Journal of a Minnesota Angler

Check out this 60-inch muskie that was caught by Kevin Walsh of Ellendale, MN. He caught it fishing with his buddy on Lake Vermillion in Northern Minnesota on October 16, 2010. This is another story I didn’t get around to posting this fall. It just goes to show that the big ones come out to feed in the fall. I caught mine in October, 2008, a possible record muskie was caught in October, 2009, and now this one. What monster will be reported in October, 2011? Read the original story: Minnesota... (more...)

Date: 7/31/2010 Time: 7:30am – 11:00am Body of water: Tiger Cat Flowage Location: Hayward, MN Weather Conditions: partly cloudy After my initial success from the night before, I had high hopes the next morning. I woke up at 7:30am and couldn’t go back to sleep, so I decided to get up. My brother repaired my scum frog before we went to bed, so I cast with that for about a half hour with no bite when my brother came down to the dock. We decided to take my dad’s canoe out on the... (more...)

As I was considering my options for hitting the water this weekend, I had my eyes set on a small 22 acre lake not far from my house. The Minnesota DNR web site showed a 36″ Northern in it from their survey a few years ago. It shouldn’t be too hard to find her when the lake’s deepest point is 9 feet, right? We’ll see. I was also going to ping Mark to see if he was going to take his boat out this weekend. I’ve been itching to hone my lindy rigging skills at the lake... (more...)

Here was my day in a nutshell: got up, fished, ate breakfast, went to town, ate lunch, fished, took down a tree, fished, started up our boat (that had been dormant for two years), fished, ate dinner, and fished. All in all, I probably fished for about 9 hours today. In the morning, from about 7-9am, I threw a bubble gum fluke, white spinnerbait, blue Booyah jig with blue speckled Zoom chunk, texas rigged Slurpie worm, scum frog, and mimic minnow swimbait with spinner. I only got hit once, but it... (more...)

Having been on a roll (get it? “Blogroll”) by publishing five days in a row, I thought I might go for seven. Fortunately for you, I thought the better of it. I didn’t want to burn you (or me) out. Nor did I want to get branded as a spammer to my email subscribers. So after a few days rest, I’m back. Did you miss me? I came across this video that told the story of a 14 year old Kentucky girl, Sarah Terry, that caught a new Kentucky state record muskie last fall. View... (more...)

I’m a little late with this news because I haven’t been trolling forums as much in recent months. Back in late October, a couple of muskie hunter old-timers caught a monster muskie that may be the new Minnesota record. Just like Kyle Anderson from Michigan, the pair was more interested in releasing the lunker in good health rather than get it weighed and certified on land. The good news in this case was that they were successful. I didn’t get a chance to do any muskie hunting... (more...)

Welcome to 2010! The beginning of each year brings New Year’s resolutions. I’m not much for resolutions as they tend to become broken promises. However, goals are more realistic and give you something to strive for. Here are mine for 2010: Fish 40 days out of the year (28 in 2009) Have patience to try new lures and new techniques Start float tubing Catch an average of 1.5 fish per day (1.04 in 2009) Catch an 18″ Smallmouth Bass (2009 best: 15″) Catch an 18″ Largemouth... (more...)

Kyle Anderson of Rapid City, MI caught a 55 inch, 50 lb 8 oz muskie on September 27, 2009 on Torch Lake in Michigan. It looks to be a new state record. Photo, left, was taken by David Rose of Field and Stream magazine. It’s great to see a dedicated fisherman like Mr. Anderson get rewarded for all the time he spends on the water (he fishes every day). What was most impressive to me is that even with such a great catch, he set personal gain aside and tried to release the monster. He was more... (more...)

BountyFishing.com picked my muskie as the Picture of the Week! Thanx! Share this:FacebookTwitterRedditEmailLike this:Like Loading... Read More →

Date: 7/30/2009 Time: 6:00-9:00pm Body of water: Orchard Lake Location: Burnsville, MN Weather Conditions: Scattered clouds, light rain, wind from the West, thunderhead went by before getting on the lake Matt and I went out last week and had a frustrating run. We went out to Orchard Lake and fished toward the reeds in the middle of the lake. I was casting with a white pearl super fluke and Matt was using a small spinner with small treble hooks. We got to the Northwest side of the reeds and were... (more...)