Journal of a Minnesota Angler

Date: 7/24/2009 Time: 2:00-3:30pm Body of water: Bearskin Lake Location: Gunflint Trail Weather Conditions: strong wind from West, some clouds Ken has an uncle that has a cabin on Bearskin Lake nearby. They have a lot of smallmouth bass there and his aunt catches nice size smallies right off their dock. Ken’s cousin was supposed to be at the cabin this week (his uncle was on vacation), so we called to get permission to fish off their dock. He didn’t answer so we left a message and... (more...)

Date: 7/24/2009 Time: 9:30-11:30am Body of water: Poplar Lake Location: Gunflint Trail Weather Conditions: overcast and windy at first, but cleared out Ken and I got a pass from working on the raised walkway to fulfill The Mission. We first needed to tour our bay for a line with a bobber that had broken off a cane pole that morning. We were looking for the bobber and decided to fish the bay a bit as we went. I first tried white pearl and bubble gum flukes at the neighbors’ reeds. My bubble... (more...)

“Good morning, Minnestoa Angler, “This is a picture of a 14” smallmouth bass. It is needed for a dinner party at 4:30pm at a cabin on the Gunflint Trail. Earlier in the week, the family had secured three smallmouth bass, but consumed them in an event they called, “a fish fry,” so another one is needed. You may obtain this fish in any of the local lakes, but be aware that catching a “smallie,” as many fisherman call them, can be a difficult challenge under... (more...)

Species: Northern Pike Size: 19″ Lure used: bubble gum super fluke Date: 7/23/2009 Time: 8:00-10:00pm Body of water: Poplar Lake Location: Gunflint Trail Weather Conditions: overcast, no breeze George had gone home earlier in the morning, so it was just Ken and I for the rest of the week. We decided it was time to go after the bass I missed the day before. Before getting into THE spot, we cast along the North shore. We had just passed a short dock and I cast behind us toward a fallen log.... (more...)

Date: 7/22/2009 Time: 8:30-10:00pm Body of water: Poplar Lake Location: Gunflint Trail Weather Conditions: clear Later that night, as we were heading out, Ken asked if I wanted to go back for that bass I missed earlier in the evening. I thought it was too soon, so Ken, George, and I went around Young’s Island instead. That turned out to be a bad decision because we all got skunked. I did, however, get a bite on the South shore. It hit my bubble gum fluke and I set the hook hard after the... (more...)

Species: Northern Pike Size: 23″ Lure used: bubble gum super fluke Date: 7/22/2009 Time: 5-6:15pm Body of water: Poplar Lake Location: Gunflint Trail Weather Conditions: clear with some clouds, thunderhead to the North After a hard day’s work building a raised walkway for the cabin, we workers decided we deserved a pontoon ride. Ken, George, George’s wife, my kids, and I took off and decided to check out walleye alley again. On the way, I noticed a channel we usually blow by.... (more...)

Date: 7/22/2009 Time: 5:30-8:00am Body of water: Poplar Lake Location: Gunflint Trail Weather Conditions: some clouds, little bit of rain Being as passionate about fishing as I am, I’ve never gotten up super early to go fishing. Mainly because I’m not a morning person. I’d much rather fish late into the night than at the break of dawn. However, Wednesday morning, I woke up at 5:15am and got an urge to be a “true” fisherman. I got out of bed, launched the fishing boat,... (more...)

Species: Northern Pike Size: 19″ Lure used: white pearl super fluke Date: 7/21/2009 Time: 8:30-9:30pm Body of water: Poplar Lake Location: Gunflint Trail Weather Conditions: calm, slight breeze, clear with few clouds Ken, George, and I hopped in the fishing boat and headed for the channel across the bay. We rounded an unnamed island and fished going West. At West end of the unnamed island that forms the channel with Kloek island, I got a nibble on my white pearl super fluke, but the fish... (more...)

Date: 7/21/2009 Time: 11:30am-2:00pm Body of water: Poplar Lake Location: Gunflint Trail Weather Conditions: overcast with light rain on and off When Ken was out with the kids the night before, he stumbled upon a school of fish that numbered in the dozens. He said fish were appearing everywhere on the fishfinder. Ken, George, George’s wife, and I decided to go out to see if we could find that school. Ken said he saw the school a few hundred feet off the South shore of Young’s Island.... (more...)

Date: 7/20/2009 Time: 8-10:00pm Body of water: Poplar Lake Location: Gunflint Trail Weather Conditions: partly cloudy, wind from the South The next night, Ken took my kids out on the pontoon and I took George and his wife out on the fishing boat. Since she was coming along, I thought I would get us some action and took them out to Ken and I’s secret fishing spot where there is always fish. When we got there, another fisherman was in the bay, so we went to the bay next door to cast for a few... (more...)