Ice finally cleared!!

[Fondueset]

Well, finally the ice cleared at one of our spots. Not much u/w life - a spunky little diving duck who seemed to say 'well, I'm goin' over there right now; but I'll be back!!' but not much else. Air and water were both fairly chilly so I concentrated on fin sprints. My buddy spotted some bambage on the far breakwall so I walked out to the end of the inner wall and while I was out there a guy on the marina fuel dock whistled and pointed out a snow owl sitting on the end of the dock. Felt great to get in the water again after a few weeks.

Heres a webcam that shows the bay - we dove at the west marina which is about 2 miles away at roughly 45 degrees.
West Bay Webcam

 

[podge]

Ice or no ice, that looks like a beautiful place to be.
Thanks for sharing.

 

[bgill]

A deer AND a goose!....

Nice pics! All my local spots are still "locked up" with Ice

 

[land shark]

the robins have been pulling in this week chris

 

[Erik]

Great pics Chris. Ice still thick on the lakes up here, Snowy Owls have gone back up North, and I saw 2 Canada Geese that just returned from the South on my river valley run today. By May the lakes will be open and we can get in up here.

 

[Fondueset]

Pretty sure that owl was shopping for goslings and/or signets. I've actually been doing fin sprints in a pool!! Its quicker on weekdays - but not by much.

Haven't heard the robins yet - but I can feel their menacing intent...the worms are already on alert

 

[Lockedin]

Beautiful pics! What are the Water / Air temps in your area?
Here in SoCal (at the LA / Ventura County line) we are a bit cooler than usual: Air 54f / Water 51f.

 

[Fondueset]

Went again yesterday - air was about 40f - water 36-37F. We ran into these fellers - Gizzard Shad. Several schools of 5-7 and a few wandering individuals. They liked us as much as we liked them and schooled right up with us. They are generally between 10-15 inches long and I've seen schools of hundreds. I have a feeling there were more around but wasn't sure where to look. Also saw a whitefish, a carp and a few smallmouth bass napping on the bottom. Spring is in the air! Wind changed today and the same spot was locked in with ice.