I Can See The Driveway! + (3/8/26)

 

I can drive from the top of the driveway all the way to the road without driving on any snow or ice, so I'm calling it clear. Mother Nature generally has something to say about that. Last year, I declared it on March 10th.

And a bonus picture from my walk down to the corner today. The brook is flowing freely and is finally visible as of yesterday. It had been almost completely drifted over in our last significant snow a couple of weeks back.

2026 Tackle Warehouse Opener (3/8/26)

 

It looks like this may be the last 50-degree day for some time, and I wanted to grab one of my Dad's vintage Storm Thin Fins, which he probably bought in the late 70's. So today is my Tackle Warehouse Opener. 

One of my earliest memories of fishing is trolling with one of these two Thin Fins and getting a small pike on West Sylvia along the shoreline south of the channel to East Sylvia. I am setting a goal of getting five fish on them this year. I don't know if they have been fished since the 1980's. I am quite confident they have not by fished in the 21st Century. The Thin Fin weighs 3/8oz, but is built like a football-shaped potato chip, so it didn't cast very well, and trolling with it wasn't my jam. I'm pretty sure my modern tackle will let me throw it across the channel at the Grumpy Old Man Hole. Catching five fish shouldn't be that difficult once the bulheads move in. I may or may not swap out the hooks.

My Tackle Warehouse is Open for 2026. Last year, I opened it on March 14th last year.

2026 Platte Lake Ice Out Prediction (3/8/26)

 

I have been poring over my records here at Bass Pundit, trying to get a grasp of where we are compared to past Aprils, and tracking the forecast for where things are going weather-wise. I have concluded that the cooler weather ahead for later this week will bring things in line with where they were last year, so I'm going with last year's prediction of April 7th for a second year in a row.

April 7th, It Is!

Last year, I mistakenly called Ice Out on April 5th, as 95% of the lake was ice-free, but ice in the North Bay held on until the 9th.

The forecast isn't ideal, but it isn't terrible either. There is a lot of bare ground now. Forecasting has been on the erratic side lately, as March is prone to do. I think I could catch a bullhead any day now at the Grumpy Old Man Hole. I won't be surprised if red-wings show up today.

When Will I See The Driveway? Part 3 (3/7/26)

 Tomorrow will be the day!

I broke a lot of this stuff up

And this stuff as well

GOMH Today (3/7/26)

 It was cool/cold, turning mostly sunny with a south wind by the time I arrived tonight. I didn't check things out yesterday in the heavy fog. I got skunked. I saw 5 swans, and there was a set of swan tracks on the SW side.  Gained at least a yard of open water around the edge of the ice. I was hoping for more. Got skunked. It was open about 40% of the way to Eagle Perch Pt.

Perspective is deceiving

GOMH Today (3/5/26)

 Cool and cloudy. Only a few feet of progress along the ice edges I got skunked.

Pink Sky tonight

Looking SW

Straight down the S-Side channel from the bridge

Only a bit of progress on the N side
I was able to get to the railing for the picture

When Will I See The Driveway? Part 2 (3/4/26)

 It was cloudy, and above freezing all day. The melting continues. Maybe by the end of the weekend.

Top of the driveway still has some ice by the garage

Mid driveway slush and ice

End of the driveway bare spots growing

In a warmer than average week.

GOMH Tonight (3/3/26)

50's and a 60 next week, yeah baby! Solid stretch right now.

I got skunked tonight. Things appear more open than they are. I htink this warm stretch will be lomg enough to do some damage.

GOMH Tonight (3/2/26)

 

Today went by quickly, and I didn't feel like ice fishing, so I went to the GOMH and fished there for half an hour. Then I did 7 laps. No bullheads, but i did see a few pairs of swans flying about.

Bass Fisherman Liberation Day Has Arrived (3/1/26)

 

I went to Beat Trax, bought my licence around noon, and headed to Erskine around 3 PM. I caught one dink bass on a Cubby.  Today is when catch-and-release fishing is officially legal for bass during the closed season. 

Liberation Day Has Arrived!

When Will I See My Driveway 2026? Part 1 (3/1/26)

 The sun has been making slow progress over the past week. I finally got out and took pictures today. So the countdown to seeing my driveway starts on March 1st, 2026. With the weather this week, I'm guessing it will be ice/snow free by next weekend.

Here is the forecast:

GOMH is ahead of last year as of today, but then we had a really warm week of weather, and it was a mild winter last year.

Fished Open Water @GOMH To End 25/26 Season

 I will be going to Brainerd tomorrow for a Bass Snatchers meeting, then heading down to Princeton to celebrate Dad's birthday with the family. So no fishing tomorrow. It was super windy today, so I decided not to head out on the ice. There was just enough open water at the edge of the rocks on the SW side of the GOMH, so I chucked lures for 45 minutes. Ending 25/26 with a skunk.

Muskrat on sunk ice

GOMH+ Today

 I will most probably throw my first casts in open water next week.

Definitely current

Erskine Lake 

The Aqua-Vu Micro died today, made for a depressing outing as I missed bites because of it.