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By Walt Young
sports@altoonamirror.com
With the close of the regular deer season, it often seems like the end of most outdoor activities until the longer, warmer days of springtime. I know, of course, that a fair number of outdoor opportunities exist during the coming weeks.
For hunters, the late seasons for small game, ducks and geese are already underway. Varmint hunters can also pursue foxes until February 18, crows until April 9 and coyotes every day year-round. Anglers can look forward to lots of ice-fishing prospects throughout our region once the lakes have frozen to a safe thickness, not to mention chances for open-water angling on rivers and streams if the weather stays more moderate.
And a simple walk in the winter woods with a camera after a fresh snowfall can capture some of nature's most beautiful handiwork.
But regardless of the chances to get outside, the shorter days and often undesirable weather of winter will necessitate spending a majority of free time indoors. Some of the best ways to spend this forced shut-in time can be attending to the routine off-season maintenance of equipment, like cleaning and storing your hunting guns or backing off the drag settings on your fishing reels. Next would be organizing and prepping the rest of the fishing tackle for those first springtime outings. Much of that preseason preparation can evolve into worthwhile do-it-yourself projects or ongoing hobbies in their own right.
For me, fly tying occupies the majority of my winter prep time and transformed long ago from a hobby simply to complement my fly-fishing into a complete standalone avocation. When I began fly-fishing back in the 1960s, most fly fishermen tied their own flies.
Nowadays, nearly the opposite is true: most fly anglers currently don't tie their own flies. I can't imagine being a fly fisherman and not tying my own flies. Being a fly tier provides me with the ability to generously stock my fly boxes at a fraction of the cost of buying them. Tying flies also lets me discover some more effective flies by tweaking standard fly patterns or experimenting with my own creations.
Making your own fishing lures is another way to save money and customize some of your favorite baits. I enjoy assembling some of my own crankbaits and other hard baits, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits and inline spinners. This project started as basic tackle maintenance when I bought an assortment of treble hooks and split rings along with a pair of split ring pliers years ago to replace any dull or rusted hooks on my collection hard baits.
Some of the suppliers of those components also offered various lure bodies already painted and ready for hooks and split rings to complete them. Next, I bought an assortment of parts and tools to make my own spinnerbaits and buzzbaits. Making any of those lures only takes a minute or so and will cost half or less of a comparable store-bought model.
A knowledge of rod building techniques is an asset for the avid angler. Building a rod from scratch can be a worthwhile and rewarding hobby on its own merits. Buying a rod blank, guides, reel seat and other components will generally cost much less than a comparable finished rod. So with a few hours of work, you can have a quality rod and save money in the process.
Building your own also provides the opportunity to customize the rod to your own personal specifications. Even just knowing how to wrap the guides on a rod can come in handy if you need to replace a damaged guide or refurbish an old favorite rod you own.
And if you are still in need of a gift for an angler on our list, the 2022 fishing licenses are now on sale and can be purchased online at huntfish.pa.gov or at more than 700 issuing agents around the state. A fishing license makes a worthwhile gift for any anglers on your holiday shopping list as well. Even the most hardcore fisherman who already owns every conceivable piece of tackle still needs a new fishing license each year. A voucher can be purchased online or from any license vendor, and the recipient can redeem it for an actual license.
Multi-year license options are also available in 3-, 5-, or 10-year increments and will enable the recipient to be properly licensed to fish for years to come. A trout permit, a Lake Erie permit or a combination permit are necessary add-ons for many anglers as well.