We’re in the “tween” season for anglers, a period during which most fishing options become nearly impossible to exercise.

This is not to say we are without opportunities to get out to the water (if not “on” the water), but the weather is too cold for many anglers and the ice is not yet ready for those who will drill holes and jig for crappies, walleyes, bluegills and yellow perch.

The sub-freezing temperatures next week may add inches to the ice over Mosquito, Pymatuning and other waters, but until then, what’s an angler to do? I have a few ideas for we who are caught between seasons but nevertheless want to scratch their fishing itch.

First, things first. Cook up a pot of rich and spicy chili and put it on the stove to simmer low and slow for a few hours. There’s nothing like a steaming bowl of chili to reward yourself after a productive day of doing nothing. Be sure to make enough to freeze a pint to take to the lake when you finally do walk out to your hot spots.

Today is a great day to start the tackle maintenance you postponed after your last 2024 fishing trip. If you are like me, you have enough rods and reels to start your own second-hand tackle shop. Every one of them, of course, will continue to serve you well if you spend a few hours cleaning, oiling and re-spooling reels and scrubbing the crud from rods’ reel seats and line guides during this tween season.

As I write this, I know I have 20 or so reels sitting on my basement workbench. They are grimy from many hours of use in my pursuit of largemouths, smallmouths, walleyes and crappies on waters ranging from the Ohio River to Lake Erie.

I keep them as clean as possible during the season and add a drop or two of reel oil every week or so, but I still like to thoroughly clean them during the offseason. I strip off last year’s line, down to the backing, and open the gear case to clean the innards. After reassembling each reel, I wind on fresh line and label them so I know the pound-test strength and whether they are fluorocarbon or mono.

I also clean the handles of my casting and spinning rods (it is surprising how dirty they get during the fishing season). I inspect all of the guides with a twirl of a cotton swab through each eye to identify cracks or burrs that might damage my fishing line.

Then I wipe the shafts with a cloth soaked with a spritz of lemon Pledge polish. I am not sure the polish actually does anything, but I feel good about doing it. Plus it makes the rods smell nice for a while.

Labeling rods, reels, tackle boxes and other fishing stuff is helpful, especially for those of us who no longer have the memory of youth. I wrap various colors of electrical tape on my rods and label them with line size, and write with Sharpies on my clear plastic Plano boxes. Labeling is a pretty basic exercise, but its value pays off big time when you reach for a rod and reel outfit and know immediately what size line is on the reel.

Rod and reel maintenance will eat up a lot of time this afternoon. By the time you are done, the chili vapors will be reaching your nostrils. Pop a pan of cornbread in the oven and in less than a half hour, you’ll be in chili and cornbread heaven.

Bon appetite and happy fishing.

Jack Wollitz enjoys a bowl of chili almost as much as fishing. Contact him at jackbbaass@gmail.com