Here's a few shots over the past few days. It's hard to pick out the subtle changes but if you look really close at the first and last picture you can see some melt occurring around the reeds just past the flag.
A few more dark spots on the ice, and a little more melt down at the beach. So far I've had 8 ice out guess's sent in.........all on different dates. 
The past few weeks have been warmer than normal. The lake is snow-free, just bare ice. Still plenty of it, but I would be careful where I went! Maggie thinks it's o.k. though.......
Very little snow is left on the ground, or in the bush, and the lake looks somewhat low. It's hard to make predictions, but we could sure use some moisture to get the creeks flowing and the lake level back up. In this picture you can see the end of the creek starting to turn dark.....thin ice!
Two days ago the gulls showed up, which is about two weeks earlier than last year. The notorious eagle pair have been hanging out on their perch for at least two weeks.....probably scoping out the gull rock for a potential meal! A good sign is that the gulls are already chasing the eagles away.....they are still "smarting" over the decimation of their hatch-lings two years ago.
VBL temporarily set up shop for a week down in the Baja, more specifically, the East Cape on the Sea of Cortez, Mexico. It was gruelling........here Keith and I test out a warm pool with a cold cerveza!
Susanne and I on a day trip where we stopped to check out the Pacific side of the Baja.
In keeping with the fishing nature of this blog we did a day of fishing. Here Susanne is trolling a Rapala for anything that will bite.
The first mate Brian holding one of several Sierra Mackeral that I managed to catch. These turned out to be very tasty!
As with guests at VBL, the dreaded "end of the trip" moment where you grease the evil lodge owner's palm. Here I pass over my life's savings to Thomas.............
On Sunday Susanne & I made a trek back into Caribou Lake. The only sign of activity back there were these mystery tracks.........Sasquatch?
Here the VBL boat lies in state, waiting for the open water season and some smallmouth bass action! It has been two years since anyone has ventured back to Caribou to fish! My goal this year is to turn that record around........it is a bit of a hike to get here but well worth it. I need to train some "regulars" on how to get here.......Andy?, Professor?, Dustin?
Here's a scenic shot of Susanne touring around Caribou. It's a beautiful little lake......actually it is not that small!
Well, one thing leads to another. With the abnormally warm weather and rain in the forcast it is time for my annual "gas run" back into the portage lakes. This is much easier than trying to carry fuel over the trails. This picture reminds me of some expedition to the north pole.
For those that have taken the Caribou trip you might remember the wet foot you received while navigating this stream across the trail. Here my bridge building skills shine!
Close-up of the "Mighty Caribou", just upstream from Caribou Falls.
Leaving McGregor Lake, the stream is opening up, but no sign of the Eagles yet. Today the rain is coming down so it was a good thing I took the gas in when I did. I still need to bring the motors back in to Clearwater Lake and McGregor.......I may have to do this via open water later this spring.
