Another Season Begins
By: Bill Thompson

   If I did the math right I have written fifth-teen columns with the title “Opening Day” or something very similar. If my luck holds out I might write another fifth-teen. That would put me right around eight-five years old, but it is doable and I fish with a gentleman that has surpassed that landmark by several years. This year, like always, he showed up at the pond to celebrate another opening day. He may have slowed down a little, but his enthusiasm has is the same as if he were a ten year old going fishing with his dad for the first time. He was using a walker this year, but that didn’t stop him from wading; when I spotted him he was waist deep in the pond making a long cast to a rising trout.

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Bill’s “Freakenomics” 101
By: Bill Thompson

    Over the winter I have reawakened my interest in photography. It has been fun and it has served to keep the old brain active. Like most photographers I have been proud enough of some of my work to want to have a few of them framed. I wasn’t so proud that I went off to a professional framer, although the results would certainly have been better. Instead I visited one of those crafty big box stores that specialize in plastic flowers. I found what I was looking for, a cheap, simple frame, and at the same time picked up some pre-made mattes as well. The total bill came to about seven bucks, not counting having the print made at the drug store.

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Spring
By: Bill Thompson

    This morning, on my daily jaunt around the block, I heard a couple of loons calling out on the lake. Of course the first thing that came to mind was Ethel Thayer’s famous quote: “Come here, Norman. Hurry up. The loons! The loons! They're welcoming us back”. In truth I was welcoming them back after a long winter. The return of the loons is a definite sign that winter has finally given up and last evening I had more good news. The ice has gone out on my favorite trout pond. Now if the last of the snow will melt in front of the garage where I store my old truck for the winter I will be all set.

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Trip to the Big Lake
By: Bill Thompson

    Once again it is that time of year when I male my annual pilgrimage to the “Big Lake”; Winnipesaukee. It was a glorious warm day and I had visions of big Rainbow trout cruising up the Merrymeeting River out of Alton Bay. For me fishing the Merrymeeting is always a hit or miss event and this year it was all miss. To know this river you really have to put in your time. It is painfully obvious that I have never put in the time. When I pulled into the parking lot at the ballfield I knew in an instant that my timing was off. Normally if there were fish in the river the lot would be full; on this day there were only two other cars.

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March: The Month of Agoiny
By: Bill Thompson

If you are a fisherman beware the Ides of March. This is a month that can be a cause of great agony for anglers. We have weathered a long winter without complaint, but now there is a hint of spring in the air.

By now you have attended at least a couple of fishing shows, and they have only served to increase the longing to be on the water again. If you ice fish, it is probably time to think about hauling your bob house off the ice before it is too late.
 

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