Journal of a Minnesota Angler

After an abysmal first day and second morning, Ken and I headed to Walleye Alley in the evening of day 2 to try our luck. I remembered a small bay with lily pads at the end of the alley that felt promising. We started down Walleye Alley and it was very windy. It was perfect conditions to drift with a lindy rig, but I didn’t have enough foresight to bring that set up. So Ken trolled while I cast with a bubble gum fluke. Casting was very difficult due to the windy conditions. My line was... (more...)

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...)

Sunday morning I once again got up a little after 6am to be on the lake on my float tube by 6:30. This time I followed the Northern shore toward the channel only until the shore turned. The curve of the shore hid water beyond the curve from the morning sun and I didn’t think it was warming the water enough in that area for fish to want to congregate. I started with the Slurpie worm I had success with the morning before, but nothing bit on my first pass. I then decided to switch to an orange... (more...)

I went to my dad’s cabin in Northwest Wisconsin this weekend and started off the weekend early. I got up at 6:15 Saturday morning to get my float tube in the water by 6:30. Apparently it was too early because when I sat down in my float tube, I went, “Ah!” when water went down the back of my shorts. I had brought my old float tube (due to space constratints) and it sits several inches in the water. That, in combination of forgetting to buckle the shoulder straps of my waders... (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...)

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...)

A few weeks ago, I heard about a lake near my office that was supposed to hold monster bass. Schedules had prevented me from going after work since I heard about it, but I had to work this last Saturday morning, so I took the opportunity to hit the lake afterward. During the week, I had gotten some advice from a Twitter friend and fellow blogger, mdtolic, about where to fish and the most effective baits. I bugged him so much he asked if I wanted him to just put fish in my tube. I wasn’t... (more...)

I went to my dad’s place in Northern Wisconsin this weekend to help him pull the dock up. It’s a sign of the change of seasons and marks what will probably be the last open water fishing we’ll do for the season. However, it also means the fishing should be stellar. The fish should be bulking up for the winter. I brought my new toy up to get some of that action. Well, stellar it wasn’t. I was out for 8 hours total and bagged only 4 fish. But I did learn some lessons of... (more...)

While I occasionally target walleye and muskie when I’m out on the water, my favorite species to fish for are bass. They are feisty, unpredictable, and like to put on a show. They are the most fun to catch because they are hard fighters and love to jump out of the water. The reason for the acrobatics, of course, is because they are fighting for their lives. Instinctively, they know that jumping out of the water gives them the best chance to shake the hook out of their mouth. As a bass fisherman,... (more...)

This is my new toy: This is my new toy in the water: While I loved the tube my brother gave me for Christmas a few years ago, I didn’t like that my butt sat in the water. In this new tube, I sit above the water. It has an all vinyl bottom, so it gets pushed in the water a bit more, but I think it’s just a matter of getting used to it. I broke it in at a new lake not far from my house. I started with my go to bait while on a tube: a green watermelon jig and pig. That didn’t... (more...)