Journal of a Minnesota Angler

The fishing opener everyone talks about in Minnesota is usually in mid-May, but that only applies to walleye and northern pike. Those of us who target bass have to wait an extra two weeks, usually the Saturday of Memorial Weekend. The bright side of a long, hard winter like the one we just had is that we bass fisherman in Minnesota don’t have to wait as long for bass opener. When the snow melts in March, it drives us bass anglers crazy. While I’m ready for winter to be over in February... (more...)

When I woke up Sunday morning, I debated whether I should get up and go fishing, or enjoy the comfort of my bed. Given that fall arrived in Minnesota recently and temperatures weren’t going to get any warmer, I decided to go for it. One of the reasons I decided to get up was the decision to not bother with my float tube. I was going to shore fish at a local reservoir where no one is allowed on the water. Unfortunately, when I got there, the only road to the reservoir was closed. I almost... (more...)

Before George came into town, Greg and I had made an appointment to go fishing earlier this week. As a result, I got to go fishing twice in three days. In this outing, Greg and I decided to hit a lake in the East end of the Twin Cities. The bass are catch-and-release only, so there have been rumors of monster bass in the lake. However, in my three previous outings on the lake, I’ve pulled nothing out. I was out on my float tube all three times so I was limited to one part of the lake.... (more...)

I had the opportunity to fish CasualBasser‘s favorite lake Tuesday night–in a kayak. The fine folks at HiTempo, the local Hobie dealer, let me try out two versions of their Hobie Mirage Pro Angler (review to come later). Being a pretty big lake, it was nice to be able to get around more than I would in my float tube. Unfortunately, it didn’t help me at all. It was an extremely slow night. I threw a Rage Tail and Condition Buzz buzzbait, both from my Mystery Tackle Box, a texas... (more...)

I found it amazing that I had been at my in-laws a little over 24 hours and already had a week tally of fish nearly in double digits. Fishing has been good there before, but not this good. I’m not sure if it was due to the fish, the weather, or the honing of my techniques. Whatever the reason, I wasn’t complaining. Day 3 was July 4th. We were looking forward to getting a bunch of work done and possibly visit Grand Marais for fireworks that night. Ken wanted to get an early start... (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 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...)

After failing miserably as a spin casting river trout fisherman, I decided it was time to try being a full-fledged river trout fisherman. That would mean picking up fly rod. Brenda and my cousin left our reunion to meet up with some friends on the East coast, so on this outing it was me, Vince, my dad, and one of my other cousins, Julie. Julie’s mom came along for the ride so she could take pictures (of scenery). Vince had his own gear, but the rest of us rented fly rods, waders, and boots.... (more...)

I spent last week in Sunriver, OR attending a family reunion. Vince (my brother) attended as well and we, of course, had to do some fishing. The problem was, I’m a bass fisherman. And a lake bass fisherman at that. And the only thing around us was rivers. So I had to buck up and pretend I was something I am not: a trout fisherman. I had packed a spinning rod in the hopes of getting to some sort of bass haven, but in our first available day of getting out, we only had about three hours.... (more...)