End of Season Recap and Chores

For this angler, the 2022 open water campaign is over. The price of gas and bait made trips more expensive this year, and my daughters’ busy high school volleyball season gobbled up available free time. Add a nine-day October elk hunt into the mix, and I certainly didn’t get on the water as much as planned this season. That all being said, there were some highlights.  

Earlier this spring, I battled a double digit channel cat out of 2’ of water on my Whisker Seeker Catfish and Carp spinning rod. Considering I was searching the shallows for slab bluegills, having my crawler and slip float destroyed and my pole nearly pulled into the lake by a trophy cat was an awesome surprise! The action of the catfish and carp rod, combined with light line, provided an epic fight. After releasing the gravid beast back into the water, I had to chuckle to myself after realizing me and the big girl were both “fishing” for bluegills.  

During the dog days of summer, I enjoyed the best hybrid fishing of my life. During 3 separate trips to a local reservoir, my friends and I finally figured out a reliable top water pattern. We knew that hot temperatures and several days of southerly winds would push shad against the bank, creating perfect hunting conditions for wipers and white bass. However, we didn’t appreciate that these aggressive predators absolutely go nuts when the wind is howling! High temperatures, strong winds, and 3 foot white caps were the recipe for tremendous fishing. On each occasion, the wind blew a little harder and the fishing was a little better. The bite reached its crescendo on the last trip when the leading edge of a cold front stirred up 25-35 mph winds.  

With the bow pointed into the wind, and my electronic anchor engaged, the boat rocked violently against the endless lines of waves. While my Humminbird depth warning wailed, the prop of the Terrova lashed out of the surging waves, spluttering and sloshing until it buried back into the torrent, barely able to hold our position. At the same time, from the stern we whipped Whopper Ploppers, Chug Bugs, and Pop-Rs with the wind to the furthest reaches of the cove. Most often we only made one or two turns of the reel handle before our baits were annihilated by a frenzied wiper just inches below. The rods were nearly wrenched from our hands and the drags screamed as the enraged, striped torpedoes plowed for deep water. It was pure violence. I don’t recall how many 16-20” specimens we landed, but the new Whisker Seeker Xtn net prevented several barely hooked fish from escaping. Between the wind, waves, and fishing, we relished pure chaos!

At the end of every season, I complete a list of postseason chores. The number one priority is always the boat. Although many folks have their vessels professionally winterized, I’ve had good luck by simply keeping the boat covered in my machine shed with the motor upright, or trimmed all the way down, to encourage draining. I do this after every trip. I also make sure the onboard battery charger is plugged in to recharge and maintain the batteries. I don’t do anything special with the fuel system, and after 7 years of ownership, the 60 horsepower Mercury four-stroke has never failed to start in the spring. However, some folks recommend filling up and treating the gas with one of the commercially available stabilizers at the end of the season . Others run their motor until it's out of gas. This is really personal preference, and if I was running a larger outboard with more complex engineering (turbo or supercharged for example) I may take it in for a tune up annually. In the spring I change the crankcase and lower unit oil and grease the steering linkage, etc…, per the manufacturer’s maintenance schedule.

Once the boat is put to bed, I walk around the trailer to ensure all major components are in good working order. The tires keep the boat and trailer connected to the pavement, and it's important to check tire pressure, measure tread depth, and inspect side walls for dry rot or cracking. Now would also be a good time to check lug nut torque and wheel condition. Next, make sure that trailer wiring hasn’t come loose and nothing is damaged or dangling underneath. While hooked up to your truck, test all of the turn signals and brake lights, and make sure to replace them before next season. Finally, inspect the trailer frame, fenders, tongue, and wiring harness for corrosion and damage.

Rods, reels, and tackle are the last items I inspect at the end of the season. I start by pulling all the boxes out of my tackle bag and opening them up to release any trapped humidity. Inspecting the contents of each, I remove dirt, debris, and cut off old knots and bits of fishing line. Rusted hooks and jig heads are thrown out, and I make a list of terminal tackle to replace before next season. I also take note of hooks on lures that need to be replaced. It's important the tackle bag is completely dry before reloading the boxes, and hanging it up with good air circulation overnight is a good idea. Once the bag is dry and the boxes re-loaded, I store it in the bottom of my boat for the winter.  

I covered rod and reel maintenance in a previous article, and it’s pretty straightforward. Depending on the age and condition of the fishing line, I typically strip it off at the end of the season, replacing it before the first spring outing. Rods and reels should be closely inspected, cleaned, and lubricated. Pay particular attention to rod guides and cork handles to avoid cracking and dry rot. As the old saying goes, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”, and this is especially true with gear worth hundreds of dollars. To maximize the safety of rods and reels, I store them in my boat’s rod lockers over the winter.

The 2022 open water season is coming to an abrupt end in Iowa. The recent November cold snap is creating ice overnight in many areas, and fish are already moving to deep water haunts. If the current weather pattern persists, it may be an early ice fishing season, and I’m looking forward to drilling some holes and catching fish! If you haven’t already, go to whiskerseeker.com and pick up a whisker stick or two for your next ice fishing adventure.