Journal of a Minnesota Angler

Date: 7/1/2009 Time: 6:30pm-9:30pm Body of water: Lake Owasso Location: Shoreview, MN Weather Conditions: scattered clouds My old colleague that had introduced me to the super fluke actually lives in Orchard Lake where I fished last week and after our outing, we stopped in to say hi (he also knew the two colleagues I fished with). While talking to him and his wife, I found out that his wife really likes the pink (“bubble gum” to us guys) colored super flukes. Apparently, she has done... (more...)

Species: Largemouth Bass Size: ~17″ Lure used: white pearl super fluke with split shot Date: 6/24/2009 Time: 7pm-9:00pm Body of water: Orchard Lake Location: Lakeville, MN Weather Conditions: rain in the early afternoon, scattered clouds while fishing My colleague John and I have a mutual former colleague by the name of Matt. Matt’s been bugging us to go fishing the past few weeks, but schedules haven’t worked out. Until yesterday. Matt brought one of his current colleagues,... (more...)

Species: Largemouth Bass Size: ~14″ Lure used: white pearl super fluke (first cast of the night!) Date: 6/19/2009 Time: 7pm-9:30pm Body of water: Lake Owasso Location: Shoreview, MN Weather Conditions: overcast and rain My neighbor, Mark, and I went out after dinner and were out on the lake by 7pm.  There were some ominous clouds coming in, but we figured we could always get off the lake if we saw lightning.  On my first cast using a super fluke, the retrieve didn’t feel quite right,... (more...)

Species: Walleye Size: 12″ Lure used: leech on lindey rig Species: Largemouth Bass Size: 12″ Lure used: white pearl super fluke Species: Largemouth Bass Size: 12″ Lure used: white pearl super fluke Date: 6/14/2009 Time: 7:30-11:30am Body of water: Bald Eagle Lake Location: White Bear Lake, MN Weather Conditions: sunny Mark, Rob, and I decided to go to Bald Eagle Lake this morning in the Norther suburbs of St. Paul, MN. We had determined yesterday that we would meet up at 7am. ... (more...)

Mark is a neighbor of mine that lives two houses down from me. We are the second house off the corner, so he’s actually across a street. That extra psychological barrier usually prevents either from us from seeing each other or talking much. But his son plays with my next door neighbor’s son a lot and their family is always invited to our neighborhood gatherings that we have every few months. Usually only Marks’ wife and son show up because Mark is off fishing. My impression... (more...)

Date: 5/24/2009 Time: 7-9pm Body of water: Poplar Lake Location: Gunflint Trail Weather Conditions: clear That last evening, we decided to fish our favorite fishing hole. It’s in a shallow bay that gets to only about 1 ft deep, but has a hole 4-5 ft deep. There always seems to be fish there. When we got there, there we three boats around us. One was smack in the middle of the bay with two dogs fishing with a bobber. We mozied up to the South shore and made some casts before sneaking around... (more...)

Date: 5/24/2009 Time: 2-4pm Body of water: Poplar Lake Location: Gunflint Trail Weather Conditions: sunny Ken and I went out with my 8 year old daughter in the middle of the afternoon on our last day. We tried a stretch Ken’s dad called Dark Arm Bay. Dark Arm Bay is known for Northern Pike because it gets very sunny there in the afternoons and spoons can be very effective. However, they weren’t that afternoon. My daughter was casting with a 6″ zoom lizard, I alternated between... (more...)

Species: Smallmouth Bass Size: 13″ Lure used: white pearl super fluke Species: Smallmouth Bass Size: 13″ Lure used: white pearl super fluke Date: 5/23/2009 Time: 7-10pm Body of water: Poplar Lake Location: Gunflint Trail, 30 mi North of Grand Marais, MN Weather Conditions: calm and clear In the evening, Ken and I went down to an area we call “Walleye alley.” It’s where Ken has caught a lot of walleye over the years and where I caught my biggest walleye, a 24-incher. But... (more...)

Species: Smallmouth Bass Size: 13″ Lure used: white pearl super fluke Date: 5/23/2009 Time: 1-4pm Body of water: West Bearskin Lake Location: Gunflint Trail, 30 mi North of Grand Marais, MN Weather Conditions: sunny My father-in-law, Ken, and I decided to head to a nearby lake to try for some smallmouth and lake trout. A few summers ago, we were in the Southwest arm and got so many hits on super flukes that we lost count about how many we caught. The problem was, they were all under 10″,... (more...)

Species: Smallmouth Bass Size: 14″ Lure used: white pearl super fluke Species: Smallmouth Bass Size: 13″ Lure used: white pearl super fluke Date: 5/22/2009 Time: 8-9pm Body of water: Poplar Lake Location: Gunflint Trail, 30 mi North of Grand Marais, MN Weather Conditions: calm and clear We arrived at my in-law’s cabin at about 7pm Friday night. It was getting dark quickly, so I got my car unloaded and my father-in-law, Ken, and I headed out for as much time as we could.... (more...)