Journal of a Minnesota Angler

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...)

Earlier this month, I was contacted by Simeon Chambers of the Replica Toy Fish company. He said he had a product that kids love and parents really appreciate. Not sure of his claim, I checked out his web site. His story was very interesting. One summer his 7 year old son asked him for a toy Northern Pike. He searched one of the big stores for 20 minutes before finally buying a fishing lure that looked like a Northern. He gave it to his son (after taking off the hooks, of course), and his son... (more...)

Every week, the Outdoor Blogger Network holds a contest and gives away some gear to its members. The catch is that you have to review any product that you win. Back in December, they gave away some really cool ice fishing equipment and I was picked as a winner for the Frabill Pro-Thermal Tip-up Combo. Unfortunately, I only had once chance to use it in December and none in January. I finally got a second chance to use it when my brother was in town recently so I now feel better about doing a review.... (more...)

A few weeks ago, the folks at SmartShield contacted me and asked me to do a review of their sunscreen. While sunscreen isn’t what you think of first when getting gear together to go fishing, it is one of the most important. So I agreed. They sent me a free bottle in the mail last week. Unfortunately, I got my bottle a week too late. If I had received it earlier, I could have brought it with me to Cincinnati and really put it to the test. That week was my first major exposure to ultraviolet... (more...)

The fluke by Zoom Bait, Inc., and more specifically the super fluke, is a great all-species lure. It’s made more for bass than other species, but all species strike it. The reason is that it looks like a wounded shad when fished correctly. I’ve caught largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, walleye, northern pike, and muskie all on super flukes. Read more on why it’s my favorite lure in my post, “The Magic Lure.” And learn how I rig it in my post “Rigging The... (more...)

I’m in love. I got a chance to try out the new Hobie Mirage Pro Angler tonight at a local lake. Our local dealer takes the entire Hobie line out to local lakes for people to try out. I was able to try the Mirage Pro Angler, the Mirage Outfitter, and Mirage Oasis. I’m not a terribly good swimmer, so while I’m comfortable in a canoe, I’m always a little bit nervous when it gets tippy from activity or choppy waters. There was no such problem with the Pro Angler. At 38″... (more...)