My 2 sons and I took a hike through our local trail system yesterday and visited some of our freshwater fishing spots. The creek was partially iced over and it was easy to get to places that are unpassable in the summer when the bushes and weeds are just too thick.
My younger son loves to talk and in spite of my efforts to try and quiet him, he kept on talking. I explained that they’d see more wildlife if they kept quiet … but he gets excited about almost everything he sees! Oh to be five years old again!
So we were blazing our own trail along the creek bank (hoping to keep it open once spring and summer comes) and finding good spots to go fishing once the ice and snow melt off. Much to my surprise, my older son spotted something and asked me what it was. Turns out it was a muskrat. We had apparently blocked off his return top the creek and he seemed a little lost. I happened to have my camera with me and snapped a photo:
I told the boys how I used to trap muskrats in my younger days and used the money for Christmas presents. We walked for another 20 minutes and actually saw another muskrat! This one was able to get to the water and swam away as we watched. So we followed his tracks in the snow to see where he came from. And of course as we walked my younger son and I both got our feet wet! So we decided it was a good time to head home and grab some lunch.
It was snowing lightly through most of our walk through the creek and as we headed home we talked about fishing during the cold weather… and decided that it was more fun when it was warmer. Hopefully we’ll have some more snowy walks before the spring returns and we’re back fishing in our favorite spots!
Catch you later.