Fishing suffers in adverse conditions

Braidwood Lake is the annual “ice-breaker” body of water.

It’s the key waterway-reservoir for anxious fishermen suffering from cabin fever and has already opened to mixed reviews.

I am still waiting for more reports from Braidwood Lake, but I can tell you from the people who have already e-mailed that fishing is slow. Small catfish and a few bass have been caught.

But let’s stop and examine just what’s going on right now. We have winds that closely resemble January storm blasts. We have cold-water temperatures at Braidwood that are not exactly conducive to the best fishing conditions.

On the Fox Chain, it’s also been slow going. The recent heavy snowfall has helped contribute to a pause in the panfish bite on Channel Lake. The walleye bite is very sporadic on Pistakee, but channel catfish seem to be hungry on Petite and Fox Lakes.

Getting tough on violators:An anonymous letter received in January 2012 alerted Wyoming game wardens that a Cheyenne man imported feral pigs from Texas to Wyoming and also killed a mule deer buck out of season. Those tips directly led to the recent convictions of taxidermist Troy T. Hall for several wildlife violations.In another case, five individuals pleaded guilty in a December elk-poaching incident in Tennessee. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency reported a precedent in penalties for illegally taking an elk. The five parties involved received a combined $28,000 in fines and had to pay court costs and restitution, In addition, the group received a total of 18 years of suspended hunting privileges and 14 years of suspended jail time with court-supervised probation.ŸMike Jackson can be reached via e-mail at: angler88@comcast.net Mike#146;s radio program is heard Sunday mornings 6-7 a.m., on WSBC 1240-AM.ŸContact Mike Jackson at angler88@comcast.net, and catch his radio show 6-7 a.m. Sundays on WSBC 1240-AM and live-streamed at www.mikejacksonoutdoors.com.