East Aurora Advertiser

Column: It’s OK to THINK WARM



Palm trees, white sand, soaring seagulls, the sound of surf. I’m feeling warm already!

The weekend freezer treatment from Mother Nature a few days ago was a kindhearted reminder that our weather is not really a factor to slow us down in Western New York. We East Aurora outdoor folks are flexible and enduring. Most of my outdoor friends stayed indoors though, despite the fact that good ice has formed on inland lakes and ice fishing is about to go into full swing. I think they were smart, the chill factor was minus 30 F in some areas of WNY.

Many of us enjoyed time with friends, enjoyed quiet talk, found time to defrost and cook up some walleye fillets, microwave a fat-free high-protein venison meatloaf, check last year’s tackle box, clean the muzzleloader that we forgot to check after that last day hunting. If you had a wood stove or fireplace, the extra warmth added to the snowy ambience of the freezer days.

With a few days between exams, East Aurora high school senior Collin Voss looks over more than 100 shark teeth he found with his grandfather in a “think-warm” winter outdoor adventure on the beach at Stump Pass State Park in Florida.
Photo by Forrest Fisher

Either way, we stayed warm and we survived the blast from the north, despite having to feel the pain of some of the worst football referee calls we have seen in a while on the playoff flat screen. More reason to think warm and prepare for the ice-free season ahead. Here is some help, go get your calendar and marking pen.

For those of you that plan to fish Lake Erie and Chautauqua Lake fishing tournaments, here is the first revision of dates and who to call: May 5 – Chautauqua Lake Walleye OPEN Tournament, Long Point State Park launch, contact Mike Russo, (716) 640-6915; May 19 – Southtowns Walleye Annual Lake Erie Yellow Perch Derby, contact Rob Kroh (585) 356-3696; May 19 – Crappie Team (2-man) OPEN, Chautauqua Lake, Lakewood Launch, contact Mike Russo, (716) 640-6915; June 8-16, Southtowns Walleye Association Lake Erie walleye tournament, Rob Kroh (585) 356-3696; June 21-22, Lake Erie Big Dawg Walleye Tournament, Dunkirk Harbor, contact Mark Mohr (716) 998-9871, www.rayzorsbigdawg.com/; June 28 – WNY Heroes Fishing Day, open to all military veterans – just call 716-630-5020 to sign up, charter captains please call Captain Jim Steel (716) 983-7867; July 19-20, Sunset Bay Walleye Shootout, Capt. Don Rupert (716) 435-4137; July 28: Chautauqua Lake Summer Bass Team OPEN, Chautauqua Lake, Long Point State Park, contact Mike Russo, (716) 640-6915; Aug. 23-24, Innovative Outdoors Walleye Challenge, Dunkirk, NY; Jim Steel Chairman: 716-481-5348; www.innovative-outdoors.com.

If you can’t wait until then, add the seminar on the “Nuts and Bolts of Preparing for the Spring Steelhead Run” presented by my friend, Alberto Rey, not your ordinary humble fly line thrower. Alberto is a book author (www.albertorey.com, www.extinctbirdsproject.com) and SUNY Distinguished Professor, Orvis endorsed guide and founder of the Children in the Stream Youth Fly-Fishing program with 4H. And, yes, he is one of the most humble folks you ever will meet. The seminar will be held at the Orvis Store in the Eastern Hills Mall on Transit Road in Williamsville, on Friday, Feb. 1, from 6-7:30 p.m. You’ll learn about flies and stream entomology (creek-life) to catch these magnificent fish that live in our winter stream waters from October through April each year. So they can prepare refreshments and have proper seating, call (716) 276-7200 to reserve a spot. The seminar is free.

To spend some time with a local outdoor club when you’re not shoveling the white stuff, here are a few club meeting dates and locations, just in case you wondered: West Falls Conservation Society, 55 Bridge St. in West Falls, meets on the 2nd Monday of the month at 8PM; East Aurora Fish & Game, 1016 Luther Rd., East Aurora, meets on the 1st Tuesday of the month at 8PM; The Elma Conservation Club, 600 Creek Rd., Elma, 3rd Thursday of the month at 7:30PM; the Southtowns Walleye Association, 5895 Southwestern Blvd., 3rd Thursday of the month at 7:30PM. You’ll find many of these local groups do provide access to archery, trap, rifle/handgun range, youth programs, hunter safety training and the fun of simple outdoor camaraderie.

Think warm to stay warm!

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Share life with others, make new friends in the outdoors, lead by example. Send comments to nugdor@yahoo.com.

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