Journal of a Minnesota Angler

Last Saturday, during a neighborhood bonfire, Mark suggested we do a fish fry. I arrived late and by the time I got there, the plans were in full force. Mark, Steve, Rob, and I decided we would try to add to the fish fry by trying our luck Sunday morning. We made an appointment for 6:30. I got up a little early and Mark and I headed out first. We got on the water about 15 minutes ahead of Steve and Rob. We first headed to a new spot (at least to me) on a familiar lake. Unlike our previous outing,... (more...)

If you’re a regular reader here, you know that my brother, Vince, lives in Boulder and is also an avid angler. Regular readers also know he is a much better fisherman than I am. Since my last year has been pretty sparse with posts, he helped me out by doing a guest post a few months ago. I think he enjoyed writing about his adventure, because he recently took the plunge and started his own blog. So I would like to introduce… A Fishing Journey. Vince’s writing style is very similar... (more...)

So ends year #3. Since my last bloggaversary, my activity has slowed down due to my new job, but recently it’s been picking up again. I couldn’t believe I didn’t pick up a rod and reel until almost June this year, but since then I’ve been on 4 more outings (one hasn’t been posted yet). I’m hoping the trend continues as we head into July. And I’m hoping to show you some better fish porn as a result. As is tradition on my anniversary, I would like to thank... (more...)

My brother-in-law, George, had planned to come in to town on Father’s Day weekend so that he, his childhood friend, Greg, our father-in-law, Ken, and myself could all go fishing on Greg’s boat. A few days before he was due to arrive, we found out George couldn’t get the time off he wanted, so we couldn’t go. I sent a text to Greg to see if he wanted to go anyway. He replied that he was heading to his cabin instead, but that we could head out some evening the following week.... (more...)

I was talking to my neighbor, Steve, last Saturday when he said he was going fishing the next day. I asked him if he wanted some company and while my other neighbor, Rob, was going to be on the boat, he kindly allowed me to tag along. We got on the lake at about 7:30am. I ended up in the middle of the boat. Given that my boatmates walleye fishermen using lindy rigs and I cast for bass, my position was a little more difficult than I would have liked, but since I invited myself along, I didn’t... (more...)

I wanted to take a moment to say, “Thank you,” because today, WordPress stats reported that I hit a traffic milestone. Nine days ago, Google Analytics reported the same milestone. When I started this blog a few years ago, a six figure pageview stat seemed an impossible achievement. Who would even care about my adventures? I’m grateful that a few of you do. I never imagined that I would hit this milestone before my 3rd anniversary. And for that, I would like to thank everyone... (more...)

I followed through with my resolution from a few days ago and returned to my first lake of the year with my float tube. I got on the water at about 9:30 and kicked my way down the shore to the right of the swimming beach. Mark and I had caught a few little bass on that shore on a previous trip, but this time I only got a nip or two on worms. I decided to head toward a sunken island a few hundred feet off shore. Before getting on the lake, I thought it would be too far for me to get to, but it... (more...)

After going out to dinner with my family last night and thinking about my post, I decided that I couldn’t let it get into June without wetting a line. When we got home, we took care of a couple of yard items and with about an hour of daylight left, I decided some time fishing was better than no time fishing. I grabbed my gear and darted out to a lake about 5 minutes away. I had fished the lake on a couple of different occasions, but never from shore. There were a couple of guys on the fishing... (more...)