I walked out the back door yesterday afternoon – to take out the trash – and I was promptly met by spring.  This weekend the weather has been unbelievable, especially considering that we were ice fishing just last weekend; we hit the 50 degree mark yesterday, and we’re supposed to be in the high 40’s, low 50’s all week this week.  So much for ice fishing, I guess.

What I experienced this weekend, though, is one of the big things I love about Michigan – the definite change of the seasons.  And while it was a little depressing to know that the melt off would signal the end of our ice fishing for the season, it’s great to know that the melt off also signals to the steelhead that it’s time to head upstream.  You have to love the variety that Michigan’s woods and water provide!

And, I can’t forget, that this warm spell will also start to stir something inside Michigan’s turkey flock as well; they will starting thinking about those good-looking hens, and start gobbling from their roost very soon.  Of course, come the second of May, I will be in those woods and appreciating the newly regenerated woodlot and hoping that a lovesick tom heads my way.

Watching the changing of the seasons in Michigan is a very unique and one-of-a-kind experience.  And not a season goes by that doesn’t provide something exciting and stirring to do outdoors – and this year it has been even better. Usually this time of year I would be experiencing some serious cabin fever, but with my new ice fishing discovery, those feelings were definitely kept at bay.

As March arrives, there are no thoughts of cabin fever or seclusion.  The thoughts I have are those of anticipation and reflection; reflection on the first fish I ever hauled through the ice, and my wife’s first pike through the ice; reflection on quads heading across the frozen tundra that was Houghton Lake, and sitting on the ice eating hot pizza; and anticipation for the steelhead that will be running soon and the turkeys who will be answering our new Cottage Craft Works calls.

Every one of Michigan’s seasons brings with it a chance for a great outdoor experience.  And I look forward to every one of them.

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Gas for the trip:  $50

Fishing License that was only good for 2 days:  $15

ORV Sticker that was only good for 2 days (after I lost it):  $16.25

Enduring the stress of driving 3 hours on ice-covered roads:  $0

My wife’s first fish through the ice and her biggest fish ever:  Priceless

This past weekend, the wife and I, along with a few members of the rest of our family, took a trip Up North and tried our luck ice fishing on Houghton Lake.  The drive up on Friday night was insane – we witnessed many cars in the ditch, and endured some treacherous road conditions – but everything cleared up on Saturday and it made for some decent ice fishing weather.

We were a little disheartened, however, when we arrived at the DNR launch and noticed the lot was empty.  In my experience, normally a place like this is empty because of one reason:  no fish.  After going through all the work of loading quads, and enduring the nasty drive on the way up, though, there was absolutely no way we weren’t going to at least try.

With quads and snowmobiles unloaded – all 10 of them – ice shanties hooked up and attached, and gear loaded into sleds, we were off.  The trip across the ice was pretty interesting, but uneventful, and the first spot we fished was uneventful as well.  After a little over an hour of not even feeling a fish, we ate some lunch and debated what to do with the rest of the day.

Finally, we all decided that we would head to an area that produced for us last summer.  After setting up in the area, it didn’t take long until a guy in a shanty near us had his tip-up flag raised.  We felt pretty good about the spot after that, and it wasn’t too long before Justin’s tip-up caught the first fish of the trip – a respectable pike.

I decided that, even though the wife and I were originally targeting bluegills, we would switch it up, put a pike minnow on our teardrops, and see what happens.  We had a few minutes of frustration, because of the lack of fish, but we just enjoyed the time outside and eventually the fish gods smiled down on our shanty.

After hours of waiting, I look over and notice the wife start to move a little bit; and then she – in the calmest voice I’ve ever heard – says, “I think I got something”.  A quick glance at her rod and I knew she definitely had something, but then the line appeared to go slack and I figured whatever it was was gone.  Upon reeling up her slack, however, the tug on the line was proof enough for me that something was, in fact, still there.  She stands up, continues to reel, and I just instinctively grab the line by hand as well, hoping to help pull whatever was on the line through the hole.  I was glad I did, too, because as soon as we got the 21 inch pike above the hole, the line promptly snapped in two and I had to pin him to the ice so that he couldn’t wiggle his way back into the hole.

It was a very cool experience, and provided the wife with, not only her first fish through the ice, but also her biggest fish ever.  We celebrated, screamed from the blind that we were on the board, and proceeded to take pictures.  And, as you can see from her pinky position in the picture, she wasn’t very fond of how slimy pike can be (I know Jody will appreciate the picture).  It sure made for some laughs later, though, when we went through the pictures from the day.

The weekend was awesome, and we all enjoyed our 7 hours on the ice.  A few of us managed to land some fish, all of us enjoyed the time spent outdoors, and getting outside always makes for a great day……….even if I did get out-fished by everyone, including the wife.

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After our exciting day yesterday here at SimpyOutdoors, why not keep the ball rolling and talk about another great initiative that I just stumbled across.

Holly, in a post on her blog, is promoting an idea that is the brainchild of Maj. Darwin Harper.  And the idea is a simple one:  Current members of the armed services should be able to pay resident fees to hunt in any state in the Union.

That sounds like a no-brainer to me.  Now I know that many states allow servicemen and women, who are stationed in their state, to purchase a resident license, but I still think that Maj. Harper’s idea is even better.  All of us at SimplyOutdoors are definitely pro-military – we very much appreciate the sacrifices they make – and I think this initiative is just one more thing that we can do to say thank you to all the people who allow us to safely live in the greatest country of all, and, most importantly, allow us to have our freedom.

I realize that many states are facing financial woes, Michigan included, but I believe that allowing our men and women of uniform to purchase a hunting or fishing license at the resident fee is an excellent idea.  Sure, they’re losing a little revenue from the license, but the reduced fee would definitely encourage members of our military to hunt out-of-state…….and wouldn’t they, while they’re there, be shopping at the local outdoor store, and probably paying to eat at a local establishment?

We are definitely going to do our part to help encourage this initiative.  And if you would like to help, Holly has some excellent ways to do so outlined in her post.

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With the 3rd year of SimplyOutdoors existence approaching, all of us felt that the site needed a change – a premium makeover if you will.  And considering Matt and Jeff approached me recently, after parting ways with another local outdoor video crew, we decided to not only improve SimplyOutdoors.net, but also start a new adventure as well.

So, without further ado we present the new SimplyOutdoors.net as well as the brand spanking new SimplyOutdoors TV.

Jeff has had this video production dream for quite some time, and we figured now was as good a time as ever to bring it into existence.  We are hoping that you enjoy the down-to-earth, real, outdoor TV experience that we are trying to portray, because I know we’re looking forward to providing it.

We hope all of you visit the new video site, and that you take a peek around the new SimplyOutdoors.net too.  Please also check us out on Facebook, and make sure that you follow us on Twitter.

We’re excited about this new adventure, and we hope that all of you enjoy it as much as we are going to enjoy providing it.  And, if we get anything out of this whole adventure, we’ll at least have a sweet outdoor video library that all of us can look back on.

We are still intent on being the same down-to-earth site that all of you have grown used to…….with a slight botox injection!!  And you can still count on Arthur, and the rest of the guys, posting regularly on the blog.  We just wanted to start a new chapter, and that is what lead us to the new look.

Please let us know in the comments what you think of the new and improved site, and please take a minute to visit SimplyOutdoors TV as well.  There is one sweet teaser over there, as well as a brand new right-out-of-the-box video.

Enjoy!

Note: Our email address has also changed.  The address is now info@simplyoutdoors.net.  Please update your address book!!!

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Last weekend was one of the best weekends I’ve had in quite awhile; and honestly, two of the activities that I had an absolute blast participating in, you wouldn’t have caught me doing just a few years ago.   I guess teaching an old dog a new trick every once in awhile can pay off, huh?

On Saturday I managed to out-fish the other two in my group, and land my first crappie through the ice.  Last year you would have never found me on a frozen lake.  Ice fishing always felt unnatural to me, and really wasn’t that appealing.  I finally broke down this year, though, amongst a little peer pressure, and gave it a shot.  Luckily I did, too, because I hate to think of how much fun I’d be missing out on if I hadn’t gone.  And in the process I re-visited an old rule:  always try something before you decide you don’t like it……..even if it means leaving your comfort zone for a little while.

Then, on Sunday, we tore through some of my brother and cousin’s properties on quads.  I can’t even describe how much fun it was to tear through the foot of snow on the four-wheeled workhorses.  And coming out of a corner sideways on the quad, while snow and dirt smacks against your face, is such a unique experience – and very addicting.  Plus, if you haven’t done donuts with a quad on ice, you’re missing out on one of the greatest experiences of life.  With practice, and in four-wheel drive, you can actually continuously spin in one spot without moving an inch.  I guess it was the kid in me coming out again, but it was such an adrenaline rush, and such an incredibly good time – a good time that I would have never participated in a few years back.  It definitely made the quad payment worth it.

The moral of this post:  You’re never too old, and it’s never too late, to try something new.  In year’s past, at this time of the year, I would have been sheltered inside waiting for Old Man Winter to leave.  Thankfully, that isn’t the case this year, though.  I’ve been hiding from Old Man Winter in a makeshift hunting blind shanty, and spraying snow in his face with my quad tires.

And I don’t think he’s ever going to catch me.

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