This is the best Christmas gift I got this year. My brother gave it to me. It’s a fish finder transducer made by Vexilar that turns your smartphone into a fish finder. The transducer transmits to your smartphone via wifi. It’s the most brilliant invention for anglers that has come along in a long time. Vexilar also has a camera that transmits to smartphones. We tried to get it to work yesterday, but it didn’t seem to work too well because it wasn’t in water the whole... (more...)
What a difference a year makes. If anyone was watching the ice out in Minnesota this year and last, they would see a striking difference. It’s like the Minnesota Twins in 1990-91 where they went from last in their division in one year to winning the World Series the next. Here are the ice out maps from the Minnesota DNR Ice Out Page for comparison: Notice that in 2012 we had some of the earliest ice outs in history. Between the early hot weather and wind, some lakes lost their ice... (more...)
As I was driving in to work this morning, I had heard on the radio that it was the 4th anniversary of Michael Jackson’s death. It occurred to me that I started this blog right around the same time. Then I realized I had missed my own bloggaversary! Yesterday marked the 4th anniversary of this humble fishing blog. It’s hard to believe it’s been four years. I am no longer seeing the traffic growth I once did, but I also haven’t been writing lately. I have a couple of trips... (more...)
After a snow-crazy April, Spring came in like a lion. We went from 3″ of snow dropping on us on Monday (and 7″ the week before), to 70 degree temps 3 days in a row. With that, Spring made its presence known and Ice Out Watch 2013 can now begin in earnest. Unlike last year when ice out took a matter of days across the state, this year, anglers are nervous about whether ice out would happen in time for Fishing Opener. A conversation with a resident of Park Rapids, MN yesterday revealed... (more...)
As much as I’m into fishing, I don’t really get into the pro tournaments. I don’t follow the pro anglers or the tours. As such, I don’t fish tournaments myself. Fishing is an enjoyable recreational activity for me and I don’t know that I could take the pressure. However, the folks in the blogosphere have taken it upon themselves to have virtual tournaments throughout the year. The WalleyeGuy has his Walleyepalooza Fishing Derby and aquaFire Fishing started a fishing... (more...)
Happy New Year! After getting home late from my neighborhood New Year’s Party, I had to take some time to wind down before going to bed, so I actually put some thought into my goals this year (unlike last year). I still have some carryover from last year, but added some new ones: Visit Mille Lacs during ice fishing season Do a blog post about an ice fishing mansion Fish open water during ice fishing season (yes, that is possible) Help MNAngler, Jr. catch his first bass on a lure Improve... (more...)
As usual, Lego League and the holidays kept me from thinking about fishing during the last few months of the year. Looking back at 2012 and the year, I did a lot more fishing than I expected and accomplished a number of my fishing goals for the year. The goals I met were: Fish at least once a month during open water bass season Float tube at least four times during open water season Catch a bass on 4 different plastic lures (color doesn’t count) Catch a bass on 6 different lures (plastic lures... (more...)
The magic of technology today is that you can learn about a lot of things that traditional media might not tell you about, especially in sub-cultures. Even so, word of some things get around slower than others. While I was on Facebook this evening, The Argosgirl Chronicles shared a link to the Recycled Fish 24 Hour Fish-A-Thon. As a participant, you are expected to do three things: To fish for 24 hours straight, with a partner, and document your catches with a digital camera, then post them to... (more...)
As much as I would like to take MNAngler, Jr. out fishing more often, opportunities are few and far between. I bought him a new fishing rod a few weeks ago because last fall, he dropped his Spiderman rod and reel in the lake. Then the replacement Transformers rod and reel promptly broke. This time I invested in a beginner’s panfish fishing kit combo instead of a youth pole. Hopefully, it will hold up better, assuming MNAngler, Jr. can hold on to it. The rod is taller than he is, but judging... (more...)
When I was in Bend, OR for my family reunion last fall, I heard there was an Orvis store in town. While I’m not a fly fisherman, I was hoping I could get an idea of where a bass fisherman could wet a line. Besides, I can’t resist a fishing store. Mrs. MNAngler and my daughter came in to town with us and, of course, weren’t interested in fishing stuff, so they went their merry way and MNAngler, Jr. and I went to Orvis. A few minutes after arriving at the store, Mrs. MNAngler called... (more...)
