It's Finally Gone!

Flying to Chicago this week I had the option of simply getting on my return flight or riding shotgun with my friend Tom Emmons, who was working in Libertyville for the last 3 days. Sometimes O’hare airport can get really congested with long delays. Often it would be faster to just rent a car and drive back rather than wait for your plane to take off. Well late this morning the airline called me 4 times to notify me of the changes in my schedule , delayed an hour, moved up 15 minutes, moved back 30 minutes. The real message was that if went to the airport, I’d be lucky to get back by 10:00. My last sales call was only 15 minutes from where Tom was, I decided to take the known method of transportation and ride with Tom. A quick stop at the Bass Pro Shop in Gurney Mills and the relaxing ride is allowing me to get caught up on a few things. This weekend was the annual Northwest Sportshow at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Last year’s economic conditions really affected the show however the improved situation was evident this year. I had the chance to go down to the show both on Thursday night and Sunday afternoon. For me 4 hours is not nearly enough time to see all the new things and ask all of the questions. From getting my Lorwance Ethernet connection issues resolved to checking on a the latest new lures, it’s always a fun time. One of the things I really enjoy is visiting my friends Judy and Ken Marlow from Marlow’s on the Kenai. Featured in my Alaskan Links on the left side bar, it’s always great to see them again. As always they have a special treat for me, smoked canned sockeye salmon with a touch of jalapeno pepper added, it’s like manna from heaven. Here’s a great picture of the two with their booth. I like to sit with them and converse with the interested customers as we have a few pictures featured on their display.

Unfortunately I am going to miss ice fishing Lake of the Woods again this year. Normally the weekend before April 15t with last year’s trip being canceled as the ice conditions were such that the lake closed down by the end of March. This year was just difficult to get organized to go. My friend Ryan Sterle, who lives on the Iron Range tends to find time to do all sorts of things. Last year I posted a few pictures of the fish he caught on the Rainy River, and yesterday he sent another, a 55 inch sturgeon he got this weekend. Not the clearest picture as I am sure he used his cell phone and it looks like it was snowing. Last year’s fishing season on the Rainy was fabulous do to the early spring however I am sure this year is somewhat more normal and challenging. This is a really nice fish and it's something I'd like to try and do someday.

My next 4 weeks will be focused on getting all of my fishing equipment ready for opener. From getting the boat ready, tuning up my reels, reorganizing my tackle boxes, I’ll have plenty to do for the next month. I just got the Leech Lake Tournament trophy engraved and I think I really outdid myself this year! It will give me something interesting to post for next week.  The good news is that the snow is FINALLY GONE!!!