Afternoon On Rice Lake

The weather this weekend was not the best so my plans to hunt some more pre-spawn pike went out the window. I was also apprehensive about paying $50 prior to even hitting the aisles of this weekends Toronto Sportsmen's Show, so I decided to head up to my cottage and spend an afternoon on Rice Lake which is located in the Kawarthas

As I pulled down my secluded cottage road, I noticed that all the ice seemed to be gone. The weather was also much cooler then previous days. The thermometer was showing 3 degrees Celsius but because there was some light wind lakeside, I would say the temperature was closer to the freezing mark. It was quite calming, listening to the wind and the ways and hearing the various birds already present in and around the lake. Very relaxing indeed.

Being the "Extreme Angler" that I am, I could not resist wetting a line in these chilly conditions. I love the fact that Zone 17 is open all year for perch, crappie and sunfish. Gives you something to do while you wait for the walleye opener in May and the bass and musky openers in June. I spooled up my Shimano spinning gear with some 4 lb Berkley Vanish and I tied on a small jig with a 2" grub. I tied on a bobber stop and clipped on a bobber a few feet above the jig and casting away I went in 8 feet of water. Over the next couple of hours I tried various presentations but nothing seemed to work as I didn't even get a nibble.
Spring is definitely in the air and I can't wait to open up the cottage, get my boat in the water and catch some panfish prior to walleye, bass and musky opening up for the season.