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February 2007 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ah- February, the month of love. This is the month when a lot of a lot of the “canine” family members mate. Wolves, coyotes, and fox all seem to find their “significant other”.
The wolves run in packs with alpha males and females. Part of the reason for the pack is survival, especially in the winter when everyone works together to find food. But when February arrives, their thoughts turn to “love”. Generally speaking, it is a pack rule that only the alpha male and female mate. Depending on the pack, however, a beta male and female may mate as well. In addition, the alpha male may decide to mate with some of the higher ranking females. Jim Brandenburg, the noted wolf photographer has observed and photographed a pack of 18 in his neighborhood. He said that there were 20, but two had died. Typically, about this time of year, this large pack will break off into various smaller packs to allow for more breeding. The fox and coyotes normally don’t have the pack structure that the wolves do with the hierarchy of alpha and beta members. They try to mate with whatever females will allow them to do so.
Now the fish families are different. The trout have already spawned, and are ready for some good dinning. The stream trout (Brooke and Rainbow) which are stocked in designated trout lakes are forging for food and are partial to minnows and wax worms on small jogs. These fish are generally found in shallow waters. Lake trout however, prefer minnows and ciscoes (frozen smelt-like bait) and may be found between 20 and 60 feet. Northerns are still pre-spawn and like minnows and ciscoes, while walleye, which are in about 20-35 feet of water like minnows. The season for these two fish will close toward the end of February and will reopen with fishing opener about the middle of May. Bass are still dormant. Pan fish-perch, crappies, and blue gills-are in waters anywhere from 8 to 30 feet and generally will bite on minnows and/or wax worms.
Unlike summer fishing, ice fishing permits each fisherman to have two lines through the ice at one time. The ice fishing poles differ from summer fishing gear, in that the poles are generally only 2 to 3 feet long. It is an entirely different game. We are sorry that we do not have pictures to illustrate the various fish, etc., but we thought you might enjoy our interspersed pictures we have taken of the beautiful winter scenery of the Northwoods. It truly is a winter wonderland, even if we are short of our usual quota of snow.
A couple of weeks ago as we were returning from town, we went around a bend in the road and there on the shoulder was an absolutely huge cow moose. It appeared as though she was waiting for us to go by before she crossed the road. Unfortunately, we did not have the camera with us, but as quickly as she turned around and left, we probably would not have had time to get a shot. There was a smaller moose behind her, and we are assuming it was her calf from last spring.
We are going to take a break in March and retreat to the Caribbean to recharge our batteries and get ready for a new and exciting summer season. Who knows, perhaps the April letter may feature highlights from Anguilla BWI. There will be someone checking phones and e-mail, so if you have problems please contact us.
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