium sized fish. I do like to catch the real big ones, but I would much rather eat the others.
Well, off to bed to get ready for plowing for the next couple of days.
GT
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