Still time for ice fishing

Scenic View

By Andy Anderson

This has been a great winter but nonetheless I think we are starting to get a little cabin fever.

We are now approaching the time of the year when ice fishing starts to improve again, and regardless of the weather, we are seeing good numbers of fishermen and hearing better fishing reports.

This is going to be a big week for lots of fishermen who have been hiding out from the poor weather. Regardless of where you are going, there is some thick ice out there and if you are fishing in a house that you have not been in for a while, you best bring your auger extension.

We have heard some pretty good reports on the lake all the way from White Earth to Skunk Bay across from Pouch Point. The river has also been drawing more anglers and as long as we don’t see real warm weather in Montana, the river fishing will continue to be fair and getting better as we get into March.

Shed hunting

I have not heard of a lot of shed hunting going on but some sheds are being found and it would be a great time to go looking. Some of the deer are still packing both antlers and most should all be off in the next couple weeks.

We do have a lot of moose in the river bottoms if you want to go looking for moose paddles. The area from Magnum Point to Kjorstad’s and Lake Jessie would be the prime area to look.

If you are going to be out in the willows, bring a compass or GPS along and it may make your trip a little more fun. If your dog is going with you, carry a wire cutter in case he gets caught in a snare as I have been hearing of that happening a lot lately.

Lion put down

Another mountain lion was caught in a trap recently and had to be killed. The 45-pound female cub was caught in the area of the Figure Four Ranch which is northwest of the Lost Bridge and just west of the reservation.

The cub was caught in a foot hold trap but because its foot was frozen it had to be put down.

If you have information you would like to share please email it to andy@scenicsports.com