Journal of a Minnesota Angler

Last Friday was my last day at a job I held for nearly 11 years. I found a new improved gig and took a week off before diving into new challenges. Monday was my first day of freedom. It was the third straight day I didn’t have to go to work and the third straight day I got up earlier than I would normally to go to work. Sometimes I wonder about my own sanity. I told Mark about my time off when I first decided to make a jump so that we could hopefully go to Mille Lacs for the day. Unfortunately,... (more...)

I got a chance to go out on my tube on Father’s Day. I was going to go panfishing with my kids, but they were engrossed in their activities for the afternoon, so it was an opportunity for me to explore a new local lake. The lake I had in mind is a bass catch and release lake, so the theory is that there should be some lunkers in there. I launched off the swimming beach at the Southeast corner. As I got away from shore, the bottom showed a shallow grade. I spotted some reeds about a thousand... (more...)

Monday night, I went back to Gervais Lake where I tied my personal best largemouth last weekend. I was hoping the magic would strike again. I threw a couple of different jigs with trailers, bubble gum super fluke, and super craw, but the power worm was the only lure that even got a nibble. And only one. I also trolled with a bluegill swim jig for about 15 minutes with no interest. I was out for about an hour and a half and came away with nothing. But my excuse is that my attention wasn’t... (more...)

My brother-in-law, George, was in town for a wedding and he invited me out fishing with one of his friends. It happened to be a day where my son had his Cub Scout model rocket launch, so I told him I couldn’t make it at his scheduled time of 8am. However, if he made it earlier, perhaps I could make it. After a flurry of text messages, we settled on a 6am start and my father-in-law, Ken, was joining us as well. Whenever I get up that early to go fishing, I tend to question my sanity when... (more...)

On day 2 of Memorial Weekend, I opted to go to a lake I’ve been told has a lot of large bass. My friend’s grandmother was the sole resident on the lake for many years. I’ve fished it twice before and have yet to catch a fish on it. I wasn’t as gung ho as the day before and didn’t get on the lake until after 9am. I brought my tube along as the lake didn’t have the same restrictions as the previous lake. I was surprised to see a full parking lot when I arrived.... (more...)

The hardest part of Spring in Minnesota for a bass fisherman is waiting for bass opener to come around. It finally arrived this past weekend. I was supposed to go up to my father-in-law’s cabin on the Gunflint, but my wife scheduled her garage sale for this week, so I was stuck at home helping to get the garage ready. That, however, wasn’t going to keep me from wetting a line. I decided that I would try a lake I haven’t fished since before bass opener last year. I landed a 16″... (more...)

On Easter Sunday, I got a call from Mark wanting to go fishing. My wife had wanted me to do some things around the house, but she (like I) was a bit exhausted from a couple of late nights. So since she wanted to lay down for a while, I got the go ahead to go. In March and April in Minnesota, the only species of fish you can “target” is panfish. Hard core anglers get out their light tackle and typically go after crappie. This was what we were after that afternoon. Mark let me use his... (more...)

A few weeks ago, I dubbed my brother the Master of Ice Crappie because he had caught 13 crappie in just a few hours of ice fishing. That was an impressive feat considering the conditions. We essentially drilled some random holes near some other ice fishermen and he jigged his way to success with no electronics. We were essentially blind to what was below us, but he was still able to catch all those fish. However, having a Vexilar (fish finder) and knowing how to read it and use it effectively... (more...)

I was finally able to do some ice fishing last Friday afternoon with my brother, Vince, and a friend of his. Vince was in town to surprise my dad for his milestone birthday. Vince and I spent some time with family (my aunt flew in for the surprise as well) in the morning and met up with his friend later in the afternoon. The three of us didn’t get on the lake until 4pm. When we got to the lake, we found several makeshift ice fishing towns. We picked the one with the most houses and set... (more...)

This past weekend, I had an opportunity to fish two different ice fishing tournaments. The problem was, they were at the same time. So I had to make a choice. I opted for the closer tournament that looked like it might have fewer people. Not to mention that it was for a good cause. The tournament I picked was the Holes for Heroes tournament on Medicine Lake in Plymouth. It was mainly a fundraiser for the Fishing for Life organization, but was also intended to highlight the armed forces and... (more...)