IT'S tough looking out the window right now, seeing snow sitting on my boat's cover. The long range forecast doesn't look great either, with temperatures slightly above freezing. Could it be time to put the boat away?

Nah, I don't think so. I can remember one time at Pine Falls on the Winnipeg River when water froze to the splashguards of my boat as I tried to troll backwards over structure. Even with a portable heater in the boat, my fishing partner and I could only last about two hours before we had to come back to shore and warm up for half an hour in the vehicle.

Another trip that comes to mind was a mid-November muskie trip to Lake of the Woods. We were staying near Sioux Narrows at a friend's camp and decided to take a boat ride into French Narrows; a famous muskie location in the fall. Luckily we were riding in a boat equipped for this kind of cold weather travel. It had a full windshield, a top, and a portable heater under the dash. Given that the air temperature was below freezing, this was wonderful.