Quiet Week

Jane Holtan and her HUGE Silver Salmon!

Actually it's really been busy, too busy to even write this week's post  on time but yet it's been awfully quiet around.  The weather has cooled down and it looks like it will be raining this weekend so time to get some of the things done around the house as well, get my boat ready for the next excursion to Lac Seul in 4 weeks.  The Ranger still has some work to be taken car of since a number of afflictions came upon it, namely the theft of my electronics where they destroyed the plastic panels as well my hydraulic steering still needs some adjustment.  The boat will go back to Frankie's on Monday where they can work on all of these issues and hopefully get her back like new before September 20th when we head up to Chamberlain Narrows.  I finally had lunch with Mike Worms and got him my old Ipod for his boat.  I am still struggling with getting my new 128 GB Ipod up and running but there are people at work who are smarter than me (and younger) who can help in this regard.  Because I don't have any latest and greatest pictures of me, I will defer to my friend Keith Holtan and the picture of his wife Jane holding an enormous silver salmon that she caught in the Kenai River last week.  I can tell that Keith has instructed Jane on the finer points of fish photography however even though you can do those things to make a fish look big, this is a big salmon.  Tricks of the trade are to hide your hands so as not to have a clear reference to the size, she does this very well, however the other is to hold it out a ways from your body and I suspect this fish is easily over 16 pounds (I let Keith comment!) so unless Jane has been lifting weights on her days off, I am pretty impressed! Of course my friends and Cousin Mark that are in Alaska keep sending these teases, maybe I'll just have to make one more trip next year, 2018 is an even year and the humpy's will be in.  Definitely food for thought!

So one thing we did last week was Lory Brasel and I went to Brainerd with our friend Kevin Sonsalla for our annual trip to BIR (Brainerd International Raceway) and the NHRA's stop on the National Drag Racing Circuit.  It is always a fun time unfortunately rain put a damper on most of the racing however we did get in a few ear shattering runs. Brainerd's track and location can make for record setting runs as the cooler weather is perfect for top fuel (Nitrous) funny cars and traditional rail type cars.  On friday the 18th the track set a new National Funny Car record by breaking the 3.80 seconds in the 1000 foot length (it use to be a 1/4 mile for these cars) by Robert Hight with a time of 3.793 seconds and crossing the line at 338 mph.  Think about that for a second!!!, in 3.793 seconds you go from standing still to 338 mph..........uffda is the only word I can think of.  It is fun and exciting to see these care go.  Lory took a video of 2 cars coming down the track and the one the right looses control and pulls in front of the car in the left lane.  That was certainly worth watching for sure. It's quite amazing watching these top fuel guys go down the track in no time flat.

As stated earlier, the boat got back at Frankie's this morning, getting the final touches on the insurance work that I had done from the time they ripped my cover off and removed my electronics. They damaged the plastic dash pieces and because the damage was cosmetic, I decided to not wait for this work to get done prior to my trip to Canada on June 24th.  Well if you don't stay on this stuff eventually no one ever has time to fix it! We already have plans for Lac Seul leaving on September 20th.  Some "not so above board" stuff has been happening with Mille Lacs Lake as the season for fishing walleyes will close coming weekend, it might be just the impetus to head up again, assuming my boat is done in time.

Cruising the Northwest Sportsman Show

A couple of weeks ago the Northwest Sportsman Show was held at the Minneapolis Convention Center.  This is the area's largest outdoor sports show featuring fishing, hunting, camping, and vacationing.  I like to make 2 trips to the show, usually on the first day to get a jump on the crowds and again on the weekend with my brother.  This years show was probably the smallest I have seen in 20 years.  The economy has really taken a toll on the recreational business, especially the marine and RV industries.  As well consolidations and bankruptcies have changed the landscape of what choices consumers have today.  Case in point has been the changes in ownership of Lund and Crestliner boats.  Brunswick Corporation controls both companies and owns Mercury Marine.  Today if you buy one of these boats it is almost guaranteed to come with a Mercury outboard and if you want something else, it is going to cost you.  Skeeter Boats have been owned by Yamaha Corporation for a while now and it is the same thing.  They come pre rigged with a Yamaha or if you want something else the price just changed.   Of course this is the strategy for companies to garner greater market share for their products.  Unfortunately it leaves companies like Honda, Evinrude, and Suzuki a more limited market for their motors.  I do think that the consumers suffer however in this down market, it might be the only way to survive.  The bankruptcy of Genmar (owned Ranger, Stratus, and a number of high end glass boats) and the fact of Warrior Boats vanishing off the face of the earth makes one wonder how bad it really is.

The good news is that I have high hopes my brother Steve is about ready to part with some of his money (word has it he still has the first nickel he made!) and contribute to a recovering economy by purchasing a new boat that he so deserves.  We were looking at a new Lund Pro Guide 1825 with a 90 hp Mercury 4 stroke, dual trolling motors, wave whackers, a custom cover, a Lowrance HDS7 sonar/GPS unit, and a very nice trailer with spare.  I was taken back by the price however it is comparable to competitive boats out there today.  I really hope he does something for himself being just 18 months younger, it's about time Steve fishes in luxury.  Because I am picking on him, he is my featured picture at the start of this post holding a rather large Pink Salmon caught in the Kenai River.

The Sportshow is also time to renew our friendship with Ken and Judy Marlow of Marlow's on the Kenai (see my Alaska links on my sidebar).  We have stayed them many times during our trips to Alaska and have fished often with their son Neil out of Seward.  Judy always has a jar or two of smoked canned salmon to give us at the show, an absolutely wonderful treat.  The  picture is of their resort which sits on the Kenai River just east of Soldotna.  We always get the cabin in the middle and we are always treated like royality by these two wonderful people.   Of course I forgot once again to bring my Leech Lake Knife with me to the show.  They will sharpen it like new for a ridiculous fee of $2.oo.  It still is pretty sharp and I will just have to try and remember to bring it next year.  The Sportshow is a great time to get updated on the latest technologies.  Companies like Lowrance, Hummingbird, LakeMaster, and Garmin have their latest in depth finder/GPS/mapping technologies on display.  One reason I like to go on the first night is the crowds are smaller and one has more time to discuss these new products with the factory reps.  It's also good to see my boat dealer, Frankie's Marine of Chisago City, displaying the latest boats.  Being the largest Ranger Dealer in the United States, Frankie and his wife Deb run a first class dealership.  I am already looking forward to next years show as there is something magical for me when I attend. 

Lack Luster Weekend

This weekend was pretty calm despite being about as perfect a weekend to be ice fishing as I have seen. Unfortunately I was relegated to taking it easy recovering from an angiogram on Friday. This is an interesting procedure where they insert a catheter into your femoral artery and go take a look at your arteries from the inside. Usually this is done if you might have coronary blockages however in my case it was to look at my aortic aneurysm. The males in my family have been known to suffer from this genetic anomaly and when told that we all should have this checked out, like most of us, I ignored the advice. A few years ago while fighting pneumonia, a sharp doctor noticed the problem on a CT scan. Although no laughing matter, it's a heck of a lot better discovering it now rather than on the autopsy table! The results were as expected with my coronary arteries being as clean a whistle, it's probably time to fix the aneurysm. A normal aorta is about 1 inch in diameter and mine is almost 2 inches. Doctors orders were to lay still till Saturday evening as well limit lifting to a max of 10 pounds for a few days. Well that means my ice auger, loading my house, and with a little luck holding a fish fitting that description. There are still a lot more opportunities to get out and hopefully the weather holds off this weekend. The above picture is one I took Tuesday morning behind the house. A heavy fog overnight and temperatures below freezing created this stunning hoar frost on the trees. One of the delights of winter, it was a great reminder how beautiful life is. 

The St. Paul Sportsman Show was last week. It is the first major show of the year and although not as large as the Northwest Sportshow at the Minneapolis Convention Center, it's a good chance to get in the mood. Frankies, my dealer, is the largest Ranger dealer in the world and he had 18 boats on display. It was good to see Frankie and his wonderful wife Deb as they always treat me as their number 1 customer. I spent some time with Keith Holtan of Beaver Creek Cabins and Guide Service, Kenai, AK. Keith was our fishing guide out of Jeff King's in August of 2002 that I wrote about last August 18, 2009. It was great to share war stories as well reconnect with him and hopefully we can get together again before he heads north. One of the things I love to do at these shows is check out all the new products and did I find a gem. Pictured is one of those "Why didn't I think of that" gadgets called the EZ lube. Based on a garden sprayer, it has a bottom hose attached to heavy duty valve with a rubber cone end. It's purpose is to make refilling your outboards lower unit a snap. Simply drain the gear lube out, fill the EZ Lube with good quality gear lube, screw in the pump assemble and pump it up. Hold the rubber end into the bottom fill plug and squeeze the valve. No messy pumps, no squeezing tubes like toothpaste, no almost having all the gear out of the tube yet it's still not full......I just had to have one. As a bonus, Steve Carney, one of my favorite Outdoor News writers and local guide was working the booth. It was great talking with him and hopefully I will win the free trip with him they were giving away. Anxious to test, I will definitely post it's usefulness some time in the future.

On the left side of my layout is a list of Blogs I follow as they are my favorites. I have mentioned Jeff King's Mile 14 in the past and his recent posts have been nothing short of fabulous. Jeff and his wife MP spend a number of weeks in Mexico each winter fishing, relaxing, and escaping from the cold and darkness of Alaska. Jeff fishes every morning and his fishing reports give the feeling of being right there next to him, casting for rooster fish, corvina, and toro. Jeff and his friends work the shorelines along the beach like I work the reefs on Mille Lacs. It's a welcome break from staring out the window looking at the snow! Check out mile14 and experience the thrill of surf fishing in Mexico. Here is a picture from one of Jeff's posts featuring the first rooster fish he caught this year. Although not the largest he has bagged, they certainly are an interesting looking fish. This picture also features the rare evidence of needing a jacket in Mexico.

This week is the Minneapolis Boat Show. My brother Steve has threatened to by a new boat for the last 10 years now and I have reminded him he'd better do it soon before he needs a lift to get in it. The boating industry has seen better times and I have been encouraging Steve to do his part to help the economy. I am sure he appreciates my advice! With my weight lifting restrictions off my goal is to get back out fishing soon.  I know the fish are missing me for sure.