From ice fishing's ramp-up to marking the solstice, a list of winter tales

North to south, ice fishing ramps up

If early-season ice fishing on Lake Reno is an indication, outdoors lovers aren't tiptoeing back to winter.

Despite reports of inconsistent ice thickness on the Pope County lake, a swarm of anglers jammed two parking lots last weekend and overflowed onto the shoulders of Hwy. 29 to park and cover the ice with augers and other gear. Located 11 miles south of Alexandria, the lake holds sunfish, crappies and state-stocked walleyes.

"Everyone has drilled everywhere and the ice looks like Swiss cheese,'' one fisherman wrote on the Minnesota Ice Fishing Reports Facebook site.

With ice fishing long-established as one of Minnesota's most popular and durable winter activities, it's well underway in the northern tier and spreading quickly to the Mille Lacs area and farther south. Ice fishing and dark house spearing are the reasons why those 2021 fishing licenses are good until March 1, 2022.

This week it was frustrating Max Westerberg, co-founder of the Hard Water Zombies fishing club, not to be with his pals on Lake of the Woods. "They're putting the hammer down,'' he said Wednesday from his home in Isanti County. "I'm on my way up there.'''

Even on the St. Croix River in the east metro area, early birds have been inching out, said fishing guide Darren Troseth, who caught a 120-pound sturgeon through an ice hole in the river in 2019. He'll wait for thicker ice in January.

"The cold snap this weekend will help,'' he said.

State conservation officer Corey Sura patrols Lake of the Woods and Upper Red Lake. He reported "average to good'' fishing this week on both bodies of water. Ice was already a foot thick in some spots in the far north, but "check the ice'' will be a constant DNR refrain this winter from Orr to Albert Lea.

"Ice safety is my number one thing,'' said Cody Jorgensen, a full-time fishing guide based in Cloquet.

Jorgensen this week guided a small group on busy Upper Red, catching at least 40 walleyes. He expects Minnesota's COVID-19-related fishing surge to continue as it has since the spring of 2020.

"I'm seeing more fishing pressure this year than I've seen in my whole life,'' he said.

Celebrating the solstice

Astronomical winter begins on the solstice, marking the shortest day of the year (and longest night) but, too, the lengthening days to follow. The winter solstice arrives Tuesday. (The metro will experience 8 hours, 46 minutes and 11 seconds of daylight.) Solstice events, like that on the grounds of the Belwin Conservancy, will light up some of the night. The event begins at 6 p.m. Monday, ushering in the winter solstice.

This year the annual gathering moves to the conservancy's Lucy Winton Bell Athletic Fields (which are named after one of the conservancy's benefactors). The gathering is in the northeast corner of the complex and adjacent to the Belwin Labyrinth.

The night's activities will also include Native storytelling by teenage members of the Ikidowin Youth Acting Ensemble, a theater program for youth formed by the Indigenous Peoples Task Force in Minneapolis. There also will be spoken word pieces.

Storytelling in the long, dormant months of winter is a long-held tradition in Native communities. "Most cultures have winter tales of what's coming and the return of the light," said Susan Haugh, Belwin's program director. "So here we are on Dakota land and with Dakota and Ojibwe people helping us and working with us. And we want to celebrate their culture, and can learn from them."

Guided night hikes in Belwin's woodland and prairies also are planned, and self-guided walks in the torch-lit labyrinth. Cost is $10 per car. Belwin Conservancy, which has hosted bonfire events since 2016, is marking its 50th year. (Details: belwin.org)

Water as touchstone

Admirers of Minnesota's waters, documentary film and landscape photography have another few weeks to experience the exhibit "Northern Waters" by Dudley Edmondson showing at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum in Winona.

Edmondson's outdoor ethic is reflected in his long career as a photographer, author and filmmaker, and in the exhibit. With still photography and film from Lake Superior, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness but, too, waters in quieter, less-distinguished spots, Edmondson's work makes up the fleeting experience of water on the world: from cloud-laden skies witnessed over serene lakes to river beds shaped and molded over centuries of flow.

Edmondson, of Duluth, said during his work he recognized some of the moments he picked could never be truly repeated, and that made capturing them all the more powerful. Experiencing the natural world at its most personal.

"There is something about that kind of work that is inspiring or interesting to me when I realize I am working in a space when I might never get a chance of making this image again," he added.

These are experiences he wants for other people of color like him. The outdoors has been his sanctuary, and he's been a passionate advocate for seeing more Black and brown faces feeling ownership of public lands. He thinks his photos can be a bridge, and is hoping a gallery in the metro might exhibit his work once it leaves Winona after Jan. 2.

"It has always been important to show African Americans and people of color that these places exist and are beautiful and they belong to them.

"When you live in a place cut off from the natural world, it is hard to imagine the kind of beauty in these images. I want people to be able to see that and be inspired in some way and to understand that those spaces are there and they offer mental and physical benefits — a respite from the somewhat hostile environment that many African Americans live in on a daily basis," he said. (Details: mmam.org)

Hunting's long winter

For lots of Minnesota hunters, blaze orange jackets and camouflage overalls got put away for the season sometime around Thanksgiving.

But for others, last call for hunting and trapping won't arrive until New Year's Day or months later.

If the snow isn't too deep, late-season pheasant hunters will trudge across fields until Jan. 2, flushing ringnecks from cattails in frozen sloughs. Ruffed grouse and spruce grouse also are fair game until Jan. 2. Hunters have until then to take their dogs on woodland walks, shotguns at the ready.

Minnesota deer hunters this year have harvested 178,500 whitetails, well below 2020's total harvest of 197,315 deer.

But there are opportunities in the cold to narrow the gap. Minnesota's deer archery season stays open until Dec. 31. Also, DNR will stage two three-day hunts starting Friday and again Dec. 31, to help fight chronic wasting disease.

The liberal bag limits will be available in 11 deer permit areas, mostly in the Driftless Area but also in the south metro area and along part of the North Dakota border.

For trappers who target fishers and pine martens, their nine-day season opens Saturday. Other trapping seasons carry well into winter, ensuring thick underfur and long guard hairs on the coyotes, bobcats, beavers and other game species that will be sought for their pelts or to stop resource damage.

By moonlight

Speaking of the night and its mystery and wonder, gatherings to mark the full moon outdoors are commonplace at Minnesota parks. The moon will be at its peak this month on Sunday. The tandem who deliver Three Rivers Park District's "The Wandering Naturalist" podcast will get out Saturday night in the woods of Eastman Nature Center in Maple Grove to complement their December topics: the night skies. District wildlife biologist Angela Grill and interpretive naturalist Brendon Baker will lead a group along with NASA Solar System Ambassador Nadia Abuisnaineh of Mounds View, a guest on the podcast. (Alas, the outing is waitlisted, but the podcast can be found anytime at threeriversparks.org/podcast.)

Grill emphasized that it doesn't take an organized program to appreciate the night. Just turning off house lights and finding dark in the back yard or nearby are groundwork for exploration. Listen and look for active nocturnal animals like coyotes, owls and even flying squirrels. Consider the stars and the constellations present.

"In a recent forest bathing session under the moonlight, I grew to appreciate even the quiet of the frosted-over prairie," Grill said. "Looking up to see the silhouette of comforting bare tree branches swaying in the wind or bent over grasses … you tune into your senses on a deeper level when surrounded by the night."

To go deeper still, think about the night skies' role as a navigation tool for humans and animals for hundreds of years. Appreciating night skies connects skywatchers to history.

"Every culture in the world has seen shapes in the stars and told stories about them," Baker said. "I'm not sure if there is anything more human than storytelling, and to me, the fact that every culture tells stories of the stars shows how much that view inspires us."

He uses the thread coursing through the Big Dipper, which is viewable low in the northern sky this time of year. For the Greeks, it was part of the constellation Ursa Major, or Great Bear. The Ojibwe people see the dipper's origin in the story of the Great Fisher — the fisher is a fierce hunter in the weasel family. The dipper is Blue/Birth Woman to the Dakota people — "the doorkeeper between the star world and Earth," according to Native Skywatchers. (Learn more at nativeskywatchers.com.)

"I enjoy the nights because they connect me to the history of cultures around the world, while letting me see places I'm familiar with a new, albeit dimmer, light," Baker said.

On the hunt for shed

Hunting for antlers shed by whitetail deer (and moose if you're in the Arrowhead region) is a winter activity that's equal parts skill, luck, exercise, and cure for cabin fever.

Listen to shed hunter Gary Korsgaden of Park Rapids. He's an avid outdoorsman who likens his purposeful walks in late January, February, March and April to hunting for Easter eggs. It's simple, free and fun.

"I like anything that gets me into the woods,'' he said. "When should you do it? Anytime it's warm and anytime you're bored.''

The premise is that bucks drop their antlers in mid-January and start growing new ones. The sheds are finders' keepers on millions of acres of public land.

From Korsgaden's tipsheet:

• Hunt when snow recedes to the point of bare ground showing at the base of trees.
• Look in bedding areas, especially on south-facing slopes where deer like to sun themselves.
• Search along fences where deer have to jump or crawl to pass. Look along field edges where they bed and spend time. Walk along game trails, looking to the sides and especially in areas where low-hanging branches can hook and dislodge antlers.
• When bucks must jump high obstacles, the landing force can cause shedding. Look around big trees that have fallen over trails. Look around bird feeders or natural feeding areas where they've been browsing. A deer will shake its head after drinking. Look around ponds and streams.
• If you have an old shed, take it with you and toss it on the ground you're searching to see what it looks like. If you find a shed, look closely in the same general area for the match. Bucks don't like the imbalance and work to drop their remaining antler.

Happy hunting!