Call in for supplies…
When on the Lake of the Woods ice fishing, it quickly became apparent that use of the CB Radio
was essential to their operation. When you are out on the ice 9 miles or more, you can’t afford to be running back and forth for forgotten supplies. You have to plan ahead for those anticipated needs because with the fuel cost for those vehicles, I was told his fuel bill exceeded $800 per month to deliver folks to their designated ice house (which, by the way, was extremely comfortable with carpeting, a little kitchen, bathroom, a furnace, lights, and 6 fold down beds)! Oh – did I tell you that I caught the most fish and we ended up with 11 walleyes and 2 saugers (kind of a walleye family “look-a-like”). So, we had a very successful day. Oh, and of course, there was that one that got away!! No foolin’ – I tied into something in 30 feet of water that I couldn’t get off the bottom. It ended up biting through my 20 lb test line I was using for a leader and I lost it – hook and all. The guide said it probably was a big northern pike – or more probably a lake sturgeon. Oh well, you can’t fry up bites and good fishing stories!
CB’s for Ice Fishing
This past weekend I spent some time looking at a hole in the ice some 9+ miles from shore on the Lake of the Woods in northern Minnesota. We rode out there on a vehicle that was remade with “army tank” type tracks underneath it and we could drive through nearly anything. This vehicle I noticed had a very tall antenna on the back of it, a CB Radio mounted on the dash and an escape hatch in the roof for use in the event we went through the ice. This didn’t turn out to be a very real possibility as we found we were standing on 27 inches of ice. Good to know that these communication devices are being used very actively on this lake and many others, I’m sure. Personal CB Radios are a clear ticket to a direct communication with others.
CB’s alive and well…
Occasionally I fill in as a local school bus driver for the local school district. All of the buses are equipped with CB Radios which are crackling to life constantly as I drive the students home. I really had no idea that they were so heavily used for this purpose! I guess it just goes to show that just because we aren’t aware of something happening, it has no bearing on just what is really going on out in the world. Using a CB Radio has become common place of all of the drivers and is commonly used for everything from reminding the bus driver that an instrument was left at school to the notification that another bus needs assistance. This “fad” of the early 60’s is still very alive and well! Not only is it alive and well, the quality of these radios and the speakers they are played through have reached a new level of sophistication. Let’s sit back and enjoy the strides that have been made with these units! Certainly a lot of boaters are including a CB Radio as a basic necessity when outfitting their boats. Have a great weekend – see you Monday!
Just a weather “side-note”…
Have any of you ever taken a tour through a National Weather Service operations center? Well, I haven’t. But, I spoke to a person that took his Cub Scout group through one last week. He was extremely taken by the sophisticated equipment that monitors the weather for our safety. A couple of items of interest may be the fact that what we call rain drops, the weather service refers to them as “hydro meteors”. If you think about it, it makes sense. but I’ve sure never called them that! Another bizarre point of interest is how the data is obtained to enable the national weather service to accurately map out all the “Highs and Lows” for pressure centers across our nation. It is my understanding that every 30 miles on a gridwork across the nation, a small weather balloon is released twice a day from each location and the recording device sends data to the service. That never crossed my mind that this was happening! I always thought it was accomplished through the use of radar or satellites or something – I guess I never thought about it. Hopefully you found this just as interesting. None-the-less, we can be the recipients of that valuable information as we monitor and react to the latest weather information on our VHF Marine Radio.
Wouldn’t it be nice if…
Now, maybe I’m somewhat of a dreamer, but wouldn’t it be nice if a person could just dial in his NOAA weather channel on his VHF marine radio and there would be an option to select what weather he or she would like to have for the day? A bit far-fetched perhaps, but a guy can dream, can’t he? Well, since that doesn’t seem likely in the near future, the best we can hope for is to be able to plan our day on the water around the latest broadcasts from the weather service as broadcast through the NOAA weather channel on your marine radio. They’ll keep you posted on any late breaking weather conditions while you’re out on the water and will give you plenty of time to pull in your lines and head for shore within a safe time frame. Don’t push your luck with the weather – somehow, it always seems to win. Over the years I’ve developed a very health respect (not fear) for weather conditions on the lake. I hope you do too.
Will summer ever come???
I sometimes wonder if these short “breaks” in the weather just happen to fool us into thinking that spring is just around the corner. I just received an email from a friend showing a picture of 2 deer walking through someone’s back yard and all you could see was their heads sticking up out of the snow. The caption was something like “yep, I think spring is right around the corner now”. It made me chuckle because that’s not too far from the situation I’m looking at out my kitchen window. Hard to believe that just a few weeks from now we really might get spring! So far, the weatherman has just been toying with our minds up here. This winter in Two Harbors, MN the bay never iced over. That could mean an early start to the shipping season – we all hope so. Of course, along with marine traffic, comes the chatter over the VHF Marine Radios on board the vessels. Once again reminding us of the importance of the communication devices so vital to the safety and well being of our guests on board as well as others.
Tune the tunes in…
Sound too good to be true that you can have your own recorded music play through an MP3 format while on board your favorite boat on a very nice day on the water? It’s really not far fetched at all! Modern technology makes it real easy to accomplish just that. Why not share the music with the others on board instead of being privately “plugged in” to your music machine! Quality of sound? Not a problem. With your music playing through a quality marine radio receiver and assuming that your boat is equipped with a nice pair of marine speakers and marine subwoofer speakers, you can produce a very high quality of sound. Check out what’s available in marine audio systems today!
Bright side to tax time?
I do believe that the only bright side to tax time is that it marks the middle of April and I know that somewhere between the 23rd and the 25th each year, the ice goes out on the lake I have my cabin on. That means that the boats can be put into the water, the docks put in place and anchored, and the preparation begins once again to open up the cabin for the new season! That is MUCH more fun than having to put everything away in the fall of the year -yuck! I know a lot of you folks are doing the same, and hopefully you are allowing yourself time to install the proper communication equipment on your boat before launching it this spring! At least make the effort to check out how reasonable a nice Marine Radio receiver is so you can have incredible music on you pontoon or your boat – played directly from your MP3 pre-recorded format. …or maybe you already have a nice marine radio, but your choice this season would be to add a nice marine speaker system to your boat or pontoon. Whatever your choice, take time to assess the needs and the safety of those on board. Happy Boater
How about those Ice Breakers…
Sure is fun to watch as the Coast Guard as well as local tugboats with reinforced bows attack the ice to open the harbor earlier to allow for early shipping. They hit the ice hard, crawl up on top of it, and then crush through it. Then they back up and hit it all over again. They sure take a beating! Just think of the communication that has to be constantly updated between the vessels when they are ushering a 1000 foot ore boat out of the harbor. I can only guess they all are using VHF Marine Radios almost exclusively. Nothing like having good, clear communication when faced with close encounters while breaking a path through the ice for another vessel!
Hand held CB comes in handy!
This weekend I plan to head out for an ice fishing experience on the Lake of the Woods on the US/Canadian border in northern Minnesota. I hope to tell you of the one I “got” rather than the one that “got away” when I return. I would, however, like to take a moment to ponder the “comfort level” you get when you have with you an ability to communicate with those on shore as well as those in other fish houses on the lake. A hand held CB radio can fill that bill nicely! It’s compact, clear, and easy to use. Why not take advantage of the modern day “nice-itys” that we have available today that were only a dream a few years back – and really not that far back. Who knows where this will all end up in the very near future with the digital communication making the strides and achievements they have in recent history! Exciting just to imagine!! Have a good day and wish me luck fishing!! Happy Boater