Johnny Panther Quests. Ecotours

Walleye season in full swing

In Spring and Fall the rivers are swarmed by fishermen. Thankfully where we go, not many do.

I wasn't surprised that the Cass River was still locked up solid with ice. I was surprise at how low and clear the water was in the Tittabawassee and Flint Rivers. The bottom moved around quite a bit over the winter, and with it being low and clear, the changes were dramatic.

We took a short( five hours) blast out into the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge and back. The first thing I noticed was the beating the boat ramp took over the winter. It is sad to see the decay of what was once one of the busiest marinas on the river. Hopefully we will be back in a week with higher and more open water to really get into the heart of the Shiawassee Flats. Boat tours will be starting shortly, and it's always nice to be able to give the impression I know where I'm going. We saw a pair of mute swans, and tested the waters(ice) of the wide part. I would imagine it will break up and float out today. Following are a few images of our recon.

The cut in March

Following snowmobile tracks... in a boat! It won't be long and we'll be picking our way through the shallows of the "wide part", putting sun screen on like we didn't pay for it. I feel a Cass River recon in Frankenmuth coming on.