Quick Quip...

How to keep Ice-fishing holes open overnight: Take a lesson from the Eskimo people from around the world, and build a small "igloo" of snow over the hole. Not only will it insulate it from the nasty overnight winds, snow and frigid temperatires, it'll make the darned thing easier to find the next day!

What's New...

Well, it has been another building month here at TFN. Our new information sources are getting their typing fingers in shape, and we'll have one or two new columns around the middle of this month.

We're also excited about a new contest coming up, so stay tuned to be able to win a super prize.

Someone here finally noticed that there was a bug in the Trophy Gallery Pages which has since been fixed - so send in your Pics -- We'll make you famous!

Obvoiusly the forums are still down, but we're expecting the new software any day now -- REALLY!

This Issue...

With this issue, we continue to concentrate on ice-fishing ('tis the time of year) . Of course, we also have our regular non-ice fishing columns as well.

Beef of the Month...

My only beef this month is, once again, the weather. It was such a cold fall that the salmon came and went without so much as a "how d'ya do", making many of us get that ice-fishing itch early. Unfortunately, everything was in place except the ice. Each year after Christmas I venture to the Ottawa Valley (yes, it actually is near Canada's National Capitol) in the guise of visiting the in-laws, but for the more specific purpose of getting out onto "first ice" and bagging a stomach full of early-ice walleye - averaging the tasty size.

Alas, this year I had to spend my time indoors, watching sattelite movies and drooling over fishing books and magazines. This was not a pleasant experience. The ice finally formed the night we arrived for our short, 3-day stay, and it takes at least 7 days of freezing temperatures to make hard water thick enough to walk on safely. Hrrumph.

Since we didn't have any type of spring in 1996 -- it went from winter to fall to summer to fall to winter -- I strongly protest the creators of these weather patterns and think that any self-respecting angler should join me in writing whatever governmental agency is responsible. After all, fishing is our right in heritage and tradition, and we shall not be denied!

However, it's going to be a long, arduous battle. Initial talks with government officials have led me to believe that the tightening of purse strings will have a negative affect on the tightening of our fishing lines until budgets are under control, the economy is back in the black, home starts are up, inflation and unemployment are down, the politicians have been re-elected and hell freezes over.

Only then will our elected officials permit weather to return to it's normal cycle of a cold winter, warm spring, hot summer and cool fall.

Happy New Year!

Until next month...
(tight lines, get it wet, good fishin', see you on the water (ice?), etc., etc.).

Scott M. Binnie, Managing Editor