If you don’t know how to answer that question, I pity you. If you didn’t so much as recognize that as a word, you could be beyond all help.
Believe it or not, this is a serious matter. I am afraid we have collectively forgotten how to go fishin’.
Continue reading “Whatchafishinfer?”Where do you draw the line between desirable and disposable? Between fashionable and gauche? Between hero and pariah?
When it comes to fishing, the lines that were drawn generations ago are beginning to blur and shift. Right now, Minnesota is in the process of redefining what it means to be “rough,” and it’s about time.
Continue reading “Minnesota is Becoming a No Junk Fish State”To me, there might not be a more compelling fish to pursue through the ice than the tullibee (Coregonus artedi). That’s why I recently took two days to go to Big Sandy Lake, in Aitkin County. Word on the street was that things are good there lately. So, I expected a quick vacation of ice fishing for tullibees. What I got was more like work, with a little schooling thrown in.
Continue reading “Tullibees on Big Sandy Lake”How would you rate your 2022? So-so, satisfactory, spectacular, staggeringly stupendous? One would hope for better than 2021 or 2020, but to be fair, that bar was pretty low.
I’m happy to report my 2022 has been sensational (and then some), and I have lots to share.
Continue reading “NAGC News: Turkeys, Trips, and Good Times”In the year two thousand and twenty two, an eclectic band of writers, hunters, and other celebrities descended on southern Missouri for their annual gathering.
For months they looked forward to their usual camaraderie and rabble rousing. However, it was unseasonably hot, and downright miserable in the autumn sun.
Someone proposed “gigging”—an ancient pursuit steeped in mystery—which apparently consists of stabbing at sucker fish in the dark with shamefully narrow forks mounted on unwieldy poles. Nobody knew much about it, on account that it isn’t much practiced anymore.
Continue reading “To Take a Sucker”Sometimes it’s best to stare down the unknowns and bad weather and roll the dice. I did recently and was reminded that a little fish slime on your fingers can cure whatever ails you.
Continue reading “Three Magical Days: Part I- Trout Fishing”I recently took a day trip on the Mississippi to do some fishing. It’s something I hadn’t done before, but had considered trying on the many fishable rivers in the area. It’s good I did, because it will probably stand as one of the highlights of the entire summer. To tell the truth, the plan was so simple it couldn’t fail: just me, the river, and any smallmouth bass that were in the mood for a tussle.
Continue reading “Do Something New: River Smallmouth Float Trip”I’ve been here since it was darn near dark. Literally tiptoed into place, if you can believe it. Heard every bird chirp and swish of leaves. Adrenaline has been on a steady drip for hours now.
I haven’t been so tense for so long in my life.
Continue reading “Turkey Reigns King at Blackhawk Lake”For years I have dreamed of camping and ice fishing in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Biting cold and slush-laden lake tops have kept me home the last two winters. That was fine; I’m not one to press my luck. But the warmer-than-average weather we’ve enjoyed lately had me itching to get at it.
Entry Point 25, with walleyes in Newfound Lake and brook trout in Found Lake, was the perfect setting for my introduction into winter adventuring. Little did I know, however, that introduction would come with a sobering peek into my own psyche. Continue reading “BWCA Entry Point 25: Winter Camping and Fishing”
I haven’t had many fun surprises lately. For better or worse, life has been plodding along at its sedated, pandemic pace. Nothing seems to change and there isn’t much to look forward to. Until Thursday, that is.
Continue reading “Do Something New: Hook a Dinosaur”I love catching walleyes and I’m not alone in that. Lots and lots of videos online testify to that fact. A brief survey of YouTube titles will tell you that walleyes can be caught on Lake Erie, Mille Lacs, Lake of the Woods, Lake Winnipeg, and some place way up in Canada whose name I can’t remember but sounds like “We-must-go.”
Just those five lakes. Continue reading “Look At Me, I’m A Fishing Genius”
What do you get when you take a pandemic-weary man, work him nearly to exhaustion, cook him in the sun, and feed him a couple fish?
A question for the ages, no doubt. In order to learn the answer, I left home hours before sunrise on May 18th. My destination was BWCA Entry Point 52, Brant Lake- somewhere I’d been trying to go for over a year. Continue reading “BWCA Entry Point 52: Saved by Gillis Lake”
It’s a bit niche, I’ll admit. This method of cooking doesn’t lend itself well to universal use. There aren’t many times and places a person will readily be able to throw it together. Still, it’s too good not to share.
Last year, when I haphazardly threw a trout over the campfire for breakfast one day, I had no idea it would turn out so good. This year, I knew that was exactly what I wanted to do when I went back to the BWCA. In fact, I didn’t even leave myself any other options. It was this or nothing. Continue reading “Wilderness Food: Lake Trout Over Cedar Coals”
It seems every year I tell myself I’m going to get new hiking boots. And ice fishing boots. And snow bibs. And winter clothing layers. And a new backpacking stove. I’m sure I’ll get around to all those, but most of my procrastination has to do with finding the right items at the right prices. Well, now is the time of year when prices get slashed and I need to be on top of my shopping game. You should too, especially if you need any type of outdoor clothing. Continue reading “The Season for Outdoor Savings”
Well, the walleye and northern pike seasons ended yesterday here in Minnesota. This always leaves me feeling a little adrift with respect to the remainder of my ice fishing season. Most of my energy is spent chasing those toothy predators; nothing else quite measures up.
But I love ice fishing. I’d rather make use of the time left than hang my head and stuff my gear back up in the top of the garage again. Continue reading “Ways to Extend Your Ice Fishing Season”
