Journal of a Minnesota Angler

The wilderness won a battle yesterday thanks to the decision of a Minnesota judge. AT&T will not be allowed to build a 450 foot cell tower in the middle of the BWCA. Instead, it will be a measly 199 feet. AT&T claims the shortened tower will cover 1/16th of the area a taller tower would, but actually, it will only be a 17 percent decrease. Full story: Judge says no to 450-foot cell tower near BWCA, but 199-foot tower OK For years, people have debated whether or not cell service should... (more...)

The average temp in Minnesota this time of year is around 55 degrees. But this last weekend, it hit 70 degrees F and ice out happened overday (as opposed to overnight) for many local lakes. So in keeping with the warming/melting theme, I wanted to show what happens in Yosemite this time of year. This video made the rounds several months ago. I forget where I first heard about it, but it’s worth another look even if you’ve seen it before. It’s amazing how the ice moves like a... (more...)

During the SHOT show in January, SentrySafe gave away 40 pistol safes to Twitter followers that tweeted their contest. While I don’t own a pistol, the safe looked like it could be used for much more than firearms, so I entered. To my surprise, I won one. Given my recent non-fishing related posts, I thought I would keep with the theme and do a review of the safe. I was familiar with the SentrySafe family of products as I’ve owned both the Fireproof Security File and the smaller SentrySafe... (more...)

A few months ago, a friend of mine, who is originally from the UK and whom I regularly watch Doctor Who with (yes, I’m a geek), introduced me to a UK series called River Cottage. It stars Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (herein referred to as HFW for brevity) who was a chef by trade and decided to leave the comforts of the city for country life, or “smallholding” as the Brits call it. It started with “Escape to River Cottage” in 1999 and has since blossomed into an empire... (more...)

A few months ago, a friend and neighbor introduced me to the UK series River Cottage. It’s a series about a man who left London to live in the country and raise his own food, both vegetables and animals. After watching the series, I wanted to do a review. In writing the review, I wanted to give a little of my background. And in doing so, I ended up being very self reflective in my growth of attitude of the food I eat. The post, I realized, needed to be split into two. The River Cottage... (more...)

[This post contains several place holder images that hide images of dead deer. Please do not click on the place holders below if you do not want to see them.] Back in early February, I happened to notice some tweets by Jim Braaten giving information on the MN DNR’s effort to test deer in Southeastern Minnesota because one in the area was found to have chronic wasting disease (CWD). To test the deer, they would have to cull the heard and test the deer that were killed. A total of 900 would... (more...)

Too often we forget to express our feelings to the people that matter most in our lives. We also forget to thank them for everything they do for us. Not just in the obvious big events, but also in the little things that get lost in our daily lives. So on this, my wife’s *ahem*ty-third birthday, I would like to say, “thank you,” to her for everything she does for me and our family. From the laundry, to taking care of the kids, to the Thanksgiving dinners for 20+ family members.... (more...)

From my family to yours, I would like to wish you a prosperous and bountiful (fish or otherwise) Year of the Rabbit. [ The picture above makes me want to get my pellet gun. I haven't seen many bunnies in my yard this winter, but their tracks keep showing up. ] AKPC_IDS += "5673,";Share this:FacebookStumbleUponDiggEmail Read More →

One of the great ideas that came out of the Outdoor Blogger Network is their writing prompts. Every week, they suggest a topic for us outdoor bloggery types to write about. I’ve opted out of most of them mainly because, like Troutrageous, I don’t normally have a shortage of things to write about. However, that seems to have changed as of late as I haven’t gotten out on the ice as much as I would have liked this winter. So I’m biting on OBN’s latest photo prompt:... (more...)

So I blinked and somehow 9 days passed since my last post. I haven’t done that since getting ready for the Lego League regional tournament. Granted, we are now getting ready for the state tournament that takes place a week from Saturday, but my team and I weren’t even working that hard. The time just went ‘poof.’ It’s amazing how time passes so fast some days/weeks. It wasn’t long ago that I was in the hospital for the birth of my kids, and they are now 10... (more...)