Bass Connection

Ain't no stinkin' bass

2010-07-31T22:22:00.001-07:00

I returned to work this past Monday from a long weekend trip to Mille Lacs/Gull Lake. (The fishing wasn't all that great by the way.)

Upon my return I found this photo sitting on my desk with the title, "Ain't no stinkin' bass".

This picture of John Cross' trip to Lake Michigan salmon fishing is a reminder of the constant ribbing we give each other over my love of bass and John's love of anything but bass. Needless to say, it'd be pretty hard to not love this 20-something pound salmon and the fight it must have given on.

On a side note, isn't that a fine fishing hat John is wearing? Besides the goofy look, it sure would have helped on Mille Lacs and Gull where the sun left an impression on my neck, face and ears.

A fishing report pays off

2010-07-21T22:21:00.000-07:00

Got a nice e-mail the other day from AJ Schulz. He and his brother-in-law, Doug Storm, read last week's fishing report and decided to try Ballantyne this past weekend.

AJ reported they got into a few bass, with much of the action coming from the weedlines in the 5 to 10 foot range near the northeast basin.

AJ caught a nice 3 1/2 pound, 18 inch bucketmouth, seen here to the right.

Doug Storm also caught a decent bass (below).

I like receiving these types of e-mails. I say why be afraid to tell someone where you are catching fish? They still have to catch fish themselves, right?

I was fortunate enough to get out this past weekend with fellow staffer Tanner Kent. We both hauled in three apiece at Little Jefferson. Here is my 3-pound, 12 ounce hawg I caught. Not bad considering we fished the day after a tourney wrapped up.

Your weekend fishing report

2010-07-16T16:04:00.000-07:00

Sunfish action is the big draw on area lakes right now. Madison Lake continues to kick out sunfish in roughly 8 feet, and bass action remains strong along the shorelines and in weedlines under 10 feet of water.

A few walleyes are hitting crankbaits along the shorelines of Washington in low-light hours. Sunfish action remains excellent on Washington in water less than 8 feet. Small northerns are being taken on Washington as well.

The fishing pier on Little Jefferson is kicking out a consistent sunfish bite on waxworms. Bullhead action is also strong next to the pier, and some crappies are being taken on minnows.

Bass action on Little Jeff remains strong along docks and overgrown shorelines. Concentrate on weedlines in 5 feet.

Northerns are going crazy for buzzbaits on Ballantyne, and the bass action has been strong there as well. Concentrate on the weedlines in 5 to 10 feet of water. An important note here is action was stronger when those weedlines ran near deeper water, such as the deep basin on the northeast side of the lake.

Francis is giving up northerns along the weedlines, but few with good size.

River action is slow. A few anglers are starting to get back out on the river, but fast currents and deep water levels have kept the anglers at bay. Expect the catfish action to pick up in a few weeks.

Some observations from a morning of fishing

2010-07-15T22:25:00.000-07:00

There's always a few things to observe on an early-morning trip to the lake.

Pulling up at Buckmaster Bridge at Madison Lake early Thursday morning, I noticed how calm the water was. The wildlife was the only thing giving off sound, which I found to my liking because this meant I owned that little spot by myself.

At 5:30 in the morning, life can seem very peaceful. I snapped off a few photos of this peace before wetting a line. I meant to take some video to capture the stillness, except for a few birds chirping behind me and a few fish popping bugs off the top of the water, but then again, I was wetting a line.

After an hour and a half at Buckmaster, I moved over to the German-Jefferson Lakes fishing pier on Little Jeff. A few guys were fishing there, making jokes about taking their whopper catches to The Free Press for photos.

I suppose I could have walked over and offered to take their pictures with my cell phone, but again, I was wetting a line, and when the opportunities are too far and few between, pulling up a line to take a photo of a few guys fishing is low on the list of to-dos.

I did, however, give up on the fishing for a bit after they left, only because I noticed a man and a woman, both with wonderful fishing hats, settle into the pier for some panfish/bullhead fishing.

They looked very complete, the two of them fishing on the pier, standing side-by-side, talking quietly. I admired their togetherness and thought of how I could stand all day with my wife, Mollie, fishing, talking, loving life. Of course, with our son Tyler, we'd never be able to stand side-by-side and talk, because like all children, he has plenty of energy for all of us.

I asked the two of them if I could snap a couple of photos, and needless to say, Diane Fetzer and Doyle Schneider, both of New Ulm, were happy to oblige me. Diane joked she didn't know she'd have to be in a picture when they left for their weekly outing to Little Jefferson. They did, however, get their revenge when she took a few photos of me fishing.

Turnabout is fair play, right?

The quality of the photos I took of them aren't all that great, but that's mostly because I am learning how to maximize the quality of pictures taken with my Blackberry. I think, however, you'll get the point.

Anyhow, Doyle said they catch quite a few sunnies and bullheads from the pier — Diane's favorite, he assured me — and they've seen some nice crappies come off minnows there.

"There was a fellow out here who just left that caught a big bass," Fetzer said.

Must have been the fish they were joking about taking to The Free Press. Too bad I was wetting a line.

Catfish league

2010-07-03T22:16:00.000-07:00

Well, I told you John Cross had something up his sleeve for the Belle Plaine Cat League in Sunday's print edition of The Free Press.

He went out with a couple of the guys from the league and what he came away with was some pretty good stuff. I've never caught anything over about a 5-pound catfish, so seeing a guy hoist a 40-plus pound cat always amazes me.

Check out his audio slideshow for some images from the event.

I have a few days off this week after working the entire Fourth of July weekend. Hopefully I can get out on a few lakes and give an update. Hope your Fourth is safe and happy one.

And please, if you're going to be out on the lake or driving around, don't drink and boat/drive. It just isn't worth it.

At least it was a pike

2010-07-01T17:15:00.000-07:00

Not much happening with me on the fishing front.

I wish it weren't true, but it is. That's life I guess. As things start to pile up, and family responsibilities get the best of us, sometimes I guess we have to give up some of the things we love.

In this case, it's unlimited time on the water.

Nonetheless, I made it out to Madison Lake on Monday with my brother-in-law. We spent a good five hours at Madison, although an hour of it was spent enjoying a fine burger and a few cold ones at The Boat Landing before heading back onto the water.

Dave, my brother-in-law, pulled in a northern, a bass and a sheepshead on our outing, and just before the day gave way to night, I pulled in a 3.6 pound pike. Not bad. Could have been better, but not bad.

I'm hearing only scattered reports on the fishing front as well. I've had several people tell me that Lura Lake south of Mapleton is difficult to fish right now because of all the weeds. I know I've fished the south bay twice in the past month, and the weeds seem to be clearing on that end, so I'd recommend concentrating my efforts toward the Lura Lake Sportsmen's Club landing on that south side.

Sunfish action is out of control on some of the area lakes, if that is your thing. Walleye reports aren't coming across at all, so if you're still hooking into the 'eyes, feel free to drop me a line.

On a side note, John Cross spent some time with a few die-hard catfish anglers. He has something planned for this Sunday's print edition, and I believe he'll have an audio slideshow of the event. I'll post a link here when that is available.

Until then, chase some bass, the weather is perfect for it.

The tale of three bass

2010-06-08T21:12:00.000-07:00

The bass action on area lakes has been excellent, to say the least. If it hasn't been excellent, then you're probably not fishing for lunkers anyhow.

I've caught my fair share of largemouths already this year, but three of the bass I've caught, from three different lakes, have boggled my mind, slightly.

The first bass, caught the Sunday of opening weekend in the rain while fishing at Buckmaster Bridge, came in at roughly 19 inches, and hoisting it up I thought that it'd catch 3 1/2 pounds on the scale — or 2 pounds, dead on. I was surprised by this, but I surmised it must have been a postspawn bass, fresh out of eggs and finally ready to feed again.

This past Saturday, while fishing the shoreline to the east of the fishing pier at West Jefferson, I pulled in another whopper of a fish. When I hoisted it out of my net, I started thinking that very few fish bass I've caught had the length of this baby (using the pliers in these pictures, I was able to give some scale; the pliers is 6 1/2 inches long). But when I threw this bucketmouth on the scale, it came in just over 3 pounds.

Seriously?

Well, Monday I took to the shores of Lura Lake, and I pulled in the best of them yet, and this one measured shorter but weighed in at 4 pounds, 1 ounce. A good fight, too. Later I caught about a 15 incher that weight just over 2 pounds. Go figure.

Everyone asks me why I'm seeing such a difference in the fish, and honestly, I don't have a good answer to that. The postspawn, empty belly scenario seems most likely, but the two bigger bass on Lura definitely had full bellies, and the 2-pounder looked as though it might still have had eggs in its belly.

Whatever the case, I'm just glad to be able to pull in quality fish from our area lakes.

Bass-opener thoughts

2010-05-28T14:46:00.000-07:00

Well, my friends, bass opener is almost upon, which to me means summer is almost truly upon us.

I have a few places mapped out for Saturday's opener, but the place I'm most looking forward to is Lake Ballantyne, mostly because I will be fishing with a friend who has never caught a bass before, but is awfully excited to get after 'em.

He's asked me a lot of questions lately, and a lot of what he's asked, I'd already been thinking about as I rigged my poles for the morning's opener. So I snapped this crude cell phone picture before I hustled out for work (sorry about the so-so quality), and for you, I'll break down my thought process.

Before we start, I think it is important to understand the one factor I am constantly working over in my head: weeds. Many people see weeds matted along a shoreline and instantly drive off looking for more manageable weeds (because weeds, after all, hold fish, right?).

Taking this approach might make your day a little less stressful because you will spend less time picking weeds off your lures, but I think more and bigger fish will be hanging in those weeds, in pockets, waiting to strike the baitfish hiding out in those same weedbeds. The four lures I tied on for my first outing of 2010 all deal with attacking the weeds.

Scum Frog
The Scum Frog, located in the far left of this picture, is an easy choice for me after watching the feeding patterns of bass the last couple of years. The Scum From can be tossed deep into the weeds, especially those that choke out at the surface top. Often a bass will follow the movements of the frog on top the water until it finds a place to explode through the vegetation for its meal (this same approach can be transferred to fishing lily pads as well).

The general rule here is reel up slack, wait two seconds, and then set the hook.

Texas-rig
To the right of the Scum Frog is my Texas-rig setup. I haven't added the worm yet because I like to keep them fresh by leaving them in the packages until I'm ready to use them. But the Texas-rig is a must when attacking weeds. Rigged to be weedless, this little baby can go anywhere with you on the lake and will do just fine pulling in all sizes of bass.

I like to fish with ribbontail worms, but I'm not against fishing with stick worms (no tail) or even crawdads or similar plastic setups. Colors vary, but for my money, I always have something blue (preferably a blue fleck by PowerBait), something red, something in a greenish/orange blend (the crawdad look) and something with a chartreuse tail. These colors have always worked, so I tend to stay in that category.

Spinnerbait
Second from the right, the spinnerbait needs little introduction or explanation. The spinnerbait works in a lot of ways, but casting and ripping through the weeds isn't the ideal use for this lure. But I still use it when attacking the weeds because I use this lure to roam the outer edges. Since the vibration from the spinner can attract fish from long distances, this lure works well to locate fish. Once located, I can figure out which of my four setups will provide me the best chance to land a lunker.

Flat Rap
Rapala's Flat Rap (far right) may be the best lure the longtime company has put out yet. This takes the best from suspended raps, and the best from the Original Floating Minnow and combines them into a deadly little lure.

Why deadly? The Flat Rap can be worked on top as a wounded minnow (sounds like the Original Floating Minnow, huh?), but the Flat Rap can be worked down to different depths to mimic an injured minnow (kinda like a suspended rap such as a Husky Jerk). It's built to rise slowly, so in essence, a 2 to 4 foot running Flat Rap can be worked down to 4 feet deep or so with the same action it had while struggling at the top of the water.

So far, I've had a northern strike at it, caught a few bass, caught a few sunfish, and pulled in a nice crappie. So the lure is versatile if nothing else.

How does that work to the weeds: Well, in this case I use the Flat Rap to work close to choked out weeds, or above lower, sparser weeds. Both scenarios have worked real well, and I anticipate this lure having a Joe Mauer-like career.

Well, I know that was long, but I hope it helps. Good luck, all!

Fishing report

2010-05-26T07:33:00.000-07:00

I talked with the folks out at The Bobber Shop. I'm aiming to hit up area bait shops this year and provided better fishing reports.

In some cases, this works, in some cases, I might just have to drive out to the landings of local lakes and talk with some anglers.

Anyhow, the guys at The Bobber Shop also make time for me, so here is what they gave me for you, good fishing friends:

Walleye action, overall, is slow. Small walleyes are being taken in 14-20 feet of water on Madison Lake. Lake Hanska is also giving up some walleyes; river action for 'eyes has been slow.

Crappies are still pretty active on Lake Washington, and channel cats are starting to really take off in the Blue Earth river. No northern pike action is really being reported.

Personally, I worked West Jefferson for pike near the German and Jefferson Sportsman fishing pier, and while the pike action was slow, a lot of bass and some pretty big sunfish hit my Flat Rap (this should be good news for bass fishermen looking forward to Saturday's opener). A quick move over to Lake George drummed up a nice swirl on the Flat Rap, and because the water was so clear, I saw a second strike by a pike.

As always, if you have a fishing report you'd like to share, post a comment or e-mail Tanner or myself, and we'll pass it along.

Knowing is half the battle

2010-05-19T12:46:00.000-07:00

As a kid, I watched a lot of G.I. Joe cartoons. Yeah, I was that kid. But at the end of every episode there was a teaching moment; usually something about dealing with bullies or not cheating.

And after the kid had learned his lesson from the Joes, he or she would say, "I never knew that," to which a Joe would reply, "Well now you know, and knowing is half the battle."

The nonprofit organization Conservation Minnesota has taken that approach to the mercury content in Minnesota's lakes. The organization works on many projects to help the conservation of Minnesota's broad outdoor haven, but for the purpose of this blog, I'd like to concentrate on one of its websites, checkmylake.org.

This website is designed to give Minnesota water enthusiasts a quick, easy breakdown of pollutants and water quality of any lake in Minnesota.

The information that Conservation Minnesota collects comes from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and is broken down and made easier for you and I to understand.

I was troubled when I first visited checkmylake.org, because every lake I visited seemed to have a warning not to eat the fish. This occurred because of a several factors, but Marty Broan of Conservation Minnesota assured me it wasn't to scare people off from eating fish.

"It doesn't mean people can't eat fish," he said. "We recognize eating fish is an important part of people's diet, and that fishing is an important part of Minnesota's legacy."

But still, there are quite a few lakes with fish-consumption advisories on this website.

"For every lake that is tested and unhealthy levels of mercury are found, we provide a link that has lake specific consumption guidelines," Broan said.

Broan says the information obtained by Conservation Minnesota is information that comes from the testing of lakes, which occurs every two years. The website is then updated, which happened within the last month he says. Not all lakes, however, have been tested recently for their contaminant levels, so Broan says it is important people continue to use the DNR website to check consumption guidelines.

Broan also said there was some concern from anglers about the wording of some of the advisories for eating fish on the website, which is why, within the last week or so, the website was updated again to clarify that eating fish is ok, he says, as long as you know the lakes guidelines for fish consumption.

"We want people to make the wise decision based on what the Department of Health says," he said.

For more information on mercury and how it gets into our lakes and rivers, I encourage you to see what the MPCA says on the subject.

I'm taking the side of Conservation Minnesota here, and pushing for knowledge of mercury and its effects on our lakes. And I'm glad that Minnesota has already stepped up and passed legislation to help reduce the amount of mercury in our waterways.

I encourage anyone who is concerned about our lakes and rivers or the fish they consume to use the resources available to them. The DNR puts out lake-specific consumption guidelines on its website, and used with checkmylake.org, guidelines about fishing and swimming become a lot clearer.

After all, as the Joes say, knowing is half the battle.

Madison's the opener champ

2010-05-17T21:45:00.000-07:00

After a few quick calls Monday, it became quite clear to me that Madison Lake was the place to fish locally for the opener.

Fishing action in general was strong over the opener weekend on Madison, with plenty of people fishing Church Bay and the narrows.

Action in the shallows produced a few small northerns, plenty of largemouth bass (which aren't in season I might add) and a few small walleyes.

Late-afternoon action picked up in the shallows, but a lot of the walleye action came in deeper water.

River fishing was also strong, according to the folks out at The Bobber Shop. Unfortunately, I only was able to garner most of the action came from the Minnesota River, with no actual spots mentioned.

Action on Washington was slow. Both Washington and Madison Lakes are clear right now, with reports of water clarity reaching 5 to 7 feet on both lakes.

An early crappie tournament on Madison produced good crappie action and some walleye action in Church Bay, and the site of boats swarming the deep hole was evident on Saturday.

As for my action — slow. Skunked at Tetonka, Elysian and Madison for northerns, and only sunfish and bass (on a Rapala Flat Rap) at Lake George. Hopefully Wednesday will be better.

Do we cheer?

2010-05-14T22:03:00.000-07:00

As I sit here to type out a few thoughts, the fishing opener is three minutes old. And while there is still a short-night's rest for this angler before I test out the 2010 fishing opener, I'm breathing a little easier.

Winter can be a long time to wait to chase serious game fish in Minnesota. And while the ice allows for us to still fish for walleye and northerns, nothing quite beats the feel of casting a line, watching as your lure takes flight, cuts the air and splooshes into the open water.

Tanner and I will be out early in the morning, and barring an 0-for day, one of us will post an update to you (hopefully with pictures). For any of you that'd like to brag about your opening-weekend action or send in pictures, we'd be more than willing to share it with the other anglers out here who happen by our blog.

It's pretty simple. e-mail Tanner, Doug or photos@mankatofreepress.com, and we'll take care of the rest. Just give us some information to make things complete ... who's in the picture, where you were fishing, what day, that sort of stuff.

Until then, good luck, and may the fishing gods work in your favor.

Countdown to opener: Family-friendly fishing

2010-05-13T20:07:00.000-07:00

Few shorefishing spots in southern Minnesota can rival Bray Park, Duck Lake Park and Lake George Park in terms of family-friendliness. All are located in Blue Earth County and all feature amenities that cater to the attention-challenged.

First, and perhaps most importantly, all three lakes — and especially Lake George — boast terrific panfishing. (Bray Park on Madison Lake offers the best chance to tie into something more substantial.)

When I was in college, I strapped the waders on a few times to flip worms around the shorelines on Lake George. And every time, I spent hours doing little more than peeling palm-sized panfish off my hooks. A few crappies, and a few with some size.

For the youngsters, though, nothing is better. If you're taking the kids out for a little angling action on opener, tip a small hook with a waxworm and a bobber and they'll catch fish at all three parks, all day long.

But if the youngsters get tired, bored or run out of bait, there's plenty to do. Lake George Park and Duck Lake Park have playgrounds and more than enough room to burn up some energy. Bray Park has a nature trail and boat rentals (canoes and paddleboats) are available for $5 an hour at Bray and Duck Lake.

And for the truly adventurous, there is always the swimming beach.

Countdown to opener: West Jefferson

2010-05-12T09:44:00.000-07:00

The fishing pier provided by the German and Jefferson Lakes Sportsmen Club at West (Little) Jefferson is a local hotspot for shore fisherman.

The panfishing next to the pier, primarily sunfish and crappies, is a big draw and a good place for an outing with the family.

Bass and northern pike can also be found along the entire south shoreline, especially to the east of the pier. To the west of the pier, extending to the opening of the culvert-like walkway that goes under Le Sueur County Road 105, the shoreline fishing is tight, with sharp rocks making standing near the water difficult with the exception of a few entry points. But fishing from the elevated position is still manageable, and the tight shoreline provides excellent casting angles to drop your lure into the 12-foot or so hole in front of the pier.

Now, back to that shoreline extending east of the pier. When the water is high, it'll take some walking along the shoreline to find a good entry point to cast. Now, if you're fishing panfish, none of this matters all that much.

But this stretch of West Jefferson is excellent for northern, and, in the not-so-distant future, bass fishing. And 30-inch pike or 4-pound bass aren't unheard of in this stretch of the lake. So finding a spot down to the water where you can land a fish is a must.

The shoreline stretches a good ways until you come to private property, so I'd highly recommend working your way down as far as you can. There's a red, thorny bush of some sort far down that east shoreline. Work as close to it as possible and you might pull in a nice northern this weekend.

Two things of note with this stretch of shoreline fishing: Rocks are plentiful on the lake floor, so expect a snag or two if you don't keep your bait up off the floor; plenty of locals will flock to the pier early in the spring with reports of walleyes being taken out of that deep hole in front of the pier.

Is this true, or is this a good piece of fiction? I'm going with a combination of both. Walleye exist in West Jefferson, no doubt about that. I watched Tanner pull one in while we were fishing plastic worms for bass.

And I know a local who lives just down the road, and he assures me people are catching an occasional walleye off the pier. But if you're after walleyes Saturday or whenever you are out fishing, this hotspot probably isn't the best spot for you.

Good luck!

Countdown to opener: Minnesota River near Courtland

2010-05-11T07:08:00.000-07:00

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has a public access just south of Courtland off of Highway 24, which connects Highway 14 at Courtland with Highway 68.

Fishing directly on the river in this area is a little more difficult, but a series of beaten-down walking paths on the west end of the parking lot will lead you down to the river.

The better fishing, in my opinion, can be found in the back water on the east end of the parking lot. This narrow stretch of water next to the river has easy access points off to your right as you drive into the parking lot, but a hidden path, wedged between the boat landing and the clean opening to the Minnesota River backwater, provides a chance for anglers to sneak back into relative obscurity and work through excellent underwater cover (timber, rocks, weedlines) as well as overhanging trees.

Here's what you need to know about this backwater. Three years or so ago, winterkill took most of the good fish. I stopped out and talked with a local about it, and he said the variety of fish on the shoreline amazed him. We're talking sunnies, crappies, walleyes, northerns, largemouth bass, carp and bullhead.

Before the winterkill, Tanner and I caught quite a few northerns and bass from that little backwater. And since the winterkill, I've caught one northern, but stopped wasting my gas. But with the recent flooding from this past spring, I'd venture to say that the likelihood some of the fishing population has been naturally restocked is pretty good.

And since there wide, relatively flat opening to the backwater, the area is a good place to take a child river fishing without actually fishing next to the dangerous, spring currents. If you do decide to venture through some of the thick trees to get to a more inaccessible fishing points, be prepared to a) check for ticks, b) check for ticks.

One final thing about this backwater: Spring fishing before the winterkill was pretty decent, but as soon as summer took hold and the water levels dropped, carp and bullhead occupied the shallows while the game fish moved into the deeper waters on the south end (which are accessible, but again you'll have to force your way through tight-knit trees to make it to the water).

In the past, buzzbaits, spinnerbaits and Rat-L-Traps drummed up a lot of our catches (I can remember being bit off a half dozen times or so by big fish, too), for both northern and bass, but we also had a lot of luck fishing plastics, which oddly enough, brought in a few small northerns. But will the backwater being turned over from that winterkill, all bets are off on what might attract them now.

It's a jaunt from Mankato, but sometimes a trip to a good fishing hole can be worth it. Good luck.

Countdown to opener: East Jefferson and German Lakes

2010-05-10T08:45:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite area shore-fishing haunts is Beaver Dam Road, which runs betwixt East Jefferson and German Lakes.

There's an access to East Jefferson with plenty of space to fish, and the shorelines are accessible on both sides of the road. Both lakes feature fine populations of panfish, bass, walleye and northern ... but, unless you visit on a weekday afternoon, you're likely to find a gaggle of folks chasing them from the bank.

A pair of waders, however, can get you into a much different - and I think, more successful - fishing scenario.

On the German side, a little distance from the shore is a large patch of tall reeds. In May and June, I've had a lot of luck catching northern pike by chucking buzzbaits -- I prefer double-bladed models like these for their added stability and buoyancy -- through the middle of the stick-ups for explosive strikes. Waders come in handy because you'll be able to move around to the outside edge where the fish are more likely to hold.

(Always be careful handling northern pike in waders. If I hook up a fish, I usually start slowly backing toward shallower water in order to handle the fish a little easier. If that's not possible, keep the rod tip very high so the fish won't wrap around your legs, and use a gill hold to grip the fish while removing the hook.)

Another good tactic for fishing northern in the stick-ups is to use a jerkbait. There are a variety of sizes and models, but I prefer 3'' to 5'' floating or suspending baits (as opposed to sinking). Throw them near the windblown edges of the stickups, or on edges near deeper water, and give them a wide, sweeping jerk with your rod. Let the bait sit for a few moments (longer in colder water) and repeat.

On the East Jefferson side, a pair of waders will lead you toward a series of progressively deeper shelves that lead to about 12-16 feet of water. Cast your favorite walleye setup -- as a walleye minimalist, I usually use just a simple jig with a leech -- out past the shelf and work slowly back. I landed my biggest shoreline walleye (about 25'') doing just the same.

Be advised, however, that wader-wandering in waters unfamiliar often leads to miserable - and soggy - rides home. Be careful where you step, and be sure to pack a reel that offers a good casting distance.

Feel free to leave a comment on your own shore-fishing haunt - we'd love to hear from you!
Fish on!

Countdown to opener: Madison Lake

2010-05-09T16:01:00.000-07:00

Today, John Cross wrote a column and interviewed Minnesota Department of Natural Resource Waterville Fish Hatchery manager Hugh Valiant about the upcoming walleye opener.

John's column and Hugh's Top 10 list of area lakes were good information for people venturing out, presumably, in a boat. But what about those people who either don't own a boat, or have a boat with a motor on the fritz (that last one I threw in to describe me!)?

So as our anticipation rises, Dear Reader, for the 2010 inland water fishing opener, we'll take time in this blog to preview area lakes and rivers with great shore-fishing spots. Feel free to chime in with a comment or two if at anytime you feel there is a great shore-fishing spot we've missed.

Today's lake: Madison Lake
Is there anyone who enjoys fishing that doesn't enjoy stopping out to Buckmaster Bridge of Blue Earth County Road 48 for a morning or afternoon of fishing?

Buckmaster, as stated here numerous times in this blog, is a great spot to fish from shore, especially if fishing with a family. Sidewalks, concrete fishing stations and ample shoreline make this a great destination.

Buckmaster also offers a natural current that runs under the bridge, between the much larger lake and the subsequent bay. Weedlines run along the shoreline on the main lake, providing cover for a large variety of fish, including the ever-so popular walleye and the feisty northern pike.

The one pitfall with Buckmaster is that everyone knows it is a GREAT fishing spot. So traffic, especially on weekends and nights, can be pretty heavy, which means learning to share the shoreline with others (in the coming weeks, Tanner and I will take a closer looks at shore-fishing etiquette, but for now let's concentrate on the lakes).

Farther down the road, just past the entrance to Bray Park, is another lesser-known fishing spot. It can best be explained as the section of 48 that is squeezed by Madison Lake, and a small pond on the opposite side of the road (the DNR website just calls it unnamed lake).

Once the weeds and algae swallow the small bay, shore fishing can be difficult here, but until then, anglers will hook into panfish with an occasional walleye, northern and bass. (But remember, the bass opener isn't until May 29, so throw them back.)

Down right windy

2010-05-05T08:41:00.000-07:00

Wow. Windy spring days are expected each year. You could say it's a right of passage most anywhere in the country.

Five years or so ago, I spent my winter into spring studying and researching everything I could about Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee. And what I came to find out about the early spring crappies down there was that a guy could catch upwards of 100 of them in just a few hours, if the spring winds quieted long enough for him to get on the lake.

Weather.com pegs the winds today at 3o mph with gusting winds reaching 41 mph. That's the type of wind that becomes dangerous on the lake.

Now, while I'm not crazy enough to head out onto a lake with these types of winds unless I can launch and fish in a wind-protected bay, I've never been one to let the wind, even gusting wind, drive me off of a good shore-fishing spot.

A few years back I caught a 5.5 pound walleye out at Buckmaster Bridge with a stiff wind in my face. I also watched my buddy catch a 3-pounder and another kid catch a 9-pounder. Wind can have huge advantages, especially strong winds that force baitfish along the shoreline.

Fortunately for the fish, I have little desire to try those same techniques on crappies and sunfish. But two weeks from now, well that's a different story.

License renewal approaching

2010-04-26T06:36:00.000-07:00

Well, it's that time of year again.

The angling license you bought for the 2009 season will expire on Friday. While it's hard to imagine many anglers will forget abbout the April 30 expiration — this is only the second year since the angling license expiration moved from February to April — stranger things have happened.

I really like the extended season and compliment the decision to move back the expiration date. I'll be the first to admit that panfish rarely drew me in for a license renewal in March under the old guidelines.

But in the past two years I've fished the shores come ice-out religiously, and after Friday, I will purchase a new license for my wife and I.

So don't forget. Buying a license and fishing legally is one of the more noble ways to support your environment. Think of it like the newspaper honor system — you can drop 75 cents into a newspaper box, but once you open that door, you could clean out that newspaper stand.

Like that newspaper stand, a person can easily disappear along a river shoreline or some other remote spot and likely fish without a license. And that same person could likely take fish, within the limit or over the limit, illegally.

So, avoid a fine and any possible interruption in your ability to own a license and fish legally by ponying up and buying a license.

You can renew online or find a list of licensed agents on the DNR's website.

Most invasive species of all? The careless.

2010-04-22T14:09:00.000-07:00

This little nugget about two northern Minnesota minnow-farmers breaking the golden rules of invasive-species management got me thinking.

In this case (which was widely reported in the media) a pair of licensed minnow-farmers used equipment from Lake of the Woods - which had possibly been infected by the lake's invasive species, such as the spiny waterflea - to harvest minnows in Upper Red Lake. As punishment, their commercial minnow licenses were revoked for three years.

I say: Take their fishing licenses, too.

I've become entirely fed up with anglers who don't take preservation seriously. Those who don't care enough about the water to preserve it, don't deserve to fish it either.

I'm ashamed when I travel to my favorite shore-fishing haunts only to find the shoreline strewn with empty cans of Natural Ice (funny that it's never something like Sam Adams or Stella Artois), various bait containers and cigarette butts.

I'm a smoker myself. And I use beer and bait regularly, often at the same time but only rarely for the same purpose. However, I have never - now allow me a moment to mount my high horse - NEVER thrown those things on the ground.

Those who do act so carelessly deserve to be treated the same as those who transport invasive species, an issue that has long troubled Minnesota anglers and DNR officials: Take their licenses, confiscate their equipment and tell them not to bother fishing for awhile.

As outdoors folk, we make habit of proclaiming loudly our value of preservation. I say: Prove it.

- For those interested, you can view a list of Minnesota waters that are infested with invasive species here.

For what it's worth ...

2010-04-18T19:32:00.000-07:00

The family and I got out for a bit on Friday night. Went to the public boat landing on West Jefferson and I missed a few on a yellow jig and wax worm while I was chasing the boy around. The fellas down the way were catching a few, though.

As a sidenote, we stopped first at Buckmaster Bridge on Madison Lake and there must have been 100 people fishing from shore. Looked like some had been camped out for some time.

Although it can get a bit crowded, I love fishing at Buckmaster. It's as good as there is when it comes to shore-fishing. Plenty of flat shore space, additional cement walk-outs and, of course, the good fishing structure.

Guess that's why it's no secret.

As far as public fishing docks go, the only other that I fish often is the one on West Jefferson (which features an under-road tunnel connecting the dock to the parking area for the safety-conscious). That, too, is an excellent place to catch fish all year-round and has enough room for plenty of anglers to spread out beyond the dock. I grew up fishing on West Jeff and the rock wall along that shoreline has always been a nice spot for spring crappie, too.

I'm no expert, but I'm guessing water temps this weekend were in the 45-50 degree range - probably a few degrees below spawning temperature for panfish. Fishing should be picking up on most area lakes.

Feel free to chime in with a good place to get 'em.

— For what it's worth, motorists can pick up this semi-taunting and location-free fishing report on a roadside marquee outside a gas station in Madison Lake:

"The crappies are biting" ...

Passing the torch

2010-04-10T21:31:00.001-07:00

Tanner and I made it back out to the saw mill on East Jefferson, this time accompanied by our sons, Tyler and Noah.

Tanner wanted Noah to get a feel for his old-but-new Snoopy pole, and Tyler had been bugging me to get back out and catch some fish.

"Ten of them, Daddy," he said on the drive out.

There was a time when Tanner I and could do everything we needed to do while moving toward the lake. Stop at a gas station? No problem. Run in for bait? You betcha. Grab some beverages? Done and done.

Now, things are bit more complicated. And fishing, too, has changed dramatically.

On Friday, my goal was to let Tyler fish while I helped. Tanner's plan was the opposite — he would fish and let Noah help by reeling from time to time.

Our boys, I might add, are a year a part. Last spring, Tyler was in the same position as Noah, eager to catch fish but not really sure how to go about it.

We started out pretty strong, with Tyler casting his Spider-Man pole with ease, and Noah working the reel of his Snoopy pole while Daddy fished. We maybe got in a good five minutes of fishing.

But five minutes is a long time in a child's world (especially without a bite), and soon Tyler and Noah were off in a field of grass, ripping and pulling at the dead, withered blades and throwing them into the water.

As you can imagine, soon sticks followed the grass, and soon after, rocks. Now, since we were fishing away from others, we let this behavior go on, but had it been more than just Tanner and I affected by the noisy boys, there would have been a stern talking to that would have followed (that sounds worse than it really is).

Nonetheless, I'd estimate that Tanner and I got in 15 casts each, if we were lucky. But our boys bonded, in much the same we have, and the afternoon was successful enough that I'd venture to say there will be a few more fishing outings with the boys in the future.

— Doug Monson

Mothers love walleye opener, too

2010-04-07T15:21:00.000-07:00

Moms are terrific. I'm a big fan. Love several of them, in fact. And dearly, I might add.

But let's have no more of this fishing-opener-interfering-with-Mother's Day business.

This year's walleye opener is not until May 15, about one week later than usual. The delay is due to a state law requiring that opener be two Saturdays prior to Memorial Day weekend (which is the last weekend of the month this year).

In the wake of such a cruel blow to anxious anglers, moms and other maternal types are rejoicing that they will not have to share their special day.

Let's stop kidding ourselves.

Everyone knows the best gift for mom is a quiet house. And fishing opener has played an essential role in making mothers' dreams come true each and every year.

And for those brave enough to actually take their favorite matriarch fishing on Mother's Day weekend, the opener has traditionally allowed many water-ward men to give the gift that keeps giving: a trip to a soggy southern Minnesota lake for a tutorial on removing bullheads with cold hands.

But without fishing opener coinciding with Mother's Day this year, many of us will be left to scramble for a gift that conveys our love and affection as powerfully as a red wriggler on a size 4 hook or a 5:30 a.m. departure. Many of us will now have to wait an extra 7 days - or exactly 10,080 minutes - to really show our love.

But who's counting?

- Tanner Kent

A wet line and a big zero

2010-04-05T11:15:00.000-07:00

As with every Minnesota spring since I can remember, the angler's itch has set in early for me.

By January, it's a mild bother. By February, it's a nagging one. And by March, I want to thumb my reels so badly I have to content myself with a tired batch of Babe Winkelman VHS videos I snatched from dad's garage.

So, when Friday's near-tropical temps rolled around, I couldn't help myself.

Fishing buddy extraordinaire Doug Monson and I — as well as my wife, whose southern upbringing leaves her a bit incredulous as to why anyone wants to cast 4-pound monofilament into a 25 mph wind — packed up our gear and hit the shorelines.

We stopped at Geldner's Sawmill (west end of East Jefferson), which is a well-known April hotspot for crappie, and at Roemhildt's Lake (just south of German Lake). We fished wax worms and minnows along the bottom on small jigheads — and we didn't catch a thing. So, take that for what it's worth. If past returns are any indication of future gains, then my summer will likely be filled with plenty such outings.

But it was sure nice to be fishing.

— Tanner Kent

As a sidenote: I'm thoroughly excited to be teaming up with Doug on a fishing blog. We've got lots of ideas, but our general mission is to offer a local resource guide and "one-stop-shop" of sorts on fishing in southern Minnesota.

Feel free to contact us with ideas, suggestions and fishing reports that we can use to inform readers.

Looking forward to a great season, and Fish On!

Changes coming

2010-04-01T17:01:00.000-07:00

Well, it's spring, and with that, it's time to go through the gear, take stock and restock.

And just as it's time to go through all the gear, it is also time to re-examine the blog and what it offers to you, the reader, and see if more can be done.

With that in mind, I'd like to point out the first of many changes coming to this fishing site. In the upper right corner you'll notice a tab that says "The Tackle Box." Feel free to click on this tab and scroll through the list of area bait and tackle shops (addresses and phone numbers are available for all the stores, and Web links are available for those shops that offer a Web site.

Another change you'll notice is the radar at the top left. Pairing this with the weather, you should be able to get a read on the area weather (although serious anglers probably already have this little detail under control).

The biggest change that will be coming in the next week or so is the addition of Free Press Staff Writer Tanner Kent to the Bass Connection (don't get too attached to that name either, cause it'll probably change too).

Tanner and I have fished together since 2003, and I trust his knowledge of fishing more than most people. We also have the same desire to make this blog site more interactive so that it serves you, the fisherman.

So please be patient and check back regularly — you're bound to see something that has changed.

Muskie stocking, good or bad?

2010-03-17T08:45:00.000-07:00

John Cross recently wrote an article about the possibility of a muskellunge stocking program in Lake Tetonka near Waterville.

This issue is bound to get more and more attention, and people on both sides of the issue will have plenty to say.

I've given this situation some thought, and I'm split on the possible stocking. On one hand, I like having another lake closer to me where I might catch a muskie — a feat that is on my list of fishing-to dos.

On the other hand, how will this predator fish affect the overall habitat of the fish already in the lake? A lot of people worry about the walleye populations in lakes, but if you do a simple Google search on what muskie eat, you'll come to learn that walleye aren't tops on a muskie's list of food (this doesn't mean walleyes won't be eaten, however).

Actually, muskies tend to like fish without sharp spines, so Lake Tetonka's abundance of white suckers seems ideal. But rather than worry about walleyes, those opposed to the toothsome predator should be more worried about the perch population in Tetonka, because even though perch have sharp spines, its bones are soft enough to make for a good muskie meal.

I honestly haven't fished Tetonka in a few years, and I rarely fish it for pan fish, so I'm not sure exactly what the population of perch in the lake is. According to the DNR fish sample survey for 2004 (yeah, unfortunately this is a bit outdated), the gill net for yellow perch was 6.5 and the trap net was .3.

Those numbers might not mean much, but when you consider that only rough fish have equal or higher numbers for gill nets, you come to realize perch have to be somewhat plentiful in the lake.

Anyhow, this is all just me digesting the information and puking it out in thought. I've done some research, and I suggest anyone with feelings about the potential stocking, one way or another, do some hardcore research.

I'll leave you with this last thought about the muskies impact on walleyes. In 1984, muskies were stocked into Lake Vermilion in St. Louis County. Today, trophy walleyes and muskies can be found in that lake. And the walleye population is ridiculous — 12.95 gill net/1.89 trap net, average weight 1.01 lbs.

Obviously the habitat is much different than a southern-Minnesota lake, but people with ties to Vermilion engaged in the same arguments that will arise at Tetonka, and along the Cannon River chain of lakes for that matter.

Spring's a coming, so are new products

2010-03-05T14:54:00.000-08:00

If you're still interested in getting out on the lake all the way until iceout, this blog probably isn't for you.

But if you're like me (miserable, depressed and in need of a seasonal change), you're probably looking for things to do to pass the time until open water is upon us.

Well, I've been sifting through some of the new products on the market. And when I say sifting, I mean wading through new products across the fishing spectrum that often feel a lot like last year's products, or the year before's product.

This is inevitable, I suppose, since few revolutionary breakthroughs are left in the world of fishing.

Rapala is coming out with a new rap, the Flat Rap. It's a lot like the Original Floating Minnow, except the user is better adapt to manipulate the little wounded bait fish, and the action produced from the two flat sides is supposed to give it more action.

I see Berkley is coming out with a series of flippin jigs, one for well-known bass pros JayYellas and Mike Iaconelli and another for Hank Parker (or at least that is who I believe they are talking about, although he is listed as a line expert under Berkley's pro roster).

I've looked over the three different jigs, and not much looks new. I guess the jigs are supposed to produced better action when standing on head, and the double-barb is supposed to secure bait better. We'll see.

Have you ever stopped to think about products like line spoolers and strippers? I have to confess, these are two items on my short list of equipment needs. You can really get your bang for your buck if you think about the ease of a nice taught line, or stripping down an old spool.

Berkley puts out a hand-held stripper that rips 140 yards of line in less than a minute (just under 47 feet). It sells for $19.99 on the Berkley Web site.

Rapala has a new line stripper on the market that sells at a suggested retail price of 14.99, and strips 5 feet of line per second. This works out to 100 yards a minute.

So both are fast, both are reasonably priced, and both will probably do the job just fine.

Berkley also has a stripper/spooler field kit that sells for $39.99. Or you can go with a portable spooling kit or a permanent spooling kit for $34.99.

As winter melts to spring, I will continue to look over the new products, and from time to time I'm sure I'll report on what I find. Till then, pray for sun.

Remove the houses, remove the trash — it's simple

2010-02-26T14:37:00.000-08:00

As many of you already know, Monday is the deadline to get your permanent fish houses off the lake.

This doesn't mean you can't be out fishing in a permanent come Monday, but who wants to haul it on and off the lake each day.

Monday's deadline is also the day that justifies the once-a-year column from John Cross on lazy, littering anglers. As one of the designers and editors of the Outdoors page in the print edition of The Free Press, I'd like to personally ask you to heed his advice.

No, seriously, I'm tired of reading about something so obvious as cleaning up after yourself. I probably suffer the same angst as John each summer.

Take for instance Buckmaster's Bridge. The work done to restore the bridge and creating fishing piers was amazing. It's a great place to sneak off to in the early morning when time is short, and it is a great place to bring a family.

But year after year, I see thousands of cigarette butts littered about the cement fishing slabs — add in soda cans, bottles, line, fishing-lure and candy wrappers, and the place just looks like hell.

Trash cans are provided, so there is no excuse.

If you are a litterer, I think the question to ask yourself as you pull your permanent off the lake this year, or as you head out when winter breaks way to spring, is this: Would you treat your yard or house the same as you treat the area you call home to fishing?

If the answer is yes, than you're probably an idiot.

A big fantasy fishing bust

2010-02-11T12:00:00.000-08:00

I've been holding off on discussing the 2010 FLW Fantasy Fishing season because I think the organizers dropped the ball, even if they said the economy forced the changes.

A quick refresher: This is the third season FLW has held its Fantasy Fishing challenge. The first two awarded the winners of each regular season tournament $100,000, with excellent prizes a couple hundred deep for each tournament. The person with the most points at the end of the season won $1 million, and the prizes thereafter included boats and trucks and about anything an angler might want to add to his or her collection.

Best part, it was free to play.

Fast forward to the the third installment of fantasy fishing, and you quickly realize that handing out millions in prizes maybe isn't the best idea in these economic times. Tournament winners still can pull in $5,000, and payouts run through 15th place ($25).

The overall winner takes home $50,000, a big difference from the first two seasons. Second place wins $25,000. And the prizes payout through 15th place as well ($500).

Still, I can't help but wonder what will happen to the overall field. It's clear to me that handing out millions in prizes was the real draw to the bass fishing tournament. And I loved it because I thought it might help give the FLW Tour some credibility.

But let's be honest. It is pretty hard to attract fringe fans with a $50,000 cash prize, especially when those fans can't even turn on the television, plop down on the couch and watch live action of their fantasy players.

Plenty of lesser sports understand the importance of live viewing. And I think golf is a good example of a sport where switching from golfer to golfer doesn't always provide great drama, but it moves the broadcast along. Seems like a logical approach for bass tournaments. Maybe delay it a minute or two to make switching from pro to pro more efficient.

As it stands now, watching weeks-old tournaments isn't cutting it for the Tour. Just my two cents.

While I'm disappointed with the new structure, I still intend to play. I even lucked out on the first tournament, because once you sign up, you are given a random team. I forgot to pick a team for the first tournament, which would have started Thursday, Feb. 11, and was forced to use the random team. Thankfully, weather forced the tournament to be canceled.

So, after all that rambling, if you're like me and still interested in playing, then I guess you too are in luck, because the field of fantasy players is still at zero.

Besides, thinking bass fishing can help you fight off the winter blues.

Last thoughts on the Big Bobber

2010-02-08T13:18:00.001-08:00

The Humminbird Big Bobber Ice Fishing Contest Saturday at Lake Washington turned out to be more interesting than I had expected.

Maybe credit a Japanese film crew for that.

With the exception of a lot of small fish, I'd say the tournament was a success. Now, that doesn't mean some things could have run smoother — the wait after the end of the tournament to the start of the drawings was a bit long and groups of people left who might have otherwise stuck around.

Parking, too, concerned me. Yes, I'm a little bit of a chicken when it comes to vehicles driving on ice, but a mass parking lot on ice should be reason for concern.

With that said, the Brainerd Jaycees Ice Fishing Extravaganza didn't start out as smooth as it runs now.

Only time will teach the Big Bobber organizers what parts of their tournament will need to tweaked. And in their defense, Minnesota State officials realized they were losing people from the crowd and hurried into the drawing.

Perhaps next year, they will change that format. Perhaps next year, the contest will continue to grow and parking on the lake will be a greater concern.

Of more importance is how great the prizes were at the contest. Sixty nine fish were caught, and there were 100 prizes. So prizes 70 through 100, including the $1,000 prize for 100th place, were raffled away.

Basically, people paid $35 to help a good cause with a chance to win some good prizes. Oh, and a 1/2 pound sunfish was worth $2,500.

I posted photos from my Twitter account throughout the tournament, and I even posted a few videos. You can view what I posted on my Twitter account.

Here is a little video montage I put together from those cell phone video clips I took on the lake. You can tell in some of the clips the filming is a little shaky — my hands hurt and I was cold by the end of the day.

Countdown to the Big Bobber

2010-02-04T15:32:00.000-08:00

Lake Washington should be a pretty exciting and busy lake this weekend with the Big Bobber Ice Fishing contest.

Registration and hole selection begins at 10 a.m. The contest runs from noon to 3 p.m. I plan on being out there for the kickoff of the contest, and I plan on providing pictures and updates via my Twitter account. Those same posts should appear on our home page on the right-hand side. We've periodically been posting staffer's tweats on the home page, so you can follow the contest action there.

With good temperatures forecast for this weekend, I'm looking forward to seeing how this Minnesota State Athletic Scholarship Fund fundraiser goes.

Washington fishing report
Lenny Sweet of Sweet Living Pool and Spa is an avid Lake Washington ice fisherman. He's pretty busy in the summer, so he says he finds the winter to be a good time to get on the lake and fish.

Sweet's report for the upcoming fishing contest, which he will participate in on Saturday, isn't a good report. Up until January, Sweet said the fishing at Washington had been at the top of its game.

Now?
"The fish are down there," Sweet says. "They're just tough pickins."

Sweet has been mixing it up, switching between minnows, maggots and spikes (colored maggots for those who don't know what the heck a spike is). He prefers red spikes, not that any of them have provided much action. He says his best action has been on a whole minnnow with a green forage minnow, but he says he's done OK with a Swedish Pimple and a minnow head.

Let's hope participants in this weekends contest fare better than that fishing report suggests.

Last word on Brainerd ice fishing contest

2010-02-01T16:32:00.000-08:00

You may have caught John Cross' column in Sunday's print edition of the newspaper or online. If you missed it, he had a chance to talk with Curt Yess of Waseca.

Yess won this year's top prize (a GMC truck) at the Brainerd Jaycees $150,000 Ice Fishing Extravaganza.

But other area anglers also fared well at the annual contest. I think it is important to note that some of these catches, like the .68 pound rock bass caught by Roxanne Weingartz of Mankato, produced some pretty quality prizes.

Area anglers who placed and the prizes they won:

1. Winners Choice-2010 Ford or GMC truck
Curtis Yess/Waseca
6.26 walleye

8. $250 Mills Fleet Farm Gift Card
Nicholas Borgnann /Arlington
2.37 walleye

19. Strikemaster Auger
Mike Wolf/Mankato
1.86 walleye

26. Clam Fish Trap Kodiak
Lisa, Schultz/St. Peter,
1.30 rock bass

62. Strikemaster Auger
David, Armstrong/New Ulm
0.78 rock bass

68. Humminbird 385ci Portable
Kristi Johnson/Montgomery
0.77 Perch

83. $250 Mills Fleet Farm Gift Card
Kristi Myers/Owatonna
0.74 walleye

108. $250 Mills Fleet Farm Gift Card
Wyman Forbrook/Lake Crystal
0.69 walleye

113. Humminbird 385ci Portable
Roxanne Weingartz/Mankato
0.68 rock bass

114. Clam Fish Trap Kenai
Dean Rowe/New Richland
0.68 Perch

147. $250 Lindy Shopping Spree
Jeffrey Strand/Mankato
0.64 Perch

Kato group gets wet, gets skunked

2010-01-23T15:38:00.000-08:00

So my hopes for photos from the Brainerd Jaycees $150,000 Ice Fishing Extravaganza went south quick.

No fish from the Dave Kammerer group, but plenty of fun, he said.

Kammerer says that the rain fell until 10:30 a.m., and then it snowed on them. Twice their group had bites, but nothing came of the nibbles.

As you can see from The Associated Press photo above, it was one wet situation for contest participants.

Above photo: April and Sean Wilkus (back left), Doug Holbrook and David Mausak slogged through the water that had collected on the ice overnight on Hole-in-the-Day Saturday on Gull lake in Nisswa. The anglers were heading for their spot at the Brainerd Jaycees $150,000 Ice Fishing Extravaganza. AP Photo via Steve Kohls, Brainerd Dispatch.

Purple pride in Brainerd

2010-01-23T10:14:00.000-08:00

I read yesterday on the official site for the Brainerd Jaycees $150,000 Ice Fishing Extravaganza that contest officials were encouraging participants to wear purple to support the Vikings.

Dave Kammerer of rural Lake Crystal sent in this nice little photo via his cell phone. Hopefully Dave or others from his fishing party will be able to send pictures of fish, but this photo certainly does bring a smile to my face on an otherwise wet, dreary day.

On the eve of the big contest

2010-01-22T10:17:00.000-08:00

It's hardly a secret to anyone living in the Midwest, but the Brainerd Jaycees $150,000 Ice Fishing Extravaganza is one serious fishing contest.

Well, somewhat serious. The prizes alone make this tournament well worth the $35 buy-in, even if catching a fish can be somewhat of a task, and often the commraderie is as important as the line in the water.

The weather this year is a complete turnaround from last year's contest, held a day later in January (that's the 24th for those of you unable to do the math at home!).

According to Weather Underground, the high for Jan. 24, 2009, was 2.6 degrees; the low was -12.7 degrees. Of course, having spoken with several people who went last year, this doesn't factor in the windchill, and with nearly 20 mph winds last year, the temperature was sure to feel much colder than 12.7 below.

This year, however, contestants are looking at a wintry mix of snow and rain, with temperatures expected in the low to mid 30s. Now that's more like it.

I hope to be able to share with you a few of the catches and/or stories from some local participants. I will be posting photos here on my blog, and you can also follow DMI026 on Twitter.

If you'd like more information on the Brainerd Jaycees contest, or if you'd like to see the prize list, winner's list and more, check out their official site.

A fishing potluck

2010-01-17T11:38:00.000-08:00

There's plenty going on in the world of fishing over the next few weeks, and there has been a steady stream of good weather lately to get out on the lakes.

This Saturday marks the 20th year of the Brainerd Jaycees $150,000 Ice Fishing Extravaganza. I know a few people who make the trek every year, so hopefully we'll get some pictures and or stories to put up here on the blog.

Saturday, Feb. 6, marks the fourth Big Bobber ice fishing contest. As a Minnesota State University alum, I'm inclined to urge people to take part. Not only are the prizes worth it, the money goes to help out the MSU Athletics Scholarship Fund.

Come February, FLW's Fantasy Fishing returns. I'll go into this more as I feel out the 2010 field of anglers, but I do urge participation, mostly because the payouts are huge and you really don't need to know that much about bass fishing. Think of it as a free lottery.

On a more serious note, John Cross interviewed Hugh Valiant, manager of the Waterville Fish Hatchery, and the concern for winterkill is growing. John and I have openly fretted about this in the office, and now it looks like another possible winter storm could cause even more issues. We'll have to wait and see.

I tend to worry about this a lot, because I'm more dedicated to open-water fishing. But whether you're an ice fisherman, or you enjoy the open water, dead fish are never a good thing.

This is not a hoax

2010-01-10T14:38:00.000-08:00

One word: Wow!

This photo released by International Game Fish Association shows Manabu Kurita of Aichi, Japan, holding his July 2, 2009, record catch, a largemouth bass caught on Lake Biwa, Japan's largest lake. The record-tying bass weighed 22 pounds, 4 ounces.
(AP Photo/International Game Fish Association)

I saw this photo while designing the Outdoors page for Sunday's print edition of the newspaper, and I knew I had to work it into the paper.

That's a big fish. My largest largemouth, a 7 pound, 4 ouncer out of Little (or West if you'd like) Jefferson, pales in comparison. The one thing I have in common with Kurita, though, is the strain on my face. He handled it much better. As you can see by my expression to the right, I look like I am constipated or something.

Regardless of the type of fish you're after, catching a trophy of your desired species, such as Kurita did, is something that doesn't happen very often.

Roger, the man who lets fellow staffer Tanner Kent and I launch from his property on Little Jeff, was one of the first people to see that picture of my 22 1/4 inch bass. He's an avid walleye and northern angler who absolutely hates bass (perhaps more than Free Presser John Cross).

He asks me if I kept that green carp, to which I tell him no (I did what I thought was the noble thing by weighing and measuring the beast before tossing it back in after a few quick pictures).

"Then you're an idiot," the old fisherman says, "cause that's a trophy fish."

Perhaps. I'm a catch-and-release guy at heart.

I know if I caught a world-record bass, though, it'd be going on my wall. Heck, even a state-record bass would end up on my wall.

At this point, I'd be happy to hoist up a 7 pounder if I ever catch one out of Minnesota waters again. A trophy's a trophy.

An end to 2009

2009-12-31T11:22:00.000-08:00

I'm sitting on an area lake at the moment. That's right, I'm bidding farewell to 2009 as I do every year: fishing with the brother-in-laws.

We've been practicing this exercise for the better part of a decade, and the results, fishing-wise, have been mixed.
I must interrupt myself to tell you that one bro-in-law, Dave, just had something big on but lost it. And where we are fishing, you catch only two fish that draws this kind of reaction -- pike and walleye.

Anyhow, I am hoping to end 2009 with a fishing bang.

To all of you: Be safe, have fun, and may 2010 be better than 2009.

No, seriously, let's keep our fingers crossed.

P.S. I've been twittering all of our catches the past three days. If you want to know how this year's season-ending fishing outing is going, click the twitter link on the side of the page.

Sorry to make you work, but I am doing all of this from my phone.

Baby steps people, baby steps.

Snow & ice

2009-12-27T22:39:00.000-08:00

I'd been wondering what kind of affect the snow would have on the ice conditions on area lakes since this recent storm rolled through.

Since my last post, I'd been hearing good reports on ice conditions, with most anglers agreeing that the ice was roughly around a foot on area lakes.

As of Dec. 19, Lake Washington was anywhere from 9 to 12 inches. But what would a good foot of snow do to those lake conditions?

Well, for one, it is making travel on the lakes difficult. Free Press staffer John Cross reported Saturday that Washington still had good ice, but the snow was making it very difficult to get around on the lake.

So even moving 20 yards to a better spot becomes less enjoyable.

He said Scotch also had "good" ice but a lot of snow.

In Monday's print edition of The Free Press, Dan Neinaber interviewed Minnesota Department of Natural Resources conservation officer Chris Howe.

Howe suggested what my gut was telling me: All this snow is going to be troublesome for continued ice making. What I mean is that the more snow we get to insulate the ice, the less we can count on good ice to keep forming even if the temps are cold enough for good ice.

Howe goes into more depth on other concerns heavy snow causes for ice conditions in the article.

This also tells me I worry for those who have to drive out on any of our area lakes.

And as the anglers I spoke to out on Washington said, you can go 40 yards and find a big difference in the depth of ice.

So what I'm trying to say, people, is wait to drive out with your trucks and SUVs (you'll be lucky to get a car through this deep of snow). And if you must, please, please practice safety.

Updates coming
I can't say they'll be good updates, but I'll be out Wednesday and Thursday this week. I'm not sure of the destination, but I'll make sure to snap a few photos, take a few measurements, and get back to you on the quality of fishing.

Hopefully, all goes well.

And then there was ice

2009-12-19T14:26:00.000-08:00

Stopped out to Lake Washington before work today.

I figured there would be a few good ice-fishing communities scattered across the lake, which there was between first and second point.

The parking lot next to Westwood Marina Bar & Grill wasn't as full as we'll see it in coming weeks, but still, 30 to 40 vehicles were parked at the water's edge.

I estimated probably 90 percent of the houses on the lake were portables, but a few people were gearing up to move their permanent houses onto the lake.

Two guys gearing up for an afternoon of fishing were kind enough to give me a quick ice report.

They fished Friday on the lake and found ice as deep as 12 inches and as thin as 9 inches. One of them caught a five-pound northern and the other was a little more tight-lipped about the fishing.

I saw a few ATVs traveling on the lake, but no trucks or cars.

The two men I was talking with both recalled one person who drove a Ford Explorer out Friday, the ice cracking as he moved to a fishing spot.

I'm not sold on vehicles on the lake yet, especially SUV/truck type vehicles. But 9 to 12 inches of ice on Washington tells me most area lakes, especially the shallower bays, are good to go for fishing.

And if nothing else, you can always follow the Rule of 21. Find 20 houses and make it 21. Good luck.

My love hate with Christmas

2009-12-16T07:57:00.000-08:00

I used to love Christmas. And then I hated it.

Now I love Christmas again.

My first love with the holiday, of course, was as a child. My family had enough, but we didn't have a lot. But somehow, on Christmas, my mom made sure we felt like the richest kids in the world.

Her love, of course, was all us children needed. But my mom had a knack for compiling loads of presents for her five children. And somehow, we never really stopped to think where all this once-a-year wealth came from.

In college, I worked at K-Mart. Let me say, if you've never worked in retail but you're an avid shopper, give those workers a break. Sure, every job has its less-than-productive workers, and those workers can be a headache for shoppers, but a lot of good people are just trying to make a wage, or put themselves through college.

Retail is ugly, and dealing with holidays could be painful. At the ol' Mart, we'd start receiving Christmas products as early as August. The shelves would often go up a day or two after Halloween, and then there was the working Black Friday thing.

For a deal, people are crazy. And often the holiday spirit seemed lost on shoppers — it was always about the deal, the deal, the DEAL.

So I hated Christmas for a very long time. Much longer than my time spent in retail. And I started to realize that other than a few items here and there, I don't need a whole lot. Gifts are nice, but only if they are useful.

And my mom, of course, still wants to spoil us within her means, which always makes me feel a bit guilty — I tell her to get me fishing lures, which makes us both feel better.

People, it seems, get greedy when Christmas rolls around. They aren't greedy because they are bad people; I think sometimes the holiday and knowing of potential gifts clouds why we celebrate the season.

My son is getting older now, and he's starting to fall into the Santa/present excitement. His excitement has become my excitement, and now I love Christmas again. Funny how that works.

And since my first outing on the ice usually doesn't come until after Christmas with my brother-in-laws, I'll just enjoy his anxiety as he counts down the days until Christmas.

"Is it Christmas yet, Daddy?"
"No, Ty, 11 more days."

Holding up six fingers, "This many, Daddy?"
"Close, Ty, close."

Merry Christmas!

Ice reports needed

2009-12-11T08:04:00.001-08:00

Well, we were fortunate to stave off winter for quite some time, but boy did it roll in with a bitter reminder.

That should mean good things for ice, provided the snow blew off the lakes instead of piling on thin ice.

I see in the Wednesday edition of The Free Press, we ran an Associated Press brief from the DNR warning of thin ice. I always love these reminders, because you know it won't be long and you'll hear about some goofball who just had to drive his truck/car on the lake and went in.

Anyhow, the brief basically said as of Monday, Dec. 7, there was no place in the state with good ice, which, according to the DNR, is 4 inches for walking weight.

This is all funny to me because Free Press photographer and outdoor guru John Cross was telling me that people were fishing Lake Elysian with portables. Mind you, he told me this on Monday, a full day before — to steal a bit from KFAN — the "snownami" hit Minnesota and the same day that the DNR lists in its release.

There you have it. Have ice, will fish.

For the record, I need good ice before I'll travel out on a lake. Once the ice is thick enough, I'm more than willing to travel out lightly on the lake, but I need a good 6 inches for walking weight, maybe more.

So send this chicken your ice reports. It doesn't have to be special. You don't have to give up what you're catching, just what lake you were fishing and how much ice you were fishing on. Simple enough.

Score one for Minnesota

2009-12-02T09:01:00.000-08:00

I just spent a good deal of time looking around the Web for something to write about.

Yeah, the lack of ice is making me look hard for ideas.

Anyhow, when searching around for topics, I tend to stay away from anything that is a Google ad. You know, these are the items that appear on the side rails of your search engine or in the shaded boxes above your search results.

For this search, I was trying to find something new in the world of ice fishing I could share with you, my valued readers. Instead, I ended up clicking on the "Evening Secret," which, let me tell you, is still somewhat of a secret.

I'm always skeptical when a site selling something is full of testimonials but never really shows the product or explains exactly how it works. Even on this site, the author tells us he has spoken with researchers at the University of Michigan, and they agree that it works, but he doesn't really go into detail on how it works, just that the researchers noted the attraction of zooplankton, which in turn attract bait fish, which eventually attract trophy fish.

If you're adventurous enough — or bored enough — to read to the bottom of the site, you'll probably draw the same conclusion that I did — the Evening Secret somehow sends impulses into the water that attract the zooplankton, which attract the bait fish and eventually the trophy fish.

You'll also learn that two states, Wyoming and Minnesota, have banned the Evening Secret. Last year, I also wrote about two other products, the Bite Lite and the Walking Worm, both by NGC Sports. These two lures were said to produce at ridiculous rates, and in the Bite Lite's case, Wyoming had banned it, too.

This begs the question, is it right for these states to ban such items, when indeed those items can make fishing more enjoyable for a good many people? My first inclination, especially when talking about the lures, is to go ahead and let them be used. Seriously, unless people are fishing in a tournament, what's the big deal? Our DNR puts restrictions into place on the size and amount of fish people can catch, so what's the harm if they are aided by gimmicks or not?

Having said that, after I read the Evening Secret testimonials, I'm not too upset that Minnesota has a ban on this gadget. For all the hoopla this site tries to drum up, something about taking away the hunt leaves me less interested in the catch. I like to target pools of bait fish, and then go to work for a lunker sitting in wait.

The reward is always so much better after the hunt. But maybe that's the old-school fisherman in me talking. Either way, I'll take my chances doing the hunting rather than letting the fish come to me.

Well, so much for the weather

2009-11-24T11:07:00.000-08:00

Relatively speaking, November has been one of the nicer months of 2009. Still, there is little to be desired on the fishing forefront.

Dare I say it? We need ice.

I had a few days off last week and hit up Buckmaster Bridge on Madison Lake. The conditions were right, but other than losing one to a slow bite and even slower reactions, there were few bites to be had.

I saw three other anglers on my multiple outings. They didn't catch anything either, though one guy had a follow. From what I gathered between the three of them, Buckmaster wasn't faring well in November.

The north side of Elysian however, sounded like it was drawing a crowd.

I took the above picture with my phone as the sun was going down on my first outing It's nothing special, and there is a reason I'm not a photographer, but at least it is something sunny on a rainy day.

Normally I reserve my camera for a big catch, but as I said, November has been a slow month.

At least the Vikings are winning

2009-11-16T14:16:00.000-08:00

I wonder how many ice fishermen are sitting around in the garage after a hard day's work, knocking back a cold one or two, and just staring at their gear?

Hello? Winter, you out there?

I'm happy that winter is staying away ... for now. I'm not sure I ever want the cold months to come. I guess winter is inevitable, and knowing this makes me accept my fishing habits will turn to the ice sooner than later.

But seriously, have you checked out the 10-day forecast lately? Lots of 40s and 50s folks. We're seeing freezing temps more at night, but we're above freezing during the day, and that doesn't make for a whole lot of ice.

I'm wondering if we should start an ice watch, although I'm guessing a good many of you are soaking up the hunting in the various seasons. Perhaps a few of you are still chasing walleye (which is what I plan to do with all these warm temps in the near future).

At least my favorite purple team continues to roll, even if Favre and Co. looked a little rusty coming off a bye week.

A few good chances yet on the water, and a winning football team ... I'll take both over ice any day.

Oh this technology

2009-11-12T14:55:00.000-08:00

When someone mentions technology to a fisherman, it's likely he or she will start daydreaming about the next Hummingbird fish finder or Minn Kota motor, underwater camera or perhaps the next Vexilar flasher coming out.

Normally, I would be thinking about those things too, but I just can't help but throw myself into the abyss of my new Blackberry to see what it all has to offer.

So this past Saturday, during deer hunting firearms opener, I tested out my new phone on an area lake fishing for bass. And while the outing yielded just one bass for myself, none for fellow Free Presser Tanner Kent, I had the opportunity to try out a few features.

One of those features being the camera. It's nice to know that I don't always have to have a disposable handy when I can snap a quick picture with my phone and e-mail it to myself with a few clicks of the buttons.

I can also add the photo to Facebook or Twitter and I'm sure a billion other social networks (I'd prefer not to do any, but that's not really an option).

So while I spent a few minutes texting and e-mailing rather than fishing, all was not a loss. Tanner and I spent one last run on open water hunting for bass; I caught one more bass before winter to finish with 99, down quite a bit from last season, but still fun nonetheless; and I was able to get on the water later than any year in recent memory, which is always nice.

By the way, the boat Tanner owns is a 1977 Sears fiberglass boat. It was a Ted Williams series, which I've always found very entertaining, considering the man was a baseball legend, but also one heck of a fisherman. The photo below is a picture of the signage on Tanner's boat.

Ha, who needs deer opener?

2009-11-03T11:19:00.000-08:00

The past few days I have spent a good deal of my time winterizing the yard and garage, which has been a bit more painful than normal.

Having bought my first boat, without a functioning motor, I've only been able to relish in the comforts of my man cave.

But lately, as I've winterized, I've found the boat to be another great place to pack away the boy's outdoor toys, which will free up room for a parking space for my wife.

Ouch ... a boat as a storage device. That's not right ... no, it just ain't right.

Thankfully, warmer days are ahead. That's right, one more chance to land a fat lunker.

Now, despite the wind, I think the conditions have been rather good for walleye fishing, though the only the die-hards are left.

Hunting is the prime sport, and deer hunting (firearm) opens Saturday. (I think it is important to note that I heard today on KFAN that nearly 500,000 Minnesotans participate in the firearms deer hunting season. Those are pretty impressive numbers.)

So with a nice run of sun, I'm thinking a low-pressured outing for some fall bass is the perfect way to say good bye to the summer tackle. Besides, people don't hunt deer on lakes!

And I suppose, hello to my ice fishing gear, which I can pull down to make room for something else I won't need during the winter.

Hope all is well, and you all find time for one last fall outing, even if you're fishing from the shore.

The lessons of Scotch Lake

2009-10-26T08:39:00.001-07:00

Do you remember two years ago when Scotch Lake near Cleveland kicked out so many walleye during the ice fishing season it looked like a one-stop shop for area, and non-area, anglers?

Well, I do. It seemed people were going back with their limit every outing, and I'm quite sure a few were going back with their limit and then coming back for more.

I don't ice fish nearly as much as I do during the open-water months, but one thing I've learned is a quality fishing spot in the winter is even more important to protect than a quality spot in the summer.

I'm not exactly sure why this is, but after watching Scotch Lake get fished out at a spooky, almost irresponsible pace, I'm fully on board with the secrecy thing.

Now, I think it is important to note that last year, Scotch Lake kicked out a lot less walleyes, and any time you actually caught a walleye, you didn't tell anyone but your inner circle.

Hmm, funny how lacking a little discretion, a little will power when hooking up all those walleyes had a lasting effect on the lake. I don't suppose it'll be much better out there this year.

Every year there is a honey hole that boasts quality fishing, and suddenly small towns start forming daily on the ice that holds those fish. And when you're not exactly sure where to fish, those small villages of fish houses become a beacon of light.

And then you follow the rule of 21, as fellow Free Press staffer and avid outdoorsmen John Cross always says to me — find 20 houses and make it 21.

Personally, I follow my brother-in-laws to the good fishing spot. Between Dave and Pete, they usually put me on some pretty good spots. And these two, especially Pete, know how to keep a good spot secret.

But more importantly, they know enough to respect limits, and also respect the quantity and quality of these smaller lakes in the area that produce walleye.

Lakes like Washington and Madison are gems that can go in streaks, but the numbers of fish are such that those lakes take minor dents in population during a winter season.

But lakes like Scotch, on the other hand, well, just think back to the last two years, and the tale practically tells itself.

On a somewhat side note, and just to get the juices flowing a little bit, here's a look at what Swedish Pimple has available.

Winter wonderland

2009-10-10T10:17:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, I caught a 4-pound bass on one of the Jefferson lakes.
The hawg served as a nice fish on a rather cold, cold day. Free Press education writer Tanner Kent accompanied me. He caught a 17-inch bass, also a nice fish.
Both of the bass looked like they were on the feed, which is pretty understandable, considering we've already seen our first snow and it's only Oct. 10.
I'm sure ice fishermen are eagerly licking their chops.
But we'll see warmer days ahead.
Still, the fishing has been different this year, and I mostly attribute it to the weather. There was never the long, hot, drought-like streak in July or August.
Some days, the fishing was great, others, not so great. I wonder if that means the ice fishing will be above average, or if it will be a struggle?
At this rate, we'll have a long year with ice on the lakes, but then again, this IS Minnesota, and the weather is fickle.
Probably the hardest thing about seeing snow so early in the fall is that I'm torn between trying to get out for some last open-water fish, or taking a break until the ice forms on the lakes.
Cross your fingers we don't get more snow.

Going to your ground game

2009-09-28T07:10:00.000-07:00

You think Adrian Peterson knows something about going to the ground? Well, Minnesota fishermen, eager to store their boats and turn to hunting, should know a thing or two about working on the ground.

Shorefishing is by far one of the better ways to spend a fall afternoon, early evening or even for an early morning outing.

Now, I'm well aware the diehards aren't anywhere close to putting the boat away, but for those of you who think its time to wrap up the season by storing the boat, I'd like to suggest a few places to put a line in and still catch up on some quality fishing.

Buckmaster Bridge
Madison Lake's most popular shoreline offers good weedlines only 50 yards out into the main lake. I see a lot of people fishing the pier as well, but I'm inclined to tell you to move toward the bridge.

Last year I talked with a guy who only fishes the pier, and he said he throws a 3-inch chartreuse twister tipped with a minnow and catches plenty of walleye.

I throw crank baits up and down the shoreline and catch walleye and bass. Occasionally I hook into a northern or some really big buffalo carp, too. I like the versatility of the shoreline.

Cannon Lake
If you don't mind a crowd, setting up for some shore walleye along Cannon Lake can be rewarding. Take Cannon Lake trail, which follows the north side of the lake, and when you get to the part of the road that splits lakes Cannon and Wells, you'll see the people fishing. If not, get out with your favorite 5-gallon bucket and settle into a quality spot.

Little Jefferson
Your walleye options here are limited, but that doesn't mean your fishing is limited. A simple stop to the German and Jefferson Lakes Sportsman's Pier off Le Sueur County Road 105 should ensure you a chance for some fall crappies and sunfish. And come Saturday, which is duck opener, you're sure to be serenaded with a chorus or two of shotgun blasts echoing in the near distance.

Minnesota River
I don't fish it often, and my days of river fishing are fewer and far between, but that doesn't mean others shouldn't take advantage of the river.

The one problem I find with fishing the river in the fall is finding quality spots where the water is deep enough to work from shore. I know a few people who like to make it simple and hit the river at Sibley Park.

I also know people who work the river along Judson Bottom Road and do pretty well for themselves. I personally like fishing the river off the northbound lane of Highway 169 on the way to St. Peter. It's hard to explain exactly where to fish, but the most recent tornado that sideswiped the south side of St. Peter and the shoreline of the river left a pretty good landmark.

When the damage starts to appear in the trees along the river, find the first place that has a slight drive-in, and pull of the road.

These are just a few of the spots I like to fish from the shore, especially in the fall. There's more, but I can't tell you all of my favorite spots. There are some things a fisherman just doesn't tell.

Fishing and Favre

2009-09-14T07:59:00.001-07:00

There are a few things that are for certain when the Minnesota Vikings take the field every year: Fall isn't far behind; I turn some of my attention to football (OK, I turn a lot of my attention to football; Minnesota fish are gearing up for winter with a hunger only a fisherman can enjoy.

So while a lot of my attention has been on watching Brett Favre get acclimated to the 2009 Vikings squad, fishing fall bass is always in the back of my mind.

I bring this up because last season by brother-in-law, Dave, and I bucked the conventional, wind-blown outing to Mille Lacs for a Sunday run at Gull Lake in Brainerd. The Vikings played the Indianapolis Colts on Week 2 at the Dome, and we listened while fishing a chilly, on-again-off-again, rainy lake.

The Vikings jumped out to a 15-0 lead and, other than not being able to punch it in the end zone, appeared dominant. We talked about how important it was for Tarvaris Jackson to figure things out. I talked about how fans would be calling for his head and Brad Childress' head if he didn't have a good season.

And then the Colts started to make a run. What made matters worse was the Vikings were blowing it on the field and we were getting skunked on a less-than comforting Gull, our rain gear providing the only real comfort.

Somewhere in the third quarter, with the anger of the two disappointments mounting (I think by now we'd both hooked into a 6-inch bass (heck, maybe they were 4-inchers) I turned to Dave and said, "Mark my words, the Vikings are going to lose this thing in regulation."

"You think so," he asked.

Long story short, the Colts outscored the Vikings 11-0 in the fourth quarter for an 18-15 victory. The loss riled us both up, and we decided to change our strategy, part of which required a long boat ride to a foreign spot.

If you've read this blog or even my column in our print edition, you'll know I talk a lot about the fishing gods. The day the Vikings blew it against the Colts, the football gods weren't on our side. But after that horrid loss and the move across the lake, I figure the fishing gods felt bad for us, because we hauled in 42 fish in about three hours.

I bring this all up because Dave and I will make a second trip to Gull during a Week 2 Vikings game, this time against the Detroit Lions. Now, a little back history that doesn't get talked about as much with Detroit — the Lions obviously went 0-16 last season, but the team also lost seven of its last eight in 2007, including the final game of the season.

So with the loss to end 2007, and the loss to start 2009, the Lions are on an 18-game losing streak (and have lost 24 of their last 25). They have a young offense with some talent at quarterback, running back and wide receiver. Do you think they are hungry for a win?

And to top things off, the Vikings beat the Lions 12-10 and 20-16 in their two meetings last season — the Lions should have won at least one of those games, if not both. So yes, they are hungry for a win.

If the football gods let the Lions finally end this horrible streak (I'm rooting for a Detroit win, just not against the Vikes), the fishing gods are gonna need to send down a case of beer to go with about 1,000 fish in an hour for Dave and I!

McKee, Kramer take team of year

2009-09-02T06:52:00.000-07:00

Going through your e-mail after a vacation can be quite a chore, especially when you've been gone as long as I've been gone.

But I did receive a nice little e-mail from Stu McKee with an update on the final regular-season Tuesday Nite Walleye Tourney at Lake Tetonka. I'll rehash a little of what Mckee said below, and after I track down Tim Hobbs, I'll get you a more detailed finish to the walleye tourney finale.

"Roger and I got First Place with Big Fish and Team of the year," Mckee wrote. "We had 3 walleyes — 4.9, 4.5 and 2.9."

Mckee said second place had 4 pounds, 4 ounces and two other boats each weighed a fish. Unofficially, I have the team of McKee and Kramer besting the team of Dan Griep and Bill Holland by five points for the title. That could change, but I'm pretty confident the final numbers will come out at 59-54.

Here's what McKee said about their strategy:
"We fished in 4 to 6 feet of water all night, bait was #7 Ratten(sic) Raps. We fished 30 and 50 lbs test line made by Fins. You need the heavy line because we are always hook in the heavy weeds. No weeds no fish."

Pretty good information from one of the area's experts. A reader once told me that he's never seen McKee fish with anything other than Rattlin' Raps — now he and Kramer have won their fourth-straight Team of the Year award.

Makes me think I should restock my selection of Raps in my tackle box. Oh wait, I've got plenty of those!

The student and the teacher

2009-08-22T08:48:00.000-07:00

When you're up against your best friend and mentor, Dan Griep says, you know it's a special moment.

"Stu (McKee) is the best fisherman in the area, and it's sort of a feather in your cap to be there with him," Griep said.

Griep and McKee, both of Cleveland and friends of 30 years, are members of the top two teams in the Tuesday Nite Walleye Tourneys series, which winds down the regular season Tuesday at Lake Tetonka with a winner being crowned.

McKee and partner Roger Kramer have won team of the year the last three years, so an upset by the student would be appropriate.

McKee says if Griep and partner Bill Holland win, he'll be very happy for them. Griep says the winning aspect wasn't the most important part of fishing the tournaments.

"I'm just out there on Tuesday nights to have fun," Griep says. "If I catch fish, great. If I win money, even better. If we win team of the year, of course we'd like that."

Griep's admiration for McKee goes beyond what he's learned technique wise.

"He's kept me on the cutting edge of what baits are out there," Griep says. "He'll share his information with you. He's not secretive at all. He likes to teach everybody so they can catch fish."

After Tuesday's tournament, the field will vote on which lake to hold the postseason tournament. Griep says his vote is for Lake Washington, but he'll fish where ever the tournament takes places.

McKee says he usually just waits to see what everyone else votes and then goes along with the vote. But he said he wouldn't mind seeing the tournament at Washington or Tetonka.

McKee's take

2009-08-17T14:22:00.000-07:00

Received a nice little e-mail from Stu McKee the other day. Here's his take on Lake Tetonka:

"The Tetonka tournament should be a good one, and as of this last week there are a good number of walleye's biting. There are a bunch of fish in the 13 inch range, but the lake is giving up some nice 17-inch fish."

McKee says the Aug. 25, regular-season finale at Tetonka is shaping up to be a good one. He says the approach for he and teammate Roger Kramer will likely be the same.

"I've been getting some new lure from J.B. Lures and some new fishing line from Premium superlines (FINS Fishing) in the 30 and 50 pount test. This has really helped
Roger and I put some very big fish in the boat."

McKee said the trick is to stay in shallow water. To be fair to him, I won't give away the exact depths he is shooting for, just in case any of his competition is reading this blog. But I will say this, you'd be surprised at just how shallow they go.

The purpose of the heavy line is to allow them to get into tough spots and not worry about breaking their line, and also to keep their lures "up a bit."

We'll see if that strategy works or not.

Winding down the walleye tourneys

2009-08-15T21:08:00.000-07:00

The Tuesday Nite Walleye Tourneys are coming to an end, with one regular-season tournament remaining on Aug. 25.

I wrote a column about the tournaments for Sunday's edition of The Free Press. It's also available online.

Without rehashing too much of what I wrote there, what you need to know is that Tuesday, Aug. 11, no one caught a walleye at Madison Lake.

That means two teams, locked in first place with 49 points, will be battling it out for team of the year. Stu Mckee and Roger Kramer, winners the last three years, are trying to hold of Dan Griep and Bill Holland.

The important thing to understand here is that all anglers receive five points just for fishing a tournament. If a team weighs a fish, they receive seven points, and placing nets you eight points for third, nine points for second and 10 points for first.

So basically, these two teams could come out in a tie after the Lake Tetonka tournament.

Now, the Tetonka tourney is the final regular-season tournament, but there is another tournament slated for anyone who fished in all the tournaments this year or placed in the top 10 in points.

That tournament is at a site to be determined. Basically, all of the anglers who fish the Tetonka tournament get to vote afterward for the lake they'd prefer to fish in the season-ending tournament. The lake with the most votes becomes the site of the winner-take all tournament.

Stay tuned, because it's sure to be a fantastic finish.

Comedy in fishing — The Streater file

2009-08-08T22:48:00.000-07:00

(Editor's note: The link to the print edition of this story was incorrect and has now been fixed.)

I had an interesting week.

On top of my normal duties as a copy editor for The Free Press — I've never liked that title because it doesn't begin to encapsulate the wide variety of duties I perform for the paper — I had the privilege to interview Dick Streater, one of the top authorities on collectible fishing lures.

But Streater isn't just a collector, he's also a funny gentleman who incorporates all those collectible fishing gadgets into a one hour talk.

"When I find something funny, you have to think of something funny to say," Streater says.

After talking with Streater for nearly an hour, it became clear to me there was no way I could tell all the interesting stories he told me in the space of a newspaper. It's just not possible my friends.

So I've compiled a few interesting things that didn't make my story in Sunday's print edition. I hope you enjoy these as much as I did.

On Mankato
• Streater said he was deeply rooted to Mankato. Part of that, he's said, was because his father was the Chief Clerk of the Blue Earth County Rationing Board during World War II. His father was also the business manager of the Mankato Legion, and hence, because business manager of the Mankato Merchants baseball team.

"The players would crack their bat and my dad would bring them home, and I'd glue them and tape them up tight," he said, "and we'd go out and play with them."

• Voted the funniest guy in his senior class. "I guess I was just destined to do this (comedic lure talks)."

• Once bought a bottle of Kato Beer at an antique shop after it had stopped being brewed, and at a class reunion ordered a Budweiser and poured it into the Kato Beer bottle. Everyone asked him where he got it, and he'd tell them the bar. Then they'd say "that's impossible, they went out of business."

Which lures are better
Streater said a good many of the collectors out in his neck of the woods are switching back to the old lures and are having good success catching fish. From reels, to line, to lures, these guys are getting a feel for the classics.

"Of course, none of the old stuff has rattles or any of that monkey business," he said. But he said the equipment works just fine. "I've used several old lures that I've fished with and I enjoy it."

Odds and ends
• Once caught an 11 pound, 2 ounces bass in Mexico on a Zara Spook.

• Currently working on a collaboration with another guy on the history of mosquito repellents. Listening to him rattle of names like "Scram," "Scat" and "Swat that Skeeter" make me think he'll do just fine with his blend of humor and wit.

• Played trombone in both the University of Minnesota marching band and the Army Marching Band. He owns both a slide and valve trombone and is comfortable playing either one. Talking about the U of M band, he said, "It was a hell of a good part of my life."

• He introduced a variety of old lures and collectibles in his talks. I gather the format is much like a stand up routine tooled toward each interesting "gadget."

• Steater will be in Minnesota for about two weeks this fall — toward the end of September and into the early part of October. He said he'd like to give a few talks while he's here.
In a packet of information he sent me, I came across this: "I enjoy giving this talk so much that I have not established a charge for it. On the other hand, with gas and food and the time involved, I have never refused to accept an honorarium if offered."

I asked him about this and he stood by what I typed above. Basically, as I see it, that's a pretty cheap cost to get him out to an area sportsmen or fishing club. But that's just me.

• If you would like to contact Streater or get more information on his "talks," e-mail him at lureguru@aol.com.

Fun at Frances

2009-08-04T08:26:00.000-07:00

A lot of little fish. But a lot of fish.

This is how are afternoon was at Lake Frances in Elysian. Fishing partner Dave caught 14 fish, all on Mimic Minnows. He caught seven bass and seven little pike.

I came in at nine fish — seven bass and two pike. I also lost two pike that bit me off, so the count could have been higher.

We pretty much worked around the shorelines and docks. There is a lot of weed cover, but if you look for pockets, it's pretty manageable.

It'd been a long time since I'd been on Frances, and I have to say, that's a nice little lake. The people living on the lake take good care of their properties, their shorelines. There is a nice beach that seems to get used, and the overall quality of the lake just seemed good.

I can't imagine fishing there on a weekend, as I'm sure the recreation traffic would be intense. Even for a Monday, we saw a lot of people making good use of the lake.

Most importantly, with all the fish we caught and the strikes we had, the future for Frances looks bright.

Correction

A reader said I miss spelled Ballantyne (Ballentine is how I'd labeled it). I took my spelling directly off Google maps, which happened to be wrong. I double checked the reader's spelling against the DNR Web site and found the reader was correct. So my bad and thanks for the heads up.

MIxing things up

2009-08-03T09:09:00.000-07:00

I went out to Lake Ballentine near Madison Lake about a week ago. I'd heard good things about the action out there, both for bass and northern, and was interested in giving it a shot.

My fishing partners for the day were Danny Williams, a former standout athlete at St. Clair who is know going to school for golf management at Arizona State University, and his older brother Mike, who happens to have a pretty decent collection of newspaper clippings and photos of some pretty impressive fish.

One of those newspaper clippings happened to have a 15 pound striper, which was one big fish.

Mike Williams likes to fish bass, so naturally, we expected to get on top of some serious fish between the two of us. Danny Williams likes to get sun, and fish on occasion.

While pitching docks, locals would come out and tell us the big ones were "out there." One fella told us to work the weeds for northern.

We did all of that and then some, but Danny was the only one who actually caught a bass — two, as a matter of fact. Yours truly missed two fish. The first one, a fat hawg that boiled the water next to the boat, ran deep and snapped my line — operator error here; I set the drag too tight only moments before.

The second I missed on a scum frog — again operator error as I set the hook too soon.

The boat traffic, according to the locals that day, was the busiest they'd seen in a long time. The small public landing was full for most of the day, and the lake definitely was abuzz. Mike Williams blamed the boat traffic for our slow day, and was already making plans for a weekday trip where he could "enjoy" the lake.

The trip to Ballentine came on the heals of a trip to Lake Francis, which fell through. That trip, however, will take place tonight. We'll shoot for bass and northerns, but, as always, all fish are fair game.

I'll post a fishing update from Frances later.

Pair of tourney winners

2009-07-29T07:21:00.001-07:00

Well, I finally have results for you from the Lake German Tuesday Nite Walleye Tourney that took place July 14.

Nate Brunz and his teammate Andy (see below for more on Andy) pulled off the win, weighing two fish for a 10 pound, 8 ounce stringer.

Brothers Tom and Ken Davis finished second with one fish weighing in at 6 pounds 4.6 ounces. This also happened to be the big fish winner on German, which netted the pot money for big fish from East Jefferson. If you'll remember, the field was skunked at Jeff and all prize money carried over to German.

Third place went to the team of Troy Bessman and Steve Wolfe. The duo weighed one fish at 4 pounds, .8 ounces.

The tournament returned to Lake Washington Tuesday. Tournament director Tim Hobbs said the walleyes weren't nearly as big as the first time the tournament hit Washington — Stu McKee and Roger Kramer edged Bill Holland and Dan Griep despite weighing one less fish — plenty of small walleye were caught.

Bessman and Wolfe pulled in first place with a three fish, 4 pound 8.4 ounce stringer. Coming in second was McKee and Kramer. They weighed two fish at 2 pounds, 3.6 ounces.

Holland and Griep weighed in one fish at 1 pound, 4.1 ounces, which narrowlly handed them third place. Hobbs said he weighed in four other fish that landed between .9 ounces (wow, that's small!) to 1 pound, 2.4 ounces.

Hobbs said he expects a full, official tally of the standings later this week. I'd been tracking the progress of Holland/Griep, Kramer/McKee closely, because early on these two teams were the teams scoring all the points. Unofficially, I have them locked at 44 with two regular season tournaments to go.

This is very unofficial, however, as points for each tournament can be awarded for just showing up, and also for just weighing a fish. And I also have a sneaking suspicion that the team of Bessman/Wolfe isn't far behind the other two teams.

More on Andy
As a journalist, I'm trained to track down the facts. If you can't verify something, you cut it out or write around it. But here on this blog, and specifically with these walleye tournaments, I'm in a unique situation.

Nate Brunz and Andy were the German winners, but Hobbs couldn't come up with a last name for Andy. And with the increasing popularity of cell phones, I couldn't find a listing for Brunz to call and ask him.

Now, if this were going in our newspaper, I'd start calling other anglers from the tournament, hoping one or the other would know his name. Then I'd call him and verify. I will still do this to make sure Andy gets his proper credit, but I don't want to short change him now by not mentioning him along with Brunz as winners of the German tourney.

So if you know who Andy is, drop me a line. If you're out there Andy, drop me a line. In the meantime, I'll do my homework.

You might wonder how this could happen since both were fishing in a tournament, but until the newspaper started snooping around the walleye tournaments, there was probably little need for Hobbs to gather last names and correct spellings and such. Several of the anglers in this year's field have said that the best thing about fishing the tournaments was the camraderie.

Several of the anglers admit knowing a lot of the competition strictly through the walleye tournaments, so things like last names don't always crop up and complicate things.

Leave it to me to come along and make a casually event just a little more formal. Doh!

Boater up

2009-07-26T10:07:00.000-07:00

Do you remember your first car?

I do — a 1986 Honda Accord with a moonroof and power windows. The radio wasn't that great, but it had a tape player, which I thought was the coolest thing next to the moonroof and power windows.

I bought that Accord after my senior year of high school. While playing a legion baseball tournament in Minnesota Lake, the moonroof went out on me and it rained that night. This was my first mechanical experience with a car, and needless to say, if it happened again, I'd be able to fix that moonroof.

Of course, I've had a few vehicles since that Accord. Starter cars are a must if you plan on respecting what you come to own later in life.

But, until recently, I've never owned a boat. I always imagined my first boat as a 14-footer with a one-armed bandit for a motor. I've operated plenty of those boats, but never had I owned one.

Now I'm the proud owner of a 1988 Lund Tyee — with a blown motor. I have no mechanical skills when it comes to boats, much like I had no mechanical skills when I bought that Accord. Yet I'm still very excited to get started.

This boat has a steering wheel, depth finder, trolling motor and a livewell — the equivalent of the moonroof and power windows from that Accord. It was my brother-in-laws starter boat before it became mine.

He upgraded to a new Lund Tyee, which is a beautiful boat by the way. I look at all the outings I had in his old boat, my new boat, and I feel fortunate to be able to start with this Lund. I also look at his ability to upgrade after paying his dues with an older boat, and I'm excited to know that I'll learn what I need to learn now, so some day I can upgrade to a newer boat, as well.

But for now, I'm learning; I'm learning about motors, I'm learning about boating regulations, and soon I'll be learning to back up a boat trailer. If it goes anything like the small trailers I backed up when I worked at U-Haul, well, I'm probably screwed.

So if you see me in the near future struggling at a boat landing, make sure you come up and laugh in my face. And then, after you gather your composure, reassure me that you were once a rookie at the boat launch, too, and that everything will get better.

Choice reading

We're in that time of summer where we get bogged down by hot weather (not so much this year), summer plans and life in general. For me, this means very little fishing. But I'm still able to get in some reading from time to time, and I came across a great bass article from Russ Bassdozer on weed fishing. Don't let the bass angle in this article throw you, because plenty of fish like the weeds.

Frustration

2009-07-20T07:37:00.000-07:00

Well, apparently I'm a liar.

I still don't have results for last weeks Tuesday Nite Walleye Tourney. I talked with Tim Hobbs last week, but results weren't available. He really couldn't talk much about it that night because he was busy.

But since our last talk, we both keep missing each other. So I will continue to try and track down results. Perhaps I'll give Stu McKee a call and see how he and Roger Kramer did and how they feel about the season to date.

Berkley's Gulp Alive

John Cross wrote about the Gulp! Alive! minnows in Sunday's edition of the Free Press. John's old school, and he has great journalism ethics and beliefs. If any of you caught his column, he didn't name the little minnows he invested $20 in.

His point is that he's just like every other non-pro, and he has to pay for his lures. And since he pays for his lures, well, the manufacturer can just buy ad space in the paper if it wants marketing.

Now, I'm not making fun of John here or belittling what he wrote. I definitely have learned a lot from that man. I rather enjoyed the column, and I'm sure he figured many people knew exactly what artificial wonder he was talking about.

But here on the blog, I've come to believe that the more that I can offer you in way of links and other tidbits, the more informed you can become. And like John, I realize a good many people knew instantly that he was talking about Gulp! Alive!.

However, a reader e-mailed me a few weeks back asking me to break down some basics to fishing. This reader said the Internet can be overwhelming at times, and often fishing articles and columns are written for the more advanced fisherman.

So for the few out there who didn't know what artificial bait John was talking about ... well, now you know.

Walleye update

2009-07-16T22:47:00.000-07:00

Talked with Tim Hobbs briefly today. He wasn't able to give me an update yet on Tuesday's walleye tourney at Lake German. I'm hoping to have an update for you sometime this afternoon.

It did sound like they caught a few out on German, so that has to be good news for the German and Jefferson Lakes Sportsmen's club. I imagine they like hearing success stories from the club's lakes.

Took the son out fishing Thursday. Best outing yet for the youngster. He's getting pretty good at casting, and that makes me proud.

It is amazing how easy it is to keep a kids interest when the fish are biting. Especially when, like today, they catch one on their first cast.

That hooked Tyler for sure. Other outings, he's lasted anywhere from half an hour to an hour, but mostly because he's trying to run around at the open space out at Madison Lake. Sometimes just trying to cast like his Daddy is enough to keep his interest.

But today, after 11 sunnies for him and eight sunnies and a walleye for the old man, the boy still wanted to fish more. We spent nearly two hours fishing, and he complained about leaving.

Now that's one heck of an outing. Even made his old man beam like a new father.

Reel memories

2009-07-14T22:40:00.000-07:00

I was cleaning in my garage the other day, and I started organizing a new area for my fishing stuff. I have a few old tackle boxes I've set aside for my son.

One tackle box is filled with things I no longer fish with, for one reason or another, but will be neat for a little boy when he gets his first tackle box.

I've also stopped bringing several spools of line with me, mostly preferring to have one extra spool and four poles, which can be a load at times, too.

Among my minnow buckets and ice fishing tackle and poles, I also have several reels I've used over the years that have gone to heck.

My first real reel purchase came in 1996, which was the spring of my freshman year at then Mankato State.

I bought a Daiwa spin-caster with a little wooden knob on the end of the handle for $60. I probably spent my money foolishly at the time, considering I should have put it toward expenses, but that golden beauty lasted me nearly 10 years and brought me many memories of big fish, among them my first 5-pound bass.

I also used a Quantum S220 with a firing pin. The firing-pin option, basically a flip switch with a pin that allows the line to be hooked without actually flipping open the bale and grabbing the line, sold me on the reel at the time.

This option also came with my Daiwa. I look at those two reels now and think I was foolish to love such a little gimmick, mostly because of all the times the little pin inside the firing switch would catch the line and send my lure on a kamikaze dive toward my face or neck.

But I also have three cheap reels I purchased at Gander Mountain, and the bales on those reels tend to snap shut for no apparent reason, also sending my lure on a kamikaze dive toward my face or neck.

As much as I fish, you'd think I'd want to go back to investing bigger money in my reels and poles. Logically, I'd love to be frivolous when it came to my fishing equipment.

But that's not realistic, and I'm not a pro. I think if I ever tried to fish tournaments where money was the drive to compete, I'd spare no expenses on equipment. Unfortunately, I'm not and there are better bills to concentrate on.

Do I regret spending cheap money on Gander's reels? Absolutely not. I'm a big believer that if you pick through poles and reels and find deals when there are deals to be had, you'll be happy with your equipment and it will last you a while.

Even those newer reels lasted me a couple of years. At $20 for a cheap reel, a person could still come out on the cheaper end of the shelf life of some of the more expensive reels.

Then again, you might have to teach yourself how to dodge lures if you opt for the cheaper route. It could be interesting; you might enjoy the adrenaline rush. And if nothing else, when the reel goes ca put, you can throw it on a shelf and look at it from time to time for fond memories.

Looking for reels? I'd suggest checking out reviews first. A couple to consider would be Fishing Reel Reviews (I know, real simple, huh?!) and TackleTour.

Back for more

2009-07-07T13:37:00.000-07:00

I'd like to tell you all that I've been hitting the lakes with the same consistency as the past few years, but then I would be telling a lie.

Weddings, holidays, family reunions ... we're in the thick of summer.

But that doesn't mean I'm not thinking about fishing all the time. Lately I've been thinking about a big bass I let off the hook last Friday. Fishing a scumfrog — I'm continuing to hone my skills with this lure — I missed a modest strike, then casted back out to the same spot and hooked into a big one.

The strike reminded me of a shark attack out of the movie Jaws. One second, my frog is resting on top of the water. And then, with a quick, if-you-blink-your-gonna-miss-it move, something came from beneath the frog, snapped it, and the frog was gone.

I've been working the scumfrog a lot lately, mostly to work on my timing. With all topwater lures, the key to a good hook set is getting the slack out of your line. The frog is no different, except that the wait to get your line tense can seem like minutes, not seconds.

This is sort of what happened when that Jaws-like attack on my frog took place. A reader suggested I count to two before setting the hook whenever I fish with the frog. So earlier in the day, with other strikes, I did count to two, which improved my hook set dramatically.

But when that lunker snatched up my frog, I forgot the essence of counting because everything happened so fast. The normal violent, hungry strike was gone, replaced by the quick unseen.

Perhaps I didn't quiet set my hook on that lunker's lip. Perhaps I didn't even really give a good tug for the hook set at all. I'm not really sure. But that hawg stayed low with a lot of pull, driving the end of my pole into my ribs as it ripped through the water.

And then it shot its body up and out of the water, gave that signature bass shake, and poof, my frog was gliding, almost floating, 15 feet above my head, the line falling slack onto my shoulders as the frog dropped behind the boat.

It's been a while since I've seen a bass that big. Even I had to sit down for a second and just stare in awe.

A friend once asked me if it makes me mad when I lose a big fish like that. I suppose. I'm sure it makes most anglers mad, if even for only a little bit.

But truthfully, whenever I lose a good-sized fish like that, I spend a good part of that day, and the next few days, thinking about the one that got away.

After all, it's the memory of the one that got away that drives us back to the lake, back to the hunt, and maybe, just maybe, another shot at the one that got away.

What's that stink?!

2009-07-03T11:40:00.000-07:00

Some people may think the stink coming from Big Jefferson is the blue-green algae that has dominated the lake.

But after Tuesday's walleye tournament on the eastern half of the Jefferson Lakes chain, the smell might actually be attributed to the skunk the anglers left behind.

That's right. Not a single walleye was caught during last Tuesday's tournament, something that hasn't happened in some time.

"I think we've gone two years without catching anything," Tim Hobbs said. "It does make it interesting though because it basically double the pot for German Lake."

Basically, Hobbs said the tournament money paid in for Big Jeff carries over to German Lake, where a variety of things could happen. If only one team is lucky enough to catch fish and win the German Lake tournament, that team would win all of the money carried over from Big Jeff plus first place in the German tournament. The second and third place prizes from German would then carry over.

No matter what, the money from Jeff will be paid out provided someone catches fish at German. Even if multiple teams catch fish, that money will be paid accordingly from the first tournament.

Stu McKee and Roger Kramer lead the Tuesday Nite Walleye Tourneys for top team. Unofficially, they have registered 30 points. Bill Holland and Dan Griep, week 1 winners, trail McKee and Kramer by a point and are situated at 29 points.

There are four tournaments left in the season before the year-end tournament. With a return to Washington, I think the top prize is still pretty wide open. McKee and Kramer took in four walleyes at Washington, one less than Holland and Griep, but their total weight was nearly 2 pounds more than Holland and Griep.

I imagine Washington, unless something drastic happens on German, will be where this season's top team is decided. But still, four tournaments are a lot, and anything can happen.

Weed control

Hobbs said, surprisingly, that a lot of the weed cover at Big Jefferson has either died off or been cut down. He said weeds weren't the issue with the anglers this past Tuesday, but he couldn't place a finger on what attributed to the slow bite.

Having not seen the lake in nearly two weeks, I'm not sure what to think. Generally in July we see a lot of area lakes start to shed some of the weeds that give us trouble in late spring and early summer, so Hobbs comment that the weeds weren't bad shouldn't be too surprising.

But the mass of weeds I saw on that lake has me surprised that the die-off is happening so quickly. And I'm a little unsure about the weeds being cut, because as I've stated before, if we were in 13 feet of water, we were in 13 feet of weeds. Who's out in the deeper stuff cutting the weeds?

I wouldn't be, that' for sure. But I know near shore, several property owners have been cutting and raking weeds, which must be a pain in the you know what. Weeds will always be a part of fishing, good, bad or otherwise.

But those weeds ... well that's not right.

Waiting for word

2009-07-02T11:57:00.000-07:00

I'm still waiting to hear back from Tim Hobbs on the Tuesday Nite Walleye Tourney at East Jefferson.

I'm a little nervous for the participants, because after what I saw on that lake, the fishing had to have been tough.

Weeds, weeds and more weeds.

Of course, a good majority of the guys fishing these tournaments know a thing or two about walleye fishing. I'm sure at least one of the teams in the top 5 caught fish, but I won't know that until I talk to Tim.

On another note, I took my son fishing yesterday. These outings offer little time for me to fish, but they are fun for him — well, sort of.

About two weeks ago we couldn't get him to fish with worms, which we all know will allow him to catch something, even if that something is a carp or a bullhead.

Tyler wanted to fish like Daddy, so he kept reeling in his bobber set-up and casting it out. Then he'd reel it back in again.

"Like Daddy."

So I threw on a beetle spin for him because I figure that's just an easy lure to catch fish with. Well, in the two outings since switching to the beetle spin, he's been skunked (though my wife lost something yesterday that Tyler surely would have been able to reel in, had she set the hook).

When we left he was mad because, "I just want to catch a big fish!"

Of course, explaining to him patience is a failed experiment. He's a month shy of 3. But the fact that he can cast his little Spider-Man pole, and cast the beetle spin for distance, well that's worth every minute of being out there for ol' dad.

We can't predict what our children will grow up to be or what interests they will have. We can't push our children into the things we want them to love either; history has shown us this is a blueprint for failure.

But we can show our children the things we love with hopes that someday, they grow their own love for those things. Tyler may not be catching fish hand over hand, but he definitely shows an interest.

For that, I'm thankful.

One heck of a grand prize

2009-06-29T09:37:00.000-07:00

I'm not much into scratch-off games. The Powerball either, although I waste a few dollars every time the money gets outrageous.

I like gambling, occasionally, but when I first came to Mankato, I learned a lot about gambling and why not to.

I sold pull tabs, which at the time had a 6 percent chance of payout. I'm not sure if those odds are the same, but I'm sure it is close. Those are horrible odds when you consider if you buy 100 tickets, you may only walk away with six $1 winners, provided you landed in that 6 percent range.

But scratch-off games likely do have better odds. I could look those up for all of you, but I think you get where I'm going with this. I like to add skill to the things I compete in. I like to think. That's why I like games like Texas Hold 'em, or why I'm drawn to fishing.

So when Rapala and the Minnesota State Lottery teamed up for Fishin' for Fortune, I really didn't have an interest in playing. But many did, and many lost. Yet five of those first-time losers landed bigger payouts when they actually followed through and sent in their losing tickets for second-chance winnings.

Last Tuesday, June 23, five people from across Minnesota got a chance to compete in a shopping spree at the Rapala wharehouse in Eagan. Two of those winners walked away with $5,000 in Rapala gear.

Unreal. Just think of all the tackles and accessories a person could stock up on if they won. Basically, to win, the contestants had to fill up their carts with Rapala products, and the closest one to $1,000 won the five grand in merchandise.

The grand-prize winners were Gene Provost of Alexandria and Glenn Henrikson of Moorhead. Three other finalists each won a $500 Visa gift card.

Well, I might not like the odds here either, considering the five finalists were picked out of a draw of more than 10,000 losing tickets, but I definitely like the prizes they walked away with.

Scumdidlyumcious

2009-06-24T08:15:00.000-07:00

I haven't been out fishing all that much since my trip to Big Jefferson. But something about that scum frog just made me get back out on a lake and test its worthiness.

What I've found is that I've ignored this tasty lure way to long. My first outing after the Jeff trip, I caught two bass, lost four that were on, and missed another five bites at least.

The action was fun, intense and also provided me with an on-the-go learning experience. Like all topwater baits, the scum frog needs a little touch when it comes to setting the hook.

I found out early on, and probably because the bite was just so violent, that you have to reel up the slack in your line or let the fish take the lure long enough to pull out the slack before you set the hook.

This is critical.

A slacked line ends in a poor hookset, which ends in a 2 for 6 performance. In baseball, a hitter can be happy with a .333 average. In fishing, this only causes heartache.

The two bass I did catch were more than enough to satisfy my curiosity about the frog. On those two catches, I tossed the scum frog on top of, well, scum that hugs the edges of my honey hole.

With the frog on the scum, I hopped and twitched the little lure slightly to the edge of the scum where I let it sit a second. And, like clockwork, I twitched the frog at the edge to let the bass know where the was, but before I could twitch the frog into the water, the bass would shoot through the scum and take both it and the lure in its mouth.

Wow. Fishing topwater is always a visual treat, but watching bass smack through muck and scum to get to my lure, that was truly something else.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is that if you haven't tried a scum frog, do so. If you need a new experience and lure to add to your fishing arsenal, this little baby will more than seal the deal.

McKee, Kramer repeat

2009-06-19T08:31:00.000-07:00

After a strong showing on Lake Washington in which three-time defending champs Stu McKee and Roger Kramer posted a four-fish weigh-in over 13 pounds, the duo followed up with a two fish, 13 pound 3.8 ounce showing at Madison Lake.

The duo also won the big-fish prize for Madison, pulling in a walleye topping the scale at 8 pounds, 4.3 ounces. The top billing pushes the duo into first place, ahead of Dan Griep and Bill Holland, who didn't boat a fish at Madison Lake.

Second place went to Chris Roemhildt and Dan Bunde, who netted two fish for a 3-pound, 6.6-ounce stringer. Third place went to Lloyd Tru and Ron Patterson, who weighed one fish at 3 pounds, 2.9 ounces.

Tim Hobbs, who helps organize the tournaments, said 21 boats registered for Tuesday's Madison Lake tournament with 38 anglers participating, a good number considering the rainy weather.

"After the first 45 minutes, it wasn't too bad," Hobbs said.

Next up, the walleye tourney heads to Lake Jefferson, which brings me to my next thought.

Big Jefferson
Went out fishing Thursday with my brother-in-law, Dave. We really wanted to mix things up and try a lake we don't normally fish, so we headed out to Big Jefferson (East Jeff for those of you still confused).

I'd heard the rumors of overgrown weeds and the difficulty the weeds were causing anglers, but until I saw it, there was no way to really understand how bad it has gotten.

If we were in 5 feet of water, there would be 6 feet-plus of weeds. Thirteen feet of water, 13 feet of weeds. In close, out deep, the weeds were everywhere.

We spent the first three hours battling the weeds and finding pockets to fish through. Dave, being a master of the mimic minnow (he contends there is a special skill for using this lure that involves twitching and jerking, something a straight retrieve can't mimic), hooked into a couple of stripers before catching a small walleye.

For me, nothing but a bullhead. Needless to say, the frustration level was high, so much so that even I tied on a mimic minnow, which led to my first largemouth of the outing.

The struggle got so bad that I'd contemplated calling it a day, and anyone who knows me knows I hate to leave a lake. With little hope for the lake and with a big list of complaints growing in my head (something I intended to vent about here in this blog), I suggested to Dave it was time to throw on a scum frog.

"Well, you better do it soon, cause we're running out of daylight," Dave said.

With the invitation, I tied on the old scum frog, more so because I just wanted to throw a lure that I wasn't going to pick weeds out of.

Within a minute I lost a bass. Within five minutes I had two bass on. During those last waning moments of daylight, I managed to pull in five bass, all pretty decent in size and all very violent on the bite.

What went from a horrible outing on Big Jeff turned into a pretty tasty day on the lake. I just wonder if we would have caught bass all day had we switched to that presentation earlier.

Waiting for word ...

2009-06-18T12:39:00.000-07:00

I was trying to wait to do a blog post until I talked with Tim Hobbs to see how the third Tuesday Nite Walleye Tourney turned out.

Unfortunately, between our schedules, we haven't talked yet. So hang in there, I'm sure I will have an update at some point tonight or early tomorrow.

Until then, I briefly went fishing at a new spot today. This rather unique body of water has a lot to offer, I think. I hooked into a 2 1/2 pound bass within my first few casts.

I'm trying to track down some official information on this spot before I give you a more in-depth analysis. And perhaps, just maybe, I'll let you all know where it is.

I'm hearing the water temps are rising quickly. Free Press photographer John Cross was out on Lake Washington this past weekend, and he said it was easy to catch a limit of crappie. Makes sense, considering the water temps in 8 to 10 feet were 65 degrees.

As I discussed in my last post, the crappie spawn begins to cap off around 65 degrees, and the sunfish spawn should be in full mode. So go catch some panfish while the catchin' is good.

Lastly, I'll try to give a little update on Big Jefferson. Oh, excuse me, that's East Jeff for those of you who prefer directional names as opposed to sized names.

I've heard the weeds are pretty thick, but I've also heard the bass action is picking up. We'll see.

Hot and bothered ... about the spawn

2009-06-15T18:37:00.000-07:00

I'm hearing a lot of people talking about the spawn being off for panfish and bass. I'm also hearing the panfish on most area lakes are hitting and hitting hard.

But one such angler recently said after a good run of sunfish on Madison Lake that upon cleaning them, the fish were all full of eggs.

Nearly three weeks ago, I caught a 19-inch bass that barely weighed 3 pounds. A female, its belly looked about as skinny as it could be, so I naturally figured the bass in the area had spawned.

Not even a week ago, I caught a 14-inch female bass in the same spot on the lake, and it was full of eggs.

So what does this all mean?

Well, personally, I think the weather has had a lot to do with it. Every time our area waters start to reach those magical temperatures, the weather gets cool or down right cold.

Think of this past week of weather. We were seeing 50s and 60s during the day, 40s and 50s at night. I think it's awfully tough for water temperatures to warm when there isn't enough warmth in the air to raise those temperatures.

I figure a good week of warm weather and sunshine should help finish off the spawn in the lake I fish most often, but in larger lakes, spawning stages will vary throughout the lake.

Which brings us back to the sunfish, which had surprised this angler. He figured the spawn should have already been done.

Considering sunfish spawn later than crappies and need warmer water to do so, I don't find it odd to see sunfish still spawning. Most of the temps I'm hearing from people in the area are low to mid 60s. This is just below the magic temps for sunfish, but a great temperature range for bass and crappies.

As for walleyes, well those tough, cold-water fish spawn when the water temps creep into the low 40s and ends when the temps reach 50ish. So walleye should be good to go.

One last thing on the spawning period of fish in our area. A long time ago, this guy fishing an area lake from shore decided to pass along some wisdom to me.

He told me to always concentrate my energies on the parts of the lake that warm fastest. So I went home and started researching what parts of a lake would logically warm the fastest.

Aside from the obvious shallow-water answer, I've learned something about as obvious — the northern and western parts of a lake warm faster because those parts of the lake soak up the most sunlight throughout the day.

So consider where you are fishing on that area lake. Could you be finding fish in the northern parts that have spawned, while the fish in the southern and eastern parts of the lake are spawning or are in the prespawn?

In all, make notes of the temps from the various parts of the lake you fish. Watch for shallows with temperatures in the IT zone, and go to work on those fish.

Fantasy fishing

2009-06-13T11:27:00.000-07:00

I'll admit, I'm really a nerd when it comes to fishing.

The past few winters, I've spent time snuggling up to bass fishing books. The reading always helps me get over the anticipation of spring and the upcoming fishing seasons.

But last year, I discovered Fantasy Fishing by FLW. This changed how I read (at least in 2008) during the winter. I went from understanding bass biology to understanding who Shinichi Fukae and Michael Bennett were, and how a couple of Minnesota anglers could compete with the boys down south.

While 2009 hasn't drawn me in as much as last season, I'm still enjoying reading about fishing. Now, however, I find myself looking forward to the tournaments because I know I can follow live updates via Twitter.

I follow FLW magazine edtior Jason Sealock on Twitter, and the most current FLW tour tournament happens to be on Kentucky and Berkley Lakes. Sealock just happens to live near Kentucky Lake (he often tweets about Kentucky Lake from his personal fishing trips), so he's been very busy since Thursday tweeting live coverage.

Possibly one of the hardest things about following pro fishing, whether it be bass, walleye or crappie, is that TV coverage of these events always comes out long after the tournament is over.

With 200 some boats in these tournaments, it is easy to understand how difficult live coverage could be. But, at least in the bass tournaments, the field is pared down to 10 anglers.

Ten anglers. Seems to me an outdoors network somewhere could cover the first couple hours of the field of 10. But I don't see this happening anytime soon.

Which brings me back to Twitter. I hate to admit that I'm addicted to the posts from Sealock. I hate to admit that I've logged on religiously to Twitter since Thursday just to catch his updates.

But like a baseball game on the radio, I find the Twitter updates to be an excellent alternative to television coverage, and I will probably be following religiously again Sunday.

As I said, I'm a fishing nerd.

A couple of good reads

2009-06-11T14:39:00.000-07:00

I was thinking the other day about information I could pass along to people about fishing. Mostly, I tend direct my writing to people who have loads of fishing experience.

But sometimes, I wonder if people stopping to read what I write need a little direction on what or how to fish. While I can't provide all the answer, I can help keep you informed when I come across a good site or article with quality fishing tips.

Two such articles come to mind. I subscribe to Gary Yamamoto's Ezine Newsletter, and I often find the articles by Russ Bassdozer to be pretty informative. Recently, he put together a must know for catching bass all summer long.

I also spend time reading what is going on in the world of fishing on Twitter. While I haven't quite figured out a practical use for Twitter because I like complete sentences and punctuation, a lot of people post interesting tweets about fishing.

But wear your hip waders, cuz the stink you're going to wade through to find the good tweets gets pretty deep.

One such exploration landed me on the Web site Fishing Moz, which breaks down different species of fish and gives tips and tactics.

I most recently read a pretty good crappie article that gives basic crappie fishing advice, but takes into account that location plays a factor into how you chase a crappie. If crappies are your thing, I suggest giving it a read.

I'm sure reading fishing how-tos isn't nearly as fun as just hitting the lake and practicing what you already know. But sometimes, when you come across a good read, you'll find yourself putting those tactics into play during an outing on the lake.

And if any of those tricks work, well, they'll become part of your everyday arsenal.

No, I haven't forgotten you

2009-06-09T22:38:00.000-07:00

Been a little busy lately. Not so much at the newspaper, but catching up with my family, my fishing hole.

I'm a sucker for going out fishing on my day off. Rain or shine, you can bet I'll be out somewhere working for bass.

The cold front killed off a lot of the bite, but I have to admit, the bite hasn't been that great. Some days things seem to be picking up, other days, I wonder if I shouldn't be doing something different.

Fishing-wise that is. I still value my time on the water, and I better mention now, I value my wife for allowing me that time on the water.

See, she's the key to the entire thing; without her I wouldn't be able to fish as often as I do, and let me tell you, I fish often.

So I'll quickly break down what's been working the last couple of weeks of fishing. The Texas rig has picked up. I'm seeing a lot of good hits on the 7 inch, blue fleck PowerBait worm. I'm also seeing a lot of hits on a 7 inch, Gander Mountain ripple tail worm in the crawfish orange swirl color.

Stick worms have worked well. I don't fish the 5" Yamamoto Senkos, but that's mainly because of the price. I know the baits will last me a while, so the investment is good, but when I can pick up a few Strike King, 5" stick for cheap at Wal-Mart, it's a no-brainer. The money I save can go to hooks, or more worms, or sinkers, or a spinnerbait.

Or perhaps, to a treat for my son. The options are limitless.

Anyhow, back to lures. I've continued to have success on my white, triple-blade Strike King buzzbait. Chartreuse and white/chartreuse spinnerbaits have worked well. Where I'm fishing, the crankbaits are slow, but mostly because of the weeds and snags.

The fish are finicky right now. Some days, slow, slow, slow, finessing with jigs and Texas rigs. The next day, the bass want something active. Some days they want neither and aggravating them seems to be the only option.

All I know is I'm ready for the a change in the weather. I'm betting that'll do the trick.

Snuggling up to Mother Nature

2009-06-04T23:08:00.000-07:00

Got out on the lake about 5:50 a.m. Wednesday morning. According to my Durango, the temperature was a cool 44 degrees on the drive out to the honey hole.

As I load the boat, I watch the fog roll and shift off the top of the water. With the exception of the chill in the air, the conditions are ripe for chasing bass.

Without getting too far off point, still mornings on the lake make for easier days for me — for now, I row. Soon I will motor to my spots, but for now, Dear Friends, I row.

I make the decision to row to the farthest point, which just also happens to be on the northwest edge of the lake. The trees that surround this little bay-like hideaway provide ample shade on a clear, sunny day, but Wednesday morning, the bay is cold.

Even as the fog on the rest of the lake gives way to sunlight, this bay still rolls that dreamy white.

I settle into the eastern curve of the north end of the bay. The timber and overhang is thick, and a new-this-year beaver dam along the way has my attention. But I ignore it for that northern most end of the bay.

I cast with a blue fleck, Texas-rigged worm and manage to pull out a quick, 16-inch bass. This passes the Milt test, so aptly named for a reader who suggested I only count bass 12 inches or longer for my season total.

As I work my Texas rig, getting caught up from time to time on branches and who knows what, I contemplate a change to the buzzbait. This has been my go-to lure, but I figure the water has to be too cold this morning.

Then I hear a sploosh, the kind of noise that whips your head around on a swivel looking for the big splash, the big fish. But, despite my hopes a bass smacked the top of the water, the noise comes from a pair of beavers.

I watch as both go under then reappear, their heads popping to look back at me.

I continue to fish as they head toward the beaver dam.

About 20 minutes later, a deer across the bay on the western shoreline splashes down into the water and runs south along the shoreline. Soon a second deer comes out of the treeline and follows the first deer, except this one stays parallel on land. When the two of them come to the mouth of the bay, each pause, turn and head back the way they came.

Here I am, just a small player in this morning of Mother Nature.

Just as I'm about to give up on this area of the bay and head to the beaver dam, I hear a rustling in the trees in front of me.

I know something big is tramping around in the trees, so I continue to watch deep within the leaves.

More broken branches, more rustling leaves, and then, head high, staring back through the dark shadows of the tree, another deer staring back at me.

I guess sometimes a good morning of fishing isn't always about watch we catch.

McKee, Kramer take Lake Washington

2009-06-03T09:10:00.000-07:00

The wind swept in quickly and moved out almost as quickly Tuesday night, providing the right cover for a couple of anglers of the Tuesday Nite Walleye Tourneys series.

Stu McKee and Roger Kramer (McKee is at right, Kramer left in pic) teamed up for a first place finish, boating four walleyes for a total weight of 13.03 pounds. McKee and Kramer also took the big-fish prize, bringing in two walleyes over four pounds (4.57 and 4.35).

McKee said the winning presentation was artificial, namely crankbaits. He said his years of experience with hatcheries led him to believe throwing cranks was the right way to go.

"Most of the fish are staying shallow," McKee said. "So that's why I fish 'em that way."

Coming in second was the team of Dan Griep and Bill Holland. Griep and Holland boated one fish during the opening tournament May 26 at Lake Elysian, but they came in with the biggest fish, thus taking first place.

Griep and Holland (Holland at left, Griep at right in pic) boated five fish at Lake Washington Tuesday, but they weren't able to overcome the two big fish by McKee and Kramer, finishing second with a weight of 11.31 pounds.

Like the first place team, Griep and Holland concentrated on artificial baits.

"We kind of watched the water temperatures a little," Griep said. "When the water switches over to 62 degrees, I like to throw something more aggressive."

The team of Troy Bessman and Steve Wolfe finished third with a stringer of 4.67 pounds.

In all, 14 walleye came out of Lake Washington Tuesday, with cranks and artificial presentations proving the best option. The tourney now shifts to Madison Lake June 16.

The following are some pictures from Tuesday's tournament. The first picture is tournament organizer Tim Hobbs weighing in one of the big fish from Kramer and McKee's stringer. The other are just more general pictures. Enjoy.

Watchin' for walleyes

2009-06-01T08:33:00.001-07:00

I'm planning on heading out to Lake Washington Tuesday night for the Tuesday Nite Walleye Tourney weigh-in. Should be interesting. I'm hoping the guys have a good night with lots of fish to weigh in.

I was reading Jason Sealock's blog the other day (he's an FLW Outdoor's edtior based in Kentucky), and he writes about an experience with a pro angler where he didn't realize the pro was giving him a helpful hint, and he just blew him off and continued to fish his way.

Basically, Sealock suggests there is always something to learn from other fisherman, which I find to be very true. And learning something new doesn't have to come from a pro fisherman. Nope, it just involves your willingness to learn something different and to ask questions when you see someone do something so different, you think they aren't in their right mind.

Walleye, bass, northern, muskie, it really doesn't matter. Sealock's sentiments transfer over to all types of fishing, because it's about the chase. Happy hunting.

Small fish in a big pond

2009-05-29T22:48:00.000-07:00

I have to step back every now and then and reassess my take on bass fishing in Minnesota. First and foremost, I'm probably viewed as the equivalent of a traitor in my home state because I don't hunt walleye spring through fall each year, and then onto the icy lakes in the winter.

Nope, that's not for this guy. But I don't find anything wrong with catching a walleye here or there, and I definitely don't have a problem with eating them. Walleye are good eats.

But if I'm not casting, I get pretty bored. I suppose this comes from fishing creeks near my home town of Emmons, Minn., as a child. We fished pike in these narrow creeks, a chain that snaked around the rural country side, giving us kids a chance to hop on our bikes in the summer and pedal out to whichever creek we thought would be holding the northerns.

You learned to be a precision caster on those creeks. If you didn't, you lost your lure. We fished mainly with Dardevles or other spoons, and most summers we did all right fishing in those creeks.

Twice I pulled in eight-pound notherns, which isn't half bad considering these creeks couldn't have been more than 8 or 10 feet deep in their deepest spots.

A lot of what I learned there transferred over to bass fishing. And I still have soft spot for fishing from shore whenever I get out fishing.

But fishing from shore doesn't usually afford you the ability to catch large quantities of bass. And for the third year, I will calculate my bass total, which has grown each year as I've moved away from shore fishing.

The first year, with little boat time, I came in at 77 bass. Now, I'm aware some anglers, especially those in bass-rich lakes or reservoirs in the south and the west, catch hundreds of bass in one outing, to which I can only say, "You stink and I'm jealous."

The chances of that happening in and around the Mankato area are slim, and I can't afford myself the time to make it happen.

Last year, fishing mostly from a boat, my total climbed to 190. My best day came with my brother-in-law, Dave, on Gull Lake in Brainerd, Minn. There we pulled in 39 bass and three pike in a little under two hours.

So the potential for a big day is available. This year, I've tallied only 20 in-season bass, though I did catch 11 out of season. A reader suggested to me that I do as he does and only count those bass over 12 inches.

Well, an unofficial count of the 20 in-season bass at 12 inches or longer would probably be 15. Of the 31 I've caught in 2009, that total would probably fall between 20 and 25.

So the bite hasn't been what I'd like, but the fish have been decent considering I haven't come across any fat females. Good thing the season's just begun.

Slow but fun

2009-05-28T15:53:00.000-07:00

The bass action has been good at times, great at times, and very slow at times. Almost a week into the bass opener and I can't complain.

I've had a few readers tell me about their openers, their honey holes, and a few places in between. Getting schooled on Sunday of opener weekend has made me go back to the basics — slow presentations, plenty of jigs and Texas rigs, and a whole lot of switching lures.

The past two days I've pulled in eight ... not good, not bad. But of the eight, five have come in at 14 inches or bigger. I'm still having luck with a white, Strike King buzzbait, and the ChatterFrog has been almost nonexistent.

The worm, well, that's been really hot at times, and not-so-impressive at other times. Perhaps my biggest problem is my love for the strike of a bass on a buzzbait. And seeing how I've had so much luck with the spring buzzies, I tend to get locked into that lure way too much.

Perhaps next time I will try something different. Perhaps I will continue to get a feel for my new Jitterbug. Perhaps I will switch over to the ChatterFrog again, or maybe I will go simple and throw a spinner bait.

Either way, it's definitely time to change it up.

Slow tourney; big money

2009-05-27T08:32:00.000-07:00

The first Tuesday Nite Walleye Tourney took place last night on Lake Eylsian. I talked with one of the tournament organizers, Tim Hobbs, who said the bite was slow.

He said the winning walleye for the first tournament came in at 17 inches and the second place walleye was 15 1/2 inches.

The light catch made for an easy weigh-in as the tournament officials didn't even bother to break out the scale. Hobbs said he expects the June 2 tournament on Lake Washington to be a little more productive.

Aside from the slow catch, the big fish pot will carry over to Washington. Hobbs said the Elysian tournament had 14 boats with 26 anglers. Ten of those boats paid the $10 qualifier to be eligible to win the big fish prize.

The catch, however, is that the big fish must weight 4 pounds or more. Neither the 17 incher or the 15 1/2 incher came close to 4 pounds, hence the reason tournament officials didn't even bother to break out the scale.

Hobbs said that the big fish carry over for Lake Washington could come in somewhere around $200 to $250. Anyone fishing the Washington tournament is eligible to pay the $10 buy in to qualify for the carry over pot.

And if you're really curious, if no one wins the Washington big fish prize, the Madison tournament could see a big fish pot of $300 to $350. Take on a first-place showing and that could be a nice little pot.

Some days are tougher than others

2009-05-25T11:49:00.000-07:00

You ever have one of those days where no matter how hard you try, or no matter what you throw, you just can't land fish?

I had one of those days Sunday. Free Press staff writer Tanner Kent and I went out to Little Jefferson for some morning bass fishing.

Within minutes of our first stop, Tanner pulled in a small, yet feisty bass. After a second fish by Tanner, I pulled in my first bass to make it 2-1. But after that initial bass, I watched my longtime friend and fishing buddy reel off nine bass to my one.

We finished the day with me trailing him by nine, which is a big deal because each year we track a running tally of our catches to declare the winner of the Kent-Monson classic.

Trailing by three or four fish can be a daunting task, trailing by nine, well that's a whole different story. The craziest thing about the outing was that after refusing to switch over to what Tanner was fishing, I finally did and still watched him catch the fish.

I lost a couple of nice bass that would have helped lessen the pain; I guess it was just one of those days. Next time, I'll have to take him to my honey hole and hopefully narrow the gap.

Hot lure: Culprit plastic worm, voodoo colored, Texas-rigged.

Surprise, surprise, surprise

2009-05-23T17:12:00.000-07:00

Well, the self-proclaimed bass addict had a good opener, netting eight bass, three at 15 inches and another at 16 inches. Not bad.

Seven of the bass came on a white, triple-bladed Strike King buzzbait. One came on a blue-fleck, 7-inch PowerBait worm, Texas-rigged of course. Most of the catches came in close to the shore under heavy overhangs.

Caught a nice walleye on a jig-and-pig. Didn't see that coming. Also caught a nice crappie on a Chatterfrog. Didn't see that coming either. Could it be more fitting that a guy who craves fishing bass came away with two fish that most Minnesotans chase after?

I bet the walleye anglers who give me crap about fishing bass are getting a good chuckle over this one. I got a good laugh over it, too.

To read more about my misadventures in walleye fishing, check out the Sunday, May 24, print edition of the Free Press or check online early Sunday morning. Check back for updates tomorrow on the bass action, as I'll be heading out to one of the Jefferson lakes.

One note about the photo: You never realize how lucky you are to have photographers like John Cross and Pat Christman on staff untill you have to rely on someone else to take a photo for you. Needless to say, this is the best of what was available.

The game plan

2009-05-23T00:07:00.000-07:00

Looks like Memorial Day weekend is shaping up to be a nice one. It rained shortly after 1 a.m., enough to push back the humidity in the air. The rain was quick, painless, and I see it having little to do with the bite in the morning.

For the last two weeks, I've watched bass come out of slightly deeper water than normal. Instead of the good shore bite, a lot of what I saw caught was on slow moving presentations — crappie minnows, beetle spins. But Thursday, while banging the shoreline for crappies, I picked off two bass, back-to-back from nearly the same spot, and both were on the shoreline. The catches came at the tale end of the fishing outing (early afternoon) when I was just trying to catch one more crappie for the stringer.

Have they move into the shore? Are they heavy into the spawn? Will they suspended on the edges of drop offs? Will they get tucked under brush and trees overhanging the lake, like they did so often last spring and into early summer?

Wow, that's a good load of questions to start with. I'll sleep on it and get back to you after a morning of fishing. Feel free to let me know how your bass opener went.

Pregame jitters

2009-05-22T15:37:00.000-07:00

Well, I've got a good night of designing and editing ahead of me here at the office, but before I hauled myself in, I made sure to go through the prep stages for tomorrow's opener.

Four poles, all restrung, tied up and ready to go. On my smallest pole, a 6-footer, I have 8-pound test. I am tied up Texas-rig style with this one. Tomorrow I will top it off with a TriggerX, chartreuse worm to start with.

I own two 6-and-1/2-foot poles, both rigged with 10-pound test line. On one I have a white and green Chatterfrog, on the other I have a white Strike King Bitsy Bug, which I'll tip with a white, Uncle Josh pork trailer tomorrow. Finally I have a bait caster set up with 15-pound test line and a heavy, 1/4 ounce football jig, blue, which will also be tipped with a pork trailer.

On the first day of bass opener, I fish slow. Colder water means slower presentation, which is evident by three of my four setups for the morning. But I like a locator bait as well; something I can rip through the water for reactionary bites. The Chatterfrog, a first for me last season, has quickly become the bait of choice, though I don't mind throwing a buzz bait or spinner bait, either.

Just a few thoughts to help pass the time till opener. I'm sure I'll have one last post after work tonight ... something to help burn the last, anticipation energy before bed.

Countdown to bass opener

2009-05-22T07:16:00.000-07:00

You'll have to forgive me for a second if I get a little gushy talking about my favorite fish. I've sat through the walleye opener and watched as my friends left for fishing excursions for their favorite fish ... well, now it's my time.

If you happened to catch my column in the Sunday, May 17, print edition, you know I'm a stickler for preparing myself before I ever hit the water — new line, pole maintenance, reel maintenance. I also take a good gander at what I have in the ol' tackle box and restock what needs restocking.

Today I'll purchase new line. I am leaning toward P-Line's new Halo line, which I've heard is pretty strong. I've fished P-Line now for the better part of the last five years, and I've come to really like its low memory, and the line also seems to be better at staging off abrasions. I'll let you know how Halo measures up.

Until then, check back for a few more thoughts on the bass opener later today.

Wind wipes out tourney

2009-05-20T08:10:00.000-07:00

The first Tuesday Nite Walleye Tourney of 2009 suffered a setback when wind forced organizers to postpone the opener. Tim Hobbs, president of the Southern Minnesota Walleye Association, said there was no way they were going to send boats out on Lake Elysian Tuesday.

"By the sound of it, they wouldn't have done too well," Hobbs said of the bite. He said the wind was just too much for the few who ventured out.

The first tournament has been pushed back to Tuesday, May 26. I've reflected the change on the schedule on the left under my profile.

Braggin'-sized catches
Before the 2009 walleye opener, we at The Free Press asked our readers to send us pictures of their catches from the weekend. While the experiment didn't go exactly how we'd hoped, we did get a few pictures, which John Cross has compiled into a photo gallery. It would be nice if we could get more pictures from our readers throughout the summer, so I'm soliciting your help once again. Send us your photos, and we'll make sure to add them to our "Braggin'-sized catches" gallery on the Web.

Staring down the bass

2009-05-19T18:47:00.000-07:00

Wouldn't it figure that on a beautiful day such as today, I'd come across a nice little patch of water with a bass staring straight up at me. Now, the few lures I was pitching today work for bass, but all were meant for other fish and bass just happened to be a byproduct of the lure.

Well this bass just stared at me. It stared at my lures, stared at my presentation and occasionally it swam in a small circle to reposition itself and then it would stare some more. But not once did it hit my lure.

Now, during this time, I longed for my tackle box and my full arsenal of bass weapons, yet, in the end, I too could only stare. I've long wondered if seeing fish actually is a jinx for catching them. Plenty of bass fisherman, especially in clear lakes, are considered sight fishermen. They spot for spawning beds or bass suspended next to structure or perched in a weed patch and they go to work, watching the bass to see what kind of reaction they get.

If I'd had my druthers, I would have worked finesse baits first, such as the Texas rig or a jig-n-pig, and then worked up to reactionary baits like chatter baits, spinner baits, buzz baits or crank baits. Of course, I did throw a beetle spin or two past the bass and managed to scare it, but only enough to make it move a few feet, regroup, and stare.

When things go wrong with the Vikings, I always say the football gods are punishing me. When a bass stares at me two feet off the shore with only days to go before the bass opener, I can only assume the fishing gods are punishing me, as well. With that said, the fact that I didn't intentionally and illegally fish for the bass should translate into a happy opener.

One last thing, I bring up site fishing because I've been on three area lakes in the last week — Washington, Madison and my honey hole that shall go unnamed — and all have been relatively clear in the shallows. Add this warm weather and the bass on most area lakes should be in the heart of the pre-spawn.

Tuesday Nite Walleye Tourneys

2009-05-18T08:21:00.000-07:00

The Southern Minnesota Walleye Association is gearing up for its annual walleye tournaments, which kick off Tuesday at Lake Elysian. There are eight tournaments, with a season-ending tournament Sept. 2. The tournaments are open to everyone, but there is a $10 entry fee per person, and tournaments are usually fished in teams, although if you're alone, you fish alone.

The neat thing about these Tuesday night walleye tourneys are the fact that the association keeps track of the points anglers earn, and one person will be left as angler of the year at year's end. The points each night break down as follows: 10 points for first, nine for second, eight for third, seven for weighing a fish and five points for showing up.

To qualify for the season-ending tournament, anglers must place in the top 10 for points or fish all eight tournaments throughout the season.

Tim Hobbs, president of the association, says the tournaments have always been a good draw, but new DNR tournament regulations in the last year have the association limiting entry.

"We usually shoot for around 30," Hobbs says.

Thirty is the magical number where the association would have to pay a permit fee, which would be roughly the amount collected each night of the tournaments. So show up early if you want to fish.

A complete list of rules can be found at the Bobber Shop. I'll post the entire schedule to the left under my profile. Starting times each night are at 6 p.m. and all entrants must be registered by 5:50 p.m. Weigh-ins are 9 p.m. sharp. If you're team is late, you're disqualified.

For more info, contact Tim at 507-380-2131.

Water temps
Went out fishing to Lake Washington yesterday. Nothing to report from our boat other than scattered water temps. We saw a range of 52 degrees up to 60.9 degrees, depending on our depth. In around 5 feet of water, we were seeing 57-59 degrees.

I talked to a few guys on the shore and they came up empty on the walleye end of things. One guy said he saw another fellow pull in a small one, maybe a 12 incher, back in the deep water of Baker's Bay around the first point out from Westwood. We fished this area for a while, and I didn't see anyone pull anything out of there. In the shallower water, fishing panfish, my buddy pulled in two nice bass on crappie minnows. We were fishing between 4 feet and 7 feet during the catches.

Spring winds

2009-05-16T15:00:00.000-07:00

Yup, it's that time of year again. The winds over the past few days have been unforgiving. The few times I've been out fishing, I've spent just as much time fighting the winds as I have fighting the fish. This is to be expected during the spring, but I'm ready for a nice, calm day with warm temperatures. But for walleye fishermen, as long as they can launch, the chop is a welcomed alley.

I'll be heading out tomorrow afternoon with a few friends. Not sure where the destination will be yet; I'm sure the winds will have a lot to do with that. The morning and early afternoon seem to be offering better wind conditions; around 3 p.m. the winds are supposed to push into the lower 20 mph zone, which can really stink for launching a boat. But we'll see. There are usually a few ways to work around the wind, and if nothing else, we can work whichever shoreline is getting battered by the wind, because the bait fish should be pushed into that area, and wherever bait fish are, walleye are sure to follow.

Either way, I'll try to get you an update on the action early Sunday evening. Until then, feel free to drop me a line with your fishing tips or reports. Till then, good luck and be safe.

Hooking children on fishing

2009-05-13T23:34:00.000-07:00

I love fishing ... always have. I'm a big believer in the father-son bond built through fishing, and I've spent the better part of the last year and a half teaching my son, Tyler, simple fundamentals of fishing.

"Hooks are sharp, Tyler."
"Don't cast at Daddy, Tyler."
"No, we don't eat worms, Tyler."
"What do we fish, Tyler?"
"Big bass, Daddy."
"That's right, Tyler ... big bass."

As you can see, we've covered the essentials. But I've also found that as he's gotten older — he turns 3 in August — he has a more independent take on fishing.

"No, Daddy, I'll do it."
"Daddy, just let me cast it. I'll do it."
And for some reason, he's picked up the classics, "I already know that" and "I know, I know."

We practiced casting Wednesday with his Spider-Man pole. It's a pretty slick, close-faced setup, and the handle lights up whenever he presses the button, which has been a bonus novelty for him. Last year, the wife (Mollie) and I took him out fishing a few times, and he sure loved pulling in the crappies and sunfish, but he loved it even more when his mom reeled in a catch or two. And he learned, as he so eloquently stated, that sheep's head are "icky."

We'd cast for him then, but in this independent state, he has to cast everything. I sensed this dilemma coming on this winter, and through a pure stroke of genius (my wife's suggestion) we tied a quarter-sized, circular magnet to the end of his line. Now, Mollie is one of those cool moms who always has a fun activity planned or stowed away, and this magnet trick was no different. After tying on the magnet, she came back with laminated fish from a box in the basement and slipped paper clips over the mouths of the fish, making an instant, cheap game for Tyler to enjoy while learning (without realizing it) how to cast and reel.

The wife's on to something here; she's pretty smart. I fully recommend this technique to anyone interested in getting a toddler into fishing. I'm still deathly afraid of him near hooks, but at least we've got a base to work with.

Some fantasy and some fishing

2009-05-13T08:04:00.000-07:00

The fourth tournament in the FLW Tour kicks off Thursday. That means thousands upon thousands of geeks like myself will be finalizing our fantasy rosters and reading last-minute blogs or bass-fishing Web sites to determine our winners. The fourth tournament takes place at Beaver Lake near Rogers, AR. Now, I'm not faring nearly as well as I did last year, finishing in the top 5,000 overall, but I blame that on increased chores and duties in my personal life. But I know enough to put in a little bit of time with hopes of grabbing the $100,000 prize for each tournament. Not a bad gig when you consider it is free. Check out my picks under my profile, but please, please don't think picking my picks will help you win — so far I'm only ranked in the top 18,000.

I've been thinking a lot about the one that got away Tuesday. My arms are actually sore today, which tells me the fish was pretty big. Now, I've ended a few fishing outings with bruises on the side of my stomach or on the inside of my forearms, mostly from hard hits that drive the handle of my pole into these parts of my body. But I can't remember ever being sore the next day from battling one fish. Makes me really wonder what was under the water. Perhaps another outing Thursday is appropriate.

Mastered at Buckmaster

2009-05-12T11:39:00.000-07:00

Windy. Wiiiiiiiiinndy! I knew the weather wasn't going to cooperate with me this morning, but that was to be half expected. Still, the urge to wet a line for an hour or two was too strong, so I headed out to Buckmaster's Bridge this morning, hoping to catch a walleye or perhaps some crappies. I really just wanted to work through some crank baits and see how each was working.

I have a general idea of the shoreline along Buckmaster's, as I've fished this area since long before I lived in Mankato. And I know that if I fish off the point into the main part of the lake near the bridge, I can run cranks and other baits along a nice weedline about 50 yards out or so. But today's wind made precision fishing nearly impossible. Still, I pulled in four bass. Not four walleye like I'd hoped, but four bass. Now, for a self-proclaimed bass addict, this should have been a good day fishing, but bass were low on the scale of fish I wanted to take in. Besides, catching bass out of season is a mere teasing of what I'd really like to be fishing for. And while I like the versatility of the crank bait, each bass hauled in just made me long for my real bass lures just wating for the 23rd to roll along.

Now, with that said, I mixed in a Mimic Minnow today. My brother-in-law, Dave, is a Mimic fanatic, and it is safe to say that I've watched him have enough success on a wide variety of fish to know enough to have a few handy in the ol' tackle box. What I mostly like about this lure is that I can use it to search to bottom of the lake and feel out the structure. With a crank bait, the percentages of picking up a stray leaf suspended in the water is pretty high. The heavy jig head of the Mimic Minnow allows it to fall more naturally to the bottom of the lake. When retrieved, the tension is light, making weeds, rocks or bites magnified. And after a little practice with this lure, a person can figure out which sensation is a bite or weed or whatnot. And when you fish from shore, anything you can substitute for the fancy electronics of the boat is a bonus.

The Mimic turned up three of the four bass today, but I also hooked into something that flat out overpowered me. I'm putting my money on a carp, but for a good five minutes, I watched my line peel off my reel in chunks. This fish darted for deep water and I could almost feel its thunderous back working against the current. Now, being that I haven't prepped my poles properly for the bass opener, there came a point when I thought this fish was going to strip me of all my line, so I fought hard to turn its head and work it toward shore. At one point, when the fish and I were both tiring, I tried to switch my grip to power the weakend fish in, and that's when I slacked my line just a bit too much and it spit the hook.

I still had my Mimic Minnow, and its soft body was unharmed, which makes me believe this wasn't a sharp-toothed fish like the northern or the walleye. But man, a guy can dream, can't he. My arms are sore as I type this ... now that's a big fish.

Quick correction

2009-05-10T09:01:00.000-07:00

John Cross called me last night to talk about his column. Working on the desk last night, I was in charge of editing and designing the Outdoors page for The Free Press. I'd heard through others about his success up north, but I was confused as to the location. Cross himself told me he was going to Cross Lake, which was true, except that he was only staying at Cross Lake and fishing Leech Lake. It sounds like the walleye action has returned at Leech.

With it being Mother's Day and all, tracking down fishing reports will be a little slow. But that doesn't mean all of you can't help me out. Send me your opening-day catches at photos@mankatofreepress.com. We'll post them on the Web site and let everyone see how good the action really was. Till then, best of luck on Day 2 of the opener.

Opener update

2009-05-09T16:06:00.000-07:00

Free Press photographer Pat Christman spent a good chunk of the morning out on Lake Washington. It sounds like he got out to the lake and joined up with a few friends who were on the lake waiting for the midnight opener. The trio got skunked, but Christman did manage to see a few anglers pulling in walleye (one he called "a very nice walleye"), and he spoke to a few other anglers who said they caught a few here and there. He also shot a few nice photos.

John Cross is fishing northward on Cross Lake (how fitting). It sounds like he and Brian Fowler (Quality 1-Hour photo/Sport Pix) caught their limit of walleye and then some. According to Cross, the duo had to throw back quite a few because they were over the slot limit. Now, I know what you're thinking ... "Sure they did, Doug ... sure they did," but I'll take Cross for most of his word, and that most is better than many anglers out on the lakes today.

I also spoke with a few friends fishing scattered throughout the region and state, and I'm hearing a lot of crappie reports but no walleye reports. To that extent, I took a few minutes to check the Twitter experiement Outdoor News set up. To my delight, very few tweets were posted ... but of the ones posted, most noted being skunked or the day being very slow. I'd blame the weather ... too bright or something!

Keep on keepin' on.

Opener is here!

2009-05-09T12:30:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note, since, like most of you, the day has been busy. No walleyes so far, but I did pull in a limit of crappies this morning. I'm hoping to get the scoop from a few other anglers and post something this evening. Heck, if anyone is reading this right now anyhow, it means they're not out fishing.

Just a friendly reminder

2009-05-07T22:08:00.000-07:00

The Free Press will be accepting photos from the walleye/northern fishing opener for an online photo gallery. Photos should be no bigger than 2 MB, and photos will be accepted until 4 p.m. Sunday0. People appearing in photos should be identified, and catches should be identified as well (i.e. Adam Angler, 4 lb. walleye). If you chose to identify the lake where the catch came from, even better, but we're betting that most people like to keep a good honey hole quiet. We will be updating the photos periodically during walleye-opener weekend, so keep checking back to view the best catches. The final gallery should be done no later than Monday afternoon, but those dates could change depending on the volume of photos we receive. This is a good thing, people — show off your skills and while you're at it, show off what Minnesota has to offer in the way of quality fishing.

Beginning Saturday, send photos to photos@mankatofreepress.com.

Soft on plastics

2009-05-06T23:51:00.000-07:00

Just got done reading Dennis Anderson's "Is live bait dead?" article on the Star Tribune's Web site. He basically breaks down the different soft baits and the history of each, but it's some pretty interesting stuff. I'm a soft-bait freak, so naturally I'm intrigued by the history of the these baits. I'm not surprised that less and less people fish with live bait, but I'm not badmouthing live bait either. Sometimes, the only good way to catch a fish is to give them something real to eat.

I've become a fan of Berkley's Gulp! Alive! leeches. These leeches come in a convenient pail with a screw-on lid, they look real, and the saline used to keep the leeches fresh actually helps invigorate a used leech, or any other Gulp! soft bait you might have.

I'm also a nut when it comes to Berkley's PowerBaits, mostly because I love to fish a Texas rig for bass. The pumpkinseed/chartruesse, 7-inch worm has been a consistent bait for me for several years and is often the first worm color I throw each season. However, I'm flexible when it comes to different soft baits, so long as I like two things: the color and its movement when jigged or hopped off the bottom of the lake.

This year, I'm turning to the TriggerX soft baits Anderson discusses in his article. I already have a few packs of these soft baits in the my tackle selection, and I'm eager for the bass opener to start (TriggerX makes soft baits that are species-specific, meaning there are baits designed just for walleyes, and just for bass) throwing these babies. One thing of note that makes these soft baits worthy of consideration is the saturation of the pheromones throughout the bait (each bait is individually packaged inside it's outer packaging. Within these individual packages is a sealed, solution-soaked plastic. I think the extra packaging will be a bonus, but I also think that it will be a bother coming up with a creative way to store it in the tackle box. But like a guy who can hit in baseball, if these baits catch fish, I'll find a place for them with the other players in my tackle box.

I could go on and on about the plastics I use, but that's better saved for another time. Lastly, I'd like to point out that Berkley has made an adjustment to its chigger craws (a nice complimentary soft bait for your tackle box), introducing a pair of "crazy legs" that look more like antennas than legs. Oh, but how those extra wigglers could drive the bass wild ... we'll have to wait and see.

The beauty of the beetle spin

2009-05-05T13:35:00.000-07:00

Every now and again, I dip into the ol' tackle box and pull out a trusty beetle spin. These in-line spinners have long turned up a variety of fish, including crappies, sunfish, bass, northerns and carp. Today, I turned to a white-body beetle spin with a centered, red dot. This color combination has broken the skunk of a slow bass fishing outing more than once, and I've always had luck picking up panfish with this lure. Well, the white spinner turned out golden again as Free Press Staff Writer Tanner Kent and I picked off seven good crappies, a few more too small to keep, a sunfish and a couple of small, male bass. One of the crappies weighed in at 1 pound, and a couple others weren't far behind. A sastifying day, nonetheless.

A note on the bass: I am a strong advocate for not fishing for bass out of season. There are several reasons for not doing so, but all those reasons come back to one basic fact — to protect the fish. The two male bass I caught were small, and I imagine most people catching those bass would just toss them back in and not think twice about what they did. But I urge anyone who accidentally catches a bass to handle it with care and get it back in the water as soon as possible. People always say we should protect the spawning females while on the bed, and this is very true, but protecting those small males is equally important, because the small males are the ones that fend off predators and protect the eggs on the bed. Catching those bass puts the bed in danger because the bass take a while to get back to the bed, or the bass may never make it back to the bed.

Where to fish on opener

2009-05-04T13:17:00.000-07:00

Finding a good place to hunker down for walleye opener is never an easy task. If you go north, you have to deal with traffic, lodging and possible frostier conditions, but the catch is usually well worth the travel. If you stay around the area, it's a good bet that most of the public access landings will be filled up sooner rather than later. But what lakes in the area are going to be the it lakes for 2009? If I were a betting man, and I am, I'd put my money on Washington, Madison, Crystal and Loon, though those are only a few quality walleye lakes in the area. Free Press Outdoors Writer John Cross offered his take over the weekend. He met with DNR official Hugh Valiant, who works in the Waterville hatchery and is well regarded in the region as a man in the know.

Action heating up?

2009-05-04T10:39:00.001-07:00

I'm hearing scattered reports from the Take a Kid Fishing crappie tournament this past weekend on Lake Washington. Sounds like the crappies were biting, which is nice, but for those of you desperately waiting for Saturday's walleye/northern opener, it sounds like some walleyes and northern were caught as well. Hopefully the weather continues to turn the fishing on, but as any of us know, the walleye opener in Minnesota can get pretty nasty. Weather.com is showing showers Friday with mostly clear skies Saturday and Sunday (seriously, no rain?!). Temps are expected to be in the low- to mid-60s. But it is weather I'm talking about here, so stay tuned.

I'm heading out tomorrow to test out the crappie action and to get the poles in working order. Check back Tuesday afternoon for an update.