Like everyone else on this side of the continent, there was an astounding lack of snow, ice and general cold around here all december, with the vast majority of the month being above zero. Put the boat away in late November anticipating normal weather, which couldve waited a few more weeks. Despite that, we had some great trips burbot fishing at a local shore fishing hotspot on the Ottawa river. The generally mild nights made it easy to spend the night outside next to a fire hauling in chunky ling. The action wasn't as hot as ice-out last April/May, but the catching was consistent, and really picked up the week or so before christmas. For all the stink and slime they produce, they really are fantastic table fare, making it all worth it! Even had a little BoxLing day celebration and saved up a bunch of our meat for an epic fry to cap off the holidays!
Fun as that was, the cold and the snow was a welcome sight over the last few days, and we finally have fishable ice on small lakes. No bites today, but it felt good to walk on water again...