This year was very good to me, fishing-wise. Here are some of my 2010 stats courtesy of Fish Swami: 2010 Stat Summary I said at the beginning of the year that if I accomplished 6 of my goals for the year, I would consider it a successful year. That implies that it would be an unsuccessful year if I accomplished less than 6. Fish 40 days out of the year (only 39) Have patience to try new lures and new techniques Start float tubing Catch an average of 1.5 fish per day Catch an... (more...)
I’ve been itching to get out on the ice since temps took a dive in early December. It got worse when I won a nice tip-up combo from Frabill and the Outdoor Blogger Network. With my brother home for the holidays, I hoped to get my chance. I finally did the day after Christmas. I met my brother and his friend on White Bear Lake off Bellaire Beach. It seemed like the whole town had the same idea we did. There were probably two dozen ice shacks and another dozen or so groups with no shelters. When... (more...)
So it’s the day after Christmas. I bet you didn’t get the Sportsman Channel baseball cap that you really wanted. Instead, your loved ones took the ridiculous advice of a know-it-all blogger and got you a useless gift card to BassProShops instead. What good is that? You can’t buy a Sportsman Channel hat with that. Well, I’m here to your rescue! I wasn’t able to give away this baseball cap in my previous contest, but I can give it away in its own contest. Of course,... (more...)
We waited all through the year For the day to appear When we could be together in harmony You know the time will come Peace on earth for everyone And we can live forever in a world where we are free Let it shine for you and me There’s something about Christmas time Something about Christmas time That makes you wish it was Christmas everyday To see the joy in the children’s eyes The way that the old folks smile Says that Christmas will never go away We’re all as one tonight Makes... (more...)
In the spirit of the season and in keeping with the topic at hand, I created this new twist on a familiar poem. Enjoy. ‘Twas the night before Fishing Opener And all through Minnesota Not an angler was sleeping Not even a wink The slip bobbers were rigged The lindy rigs, too In hopes that Mr. Walleye Was hungry for food. The minnows and leeches Were all purchased fresh They have to be lively Mr. Walleye expects no less Mama will keep sleeping As I get up at four To launch and park the trailer Lest... (more...)
As I was tromping through the snow at 10:00pm (I’ll explain why in a minute), I was thinking about all the great adventures I had in 2010. And, naturally, I started to rank them in my head. Some trips well exceeded my expectations, while others could have been much better. But I had fun on all of them. I’ve learned a lot this year and hope to apply those lessons not just in fishing, but in life. So what follows is my top 5 adventures of 2010. Honorable Mention : Winter storm of 2010 I... (more...)
Check out this really cool video of Kermit Wick, who turned 101 today. To celebrate, he went ice fishing. What else would a Minnesotan do? He scored a really nice fish. One any angler would be envious of. If you can’t play the video above, try it on the KARE11 web site (in the right column). The story was put together by reporter Boyd Hupert, who occasionally does human interest stories called Land of 10,000 Stories on our local NBC affiliate KARE11. He does a really good job on them.... (more...)
When I asked my father-in-law if he had any good winter traveling stories to tell for the Outdoor Blogger Network/Sportsman Channel blog writing contest, he recounted several. I entered one (I didn’t win), recently wrote about another, but have saved the best for last. When you’ve been a part of a community as long as my in-laws have been a part of the Gunflint Trail, you’re bound to hear stories. And some you’ll become a part of. They inevitably involve a few, if not just... (more...)
And the winner is… Bob Benditzky Random.org picked comment #1. That almost never happens. From the comment, I can’t really tell if Bob wants a new hat, but it’s his if he wants it. If not, I’ll choose another winner. I want to thank everyone for RTing my tweets over the last week. A lot more people tweeted the contest than entered, so either I didn’t explain the rules well enough, or tweeters were just generously tweeting without caring if they won the hat. If... (more...)
As a kid growing up in Minnesota in the 70s and 80s (yes, I’m that old), I remember snow and lots of it. The snowplows would build drifts 5-6ft tall at the end of our driveway. It was a kid’s winter paradise with snowmen, snow forts, snowball fights. With the exception of one year, the 90s brought relatively mild winters. A few inches of snow here and there and even a brown Christmas or two. In recent years, the classic Minnesota winter has returned. We’ve seen large snowfalls... (more...)
