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School memories

One of the reasons I like to read obituaries is because I get to see where the deceased went to school. If they were in their 80s or 90s when they passed, it’s a chance to see the names of Iowa schools that no longer exist. In fact, it’s not unusual for some of those towns to no longer exist except in memories. These were the schools in little bergs all around our state — proud schools like Ridgeway High School, Castana High School, Gravity High School — and the list could go on and on. Since the 1930s, the numbers of school districts in Iowa has declined by 90 percent. ...

Mid-winter yellow bass

I just completed an ice-fishing trip that I had really been looking forward to. Kevan Paul and I had been trying to make plans to get out on the lake that he guides on, Clear Lake in north central Iowa. In mid-January everything came together. We wanted to headquarter out of my CORE ICE ...

A most productive open-water technique

Ice-fishing so far this ice-season has been strange. First the ice in my area of north Iowa is safe, then it isn’t. I haven’t been out much, which means that I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about fishing, through the ice and otherwise. Awhile back I shared two of my favorite ...

Winter damage to trees and shrubs

The first thing one can do to help prevent winter injury to trees and shrubs is to remove any snow that may pile up after each significant snowfall. This helps to prevent snow building up to dangerously heavy loads which can cause bending and breaking of branches. Evergreens are especially at risk for winter damage, as snow readily collects in the needles. Be sure to brush the snow off, rather than shaking the branches, as shaking can also cause branch breakage. If the branches are coated in ice, let the ice melt naturally to avoid further damage. If branches do break due to the ...

Two Midwest ice-fishing hotspots

It’s been a very interesting ice-fishing season so far. Ice came early to quite a bit of the ice region, then the weather got warm. Rain fell in some areas, heavy snow fell in others. We maybe didn’t lose a lot of ice, but we also didn’t make much. There’s cold weather in the ...

Mid-season ice-fishing ideas

In many areas where anglers fish through the ice this time of year, we are at about the midway part of the season. Most lakes have a good cover of ice as well as some snow. We also have cold weather, lots of it. There are a number of things we can do to catch more fish through the ice this ...