Weather and Procrastination

November's Temperature Forecast for Red Lake

To say that this Fall's weather has been fabulous certainly depends on your point of view.  It's the first of November and we are still in the 70's forcing a huge amount of procrastination in getting things done for the winter. Although we've had a killing frost about 3 weeks ago, the area has not seen a "hard" frost, lows down in the lower 20's yet which has left many of the leaves still on the trees.  The month of September and October were fairly dry however the last couple weeks have been quite wet with a good inch of so of rain each week.  The nice weather begs to be spent fishing on the river or maybe some crappies on the nearby lakes but unfortunately each year it seems more difficult to get everything done before winter sets in.  The sprinkler system still needs to be blown out, the potatoes are still in the ground, the boat needs a final cleaning and tucked in unless of course this weather continues to hold out.  I know I've mentioned it before but the latest we have open water fished on Lake Mille Lacs was December 6th and it looks like we are heading towards a very late freeze up this year as well.  Contrast that to last year when we were able to drive on Red Lake ice the day after Thanksgiving, November 28th,  it will be a delayed start for sure.  The long term forecast for Red Lake shows 10 degree above average temperatures meaning my early December travel schedule will probably not make any difference in my ice fishing plans. Hopefully by the second week in December it will be cold enough to get out for the weekend but that might be pushing it for sure as a few years ago we didn't get out until New Years. Looking at the forecast above shows Thanksgiving week to have highs about 40, and that's 250 miles north of the Twin Cities! The weather might be the bad news for the season but the good news is that they decided to open up Mille Lacs to ice fishing this year with a limited harvest of 1 walleye between 18 and 20 inches or 1 walleye over 28 inches.  This is more of a token effort to assist the area businesses and is welcome yet for all practical purposes the limit could be 6 walleyes in the same slot values simply because there are so little fish of this size in the lake. The good news is the lake is full of 12 - 14 inch fish and the catch and release action is promising to be fantastic.  As well it is reported that Red Lake will be changing it's current limit of 2 walleyes under 17 inches to 3 fish of which 2 must be under 17 inches and the third can be under 20 inches. The late ice will help the fish populations so we will see how the season shakes out as these regulations go into effect on December 1st.

From My Talented Uncle Jerry

So my Uncle Jerry has been at it again and shipped a special package to me this week.  I immediately know it's from him however the anticipation of what's inside the box is always special.  Upon opening the box there were 3 items that both figuratively and literally had my names on them.  The first is what looked like a hand carved statue of me after a successful day of fishing. Along with the blue eyes and my gray mustache, Uncle Jerry really captures the essence of who I am by posing me with a large fish in my left hand. The other added touches to a beautiful sculpture is the fact that my name is on the hat and if you look really close you can see my shirt is one of the Green Bay Packers and even has a GB engraved.  WOW!!!  The second thing of interest was a hand carved mouse lure packaged in a box especially made for it, complete with a sliding lid.  I know for a fact that I had one of these in that tackle box he gave me almost 50 years ago (I still have some of those baits) and it was one of his favorites when fishing down at Alma.  It's absolutely perfect and even has a leather tail.  My heart tells me to display it but my logic tells me to try and catch a fish on it as this would be the best of two worlds.  Hard water is coming soon so if I do it will have to be next year.  For sure I'd have to use braided line to make sure I didn't loose it. The third item was a nice wooden spoon and I have the perfect place for it, in my Salem Ice Cabin.  I know Jerry would scoff at the thought of putting it in the kitchen when it could much better to use while fishing, and it will be! I am extremely lucky to have an uncle that thinks so much of me, I love him dearly as he always has a special place in my heart!

Well, it's off to deer hunting and the weather is looking pretty good.  I put up a tree stand this year, not too far off the ground but high enough to get a better view of things. It will be Steak ala Kienitz on Friday night as usual and back home on Sunday night.  With the weather predictions of in the 50's again for next week it might be tempting to take the boat out one day, we'll see.  Good luck to all you Minnesota hunters!

Slow Week

Heddon River Runt, Bass Oreno, Whizzling Sparrow, Pfueger Chum Spoon

Now that fishing season has closed for game fish in Minnesota in conjunction with once again, below zero temperatures, there was no fishing done last weekend.  The best I could do was to do some snow blowing with my newly fixed snow blower, which by the way worked pretty good.  The guy at the John Deere dealership warned me that some people don't like a chain that needs to have a link connector added verses a complete chain as they make more noise but to be honest, I don't hear the difference at all.  Actually a length of chain with a connector turns out to be a lot easier and if it breaks again, I'll just use bulk roller chain.  I nice surprise last week was a letter from my Uncle Jerry in Boise, Idaho.  Getting a letter is still pretty exciting as Jerry is pretty old fashioned and I really appreciate the time he takes for me.  The letter include another letter that was in my Grandma's photo album he ended up with, one from the Colonel at Howard Air Force Base in Panama, congratulating my dad's parents on his promotion to Sargent in the US Air Force.  It's interesting as the letter spelled out a personal recommendation of my father, at that time it was hand typed on a typewriter, I'm sure my grandparents were pretty proud.  I am also sure at the time, my dad couldn't wait to get out! Either way I have talked about Uncle Jerry in previous posts, he's one of my lifetime hero's and probably solely responsible for my love of fishing.  One of the things I have never mentioned was the time I visited him at my Grandmother Myrtle's house one summer when he returned from Boise to Eleva.  As bad as my memory is I was probably around 12 years old and every kid needs someone to look up to as my grandma always said I reminded her of Jerry, her youngest son.  Before Jerry left that summer he presented me with his Wisconsin tackle box, a brown metal box with a single tray and loaded full of baits.  I suspect that living out west had changed his fishing strategies more towards fly fishing for trout and with zero bass or northern pike in Idaho, there was little need for a box full of "Mississippi River " baits.   Of course I felt I had just hit the jackpot!  Now back then baits were meant to be used and although that tackle box would probably worth thousands of dollars today, it was simply an opportunity to catch fish 47 years ago.  The tackle box was full of classics including a number of Heddon baits like the River Runt, Jointed River Runt, and Pumpkinseed as well as original Daredevils, Pfueger Chum Spoon, Bass Oreno, Whizzling Sparrow, Johnson Silver Minnow, Creek Chub, Mepps Original, Jitterbug, and many others I never even heard of. Most of those baits are either hung up on a stump near Wilbur's (up river from Alma) or hanging in some fishes mouth, as quality line wasn't the priority back then.  Amazingly I still have some of the original baits from that tackle box given to my by Jerry, as you can see in the picture.  These baits were the rage of the day, long before companies like Rapala hit the scene. You can still buy new Bass Oreno's as some of the old classic's never fall out of favor.   I know he does read my blog and I hope the picture brings back those same great memories as it does for me.  Love ya Uncle Jerry!

Excellent!

With the cold temperatures for the weekend, my wife Lyn and I went to the Minneapolis Home and Garden Show at the Minneapolis Convention Center on Saturday.  It's been a while since we have been there and I sort of enjoy the stuff they have for sale that you can only find at these shows.  You always seem to find a deal and we certainly took advantage.  One of the first booths was Deli Direct Wisconsin Aged Cheddar Cheese Spread in their Horseradish flavor.  I have always loved horseradish and remember eating roast beef at grandma's house where my grandpa Roy and I would always have a good dose of horseradish on our meat.  Now I can't be sure if I really liked it or I simply wanted to be as tough as grandpa was.  Either way I'm a horseradish lover and this cheese spread will be a nice treat for my next fishing trip.  Another thing we bought as an innovative invention called the Gripstic.  A simple device, it's a plastic device for sealing potato chip bags, salad bags, anything that you want to seal tight for assuring freshness later.  The third thing we ended up with were some very well done Mexican painted pottery.  My wife must have impressed them as we got a buy 2, get 2 free.
Personally I don't think it was that good a deal but the people were very nice and I have to admit the pots looks pretty good.  It also gave me a chance to talk with some insulation guys, garage door companies, and windows.  After 22 years of being in the same house, some upgrades are coming due.

With the weather warming, it still might be time for some ice fishing.  On a sad note the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) had declared one of my favorite lake for the past 6 years Pelican Lake, open fishing as you can take all the fish you want.  The early freeze, heavy snows, cold temperatures, and overall shallowness of the lake has dropped the dissolved oxygen levels below what can sustain fish.  Reports show guys sawing large holes through the ice then scooping up fish that come to the surface gasping for oxygen.  The lake is essentially dead and will be declared officially froze out.  This is unfortunate yet the DNR had planned on lowering the water lever anyway to restore the lake to a duck pond.  Although I don't agree, it pretty much a mute point now.  With a little luck I may get out this weekend and if nothing else start preparing for our trip to Louisiana.  I can't wait!

Back to Reality

Well, what goes up must come down.  After 6 weeks of significant above normal temperatures, we experienced a very hard frost this week.  Normally this would not be a problem however the warm weather has cause most of the trees to bud out significantly and more importantly has advanced my apple and pear trees to start blooming way too early.  2 years ago a mid May hard frost eliminated my entire apple crop as it froze all of the fully opened blossoms and killing them.  As of today most of the blossoms are still fairly tight and have not opened up, this may be a good sign.  The new reports of the hard frost extending south to Missouri have the commercial orchard's concerned.  I guess we will just have to wait.  If left alone apple trees tend to be cyclic, producing heavy one year and light the next.  Orchard chemically thin the apples once the blossoms have been set and have started to develop small fruit.  When the apples are about the diameter of a dime the trees are sprayed with Sevin (carbaryl), an insecticide that will cause about half of the fruit to drop off the trees.  Once thinned, the apples will grow larger and the stress on the tree is less causing them to fruit more consistently from year to year, assuring a viable crop each season.  I wanted to try this last year as the trees were filled with apples, just ran out of time.  My Haralson tree always produces a good crop yet my Honeycrisp, Honeygolds, and Wolf River apples are very cyclic and will not have a large crop regardless.  Lord knows how my pears will survive.  In the end the cold weather might simply be a minor issue or I might just be able to take the summer off!  Last Sunday I was determined to fertilize my orchard, something I did for the first time last year and it really paid off.  Having bought a heavy duty 1.75 inch earth auger for my drill, I drill 4 holes around each tree at the drip line then fill each with a 10-10-10 fertilizer.  It is recommended that you do this before the tree fully leaf's out.   As I was preparing to start drilling Rick Shermer, a guy with the same interests shows up to say hi.  Noting that I was ready to fertilize my trees and showed him how it was done he just had to try this.  Being the nice guy that I am, reached for the auger and told him to go ahead and use it today.  Promising to bring it back later that day, not a problem....right?  3 days later and no Rick we stopped by to check it his chickens, garden, trees and maybe hint about the auger.  Well, he had no intention on giving it back!  This was fine with me as Rick would give you the shirt off his back as noted by his past actions when he rototilled my garden as I laid up from surgery a few years ago, mowed my back acreage when it was too tall for my mower.  He actually came by on Saturday morning and with his Kubota made short work out of tilling my garden again.  What a guy.  I did receive my new auger this week and the trees are all ready for their summer meal.

Our Alaska trip planning is really starting to take shape.  We finally have all of our lodging booked as well as 2 days of ocean fishing out of Seward.  We have come to enjoy the combo trips out of Seward which feature both Halibut and ocean run Silver Salmon with the chance of getting a few rockfish and Ling Cod as a bonus.  Our planning works well with the tides for the days we are going and look like the morning high tide to afternoon low tide differential is only 2.5 feet.  That sure beats Homer where you can see a 20 feet change in 6 hours.  August quarter moon tides tend to be quite tame and our trip is planned to take full advantage of them.  Halibut fishing is always the best at the lowest differentials in high to low tides and for sure it's a lot easier to fish.  We have had to use 6 pound weights on time to hold our baits on the bottom of a rushing tide in 300 feet of water.  This is truly work!  My cousin Mark will be hosting our Kenai salmon fishing adventure with a rented 18 foot/35hp jet that will handle all of us.  We are trying to do something exciting and another fly out trip across the Cook Inlet for Silvers might be interesting.  The last time we flew over to Polly Creek it wasn't what we expected but still caught fish and had our first encounter with some Brown Bears.  My uncle Jerry is not coming this year however in the spirit of our adventure he did make me a few items for the trip.  Being a master wood worker, he hand made these fish dispatchers, a must for any Alaskan fishing trip.  Hooking a big Silver is one thing, landing it is another, but once you get the fish in the boat watch out!  These things flop around with the tenacity of a tornado.   About the only way they can be safely subdued before completely trashing your boat is a good konk on the head.  This can only be accomplished with the right tool and Jerry is the master of what he calls the Konkinator.  They come in all kinds of shapes, sizes, wood types, each with their own special label.  Starting from the top you see the plain Konkinator, design by Cordless Conker Co., Inc., LTD.  This is made from a heavy wood and can be very effective.  The next one down is made from the famous Lodgepole Pine of central Idaho.  Called the Oinker Silver Doinker, it is courtesy of Rip'N'Jerry Mfg. LTD, Kenai Branch.  The middle grey colored a uniquely stained device directed right at my political preferences.  Labeled the Lite Wt. Smolt Smasher it further described as Republicanator for Killing Small Fish, Boehner & Co, Brains LTD.  I told Jerry that the gray color reminds me of elephants.........what can I say!  The next light colored pine device is none other than Dave's Sockeye Slayer and was specially built by Andersonock-A-Head Mfg, Chimney Rock, Wis. The bottom is the one he made for our trip in 2008 and I can assure you it works pretty well.  I am anxious to try all of these out in a few months and hopefully can reward Jerry with the assurance that we had a great time.  Now I know where I got my sense of humor!  Thanks Jerry, I will cherish these gifts forever.

With snow in forecast and a heavy travel schedule, time continues to fly.  I finally got an appointment with Frankie's to get my boat cover redone because of the trolling motor difference.  She is nice and clean as I had more time on Saturday to keep going once Rick took care of a few hours of planned work.  As predicted I started the Suzuki and honestly it could not have turned over for more than 2 seconds.  I love the way that motor sounds, it's a 4 stroke and purrs like a kitten.  With opener 4 weeks away, this cold weather should prove interesting.  Slowly but surely things are coming together.

Father's Day

Last Sunday was Father's Day.  Although the bite continues to be hot, between seeing my dad and having the double pleasure of visiting my Uncle Jerry, who is in from Boise Idaho, I don't think fishing would have been any better.  As both my dad and I get older, you come to the realization that things will not last forever.  Thinking back these two guys have given me some interesting fishing experiences over the years.  Dad got me started fishing as we often fished the Eleva Pond for trout and crappies, the Buffalo River for carp, and as a special treat we would head to Marshmiller Lake near Bloomer Wisconsin for the slab bluegills.  April was sucker fishing in the creek below the dam and a few choice holes in the river.  Trout fishing in Eleva was usually relegated to the months of May and June as the Rod and Gun Club and the Wisconsin DNR would plant hatchery browns, rainbow, and brook trout into the pond and local streams.  I will remember one April, I suppose I was no older than 10 years old.  My fishing pole was an old 5 foot steel octagonal rod with a Pflueger level wind reel loaded with black Dacron line.  My dad had rigged it up with a sinker and hook, with a can of worms my brother Steve and I headed to the bridge on Hwy 10 that crossed the creek from the pond.  The creek ran through town so it was only about a block from where we lived at the time.  Well, don't ask me how but I somehow caught a northern pike that had come up from the Buffalo River and it was huge!  It was the biggest and meanest fish I had ever seen (compared to the suckers in the river), guessing it was at least 3 feet.  Not knowing what to do with it, Steve ran home to get dad.  Lucky thing northerns are pretty tough as I suspect my sense of panic was well relayed to my dad as it took about 5 minutes for him to get down to the creek.   Dad unhooked the fish, took one look at me and slipped it back into the water.  As it swam away my jubilation went as well.    Knowing my limits of expressing myself in front of my father, he sensed my frustration, explaining that this fish was not legal to keep for at least another week.  In hindsight it taught me a good lesson as I probably could have got away with carrying it home but those teeth were pretty intimidating.  BTW, the fish was only about 22 inches but I can guarantee it was much bigger when I caught it.

I had not seen my uncle Jerry (Zeke) since uncle Keith had passed away a few years ago.  I have mentioned how influential he has been in my fishing life and seeing him on Sunday was a pure pleasure.  I have previous posts of our fishing adventures in Alaska and Mille Lacs however it really started in the summer of 1965 during a visit to Boise.  Zeke was a dentist and I suspect he made an offer to my dad, bring Steve and Dave out for a visit, I'll fix their teeth for nothing and we can enjoy some time together.  Well the trip out was memorable as we went through the Black Hills, stayed in Cody Wyoming before heading to Yellowstone.  At that time it was popular to feed the bears and we saw quite a few of them.  Heading to Boise my brother and I got all of our cavities filled (still in today) and managed to find some time for fishing.  Zeke used this opportunity to teach me how to fly fish, something almost unheard of in Eleva.  Boise is considered high desert and because we were pretty young we stuck to fishing the irrigation canals that flowed through the area.  I suppose there might have been some trout in these waters however we caught mostly squawfish, a native member of the carp family which inhabits the western part of North America.  Zeke says they call them pikeminnows, a more politically correct term these days.  Today I still fly fish today using the same techniques I learned over 40 years ago fishing in Idaho as this nice dolly vardon caught in Alaska demonstrates.  With a little luck maybe Steve and I can retrace our journey of 1965 and try a little Idaho fishing later this year.

As for Father's Day, it was a good one.  My dad is not doing too well but then again just seeing him was a blessing.  Here is hoping for the chance to celebrate it again next year.  The weather has been wet and windy yet with a little luck I'll get to Mille Lacs on Saturday to catch him a few walleyes for supper, he'll like that!

The Bite is On

 Sunday was our day to reaffirm that the hot bite we experienced during last weeks MTT was the beginning of that pre summer frenzy which usually lasts through the month of June.  Joining me in my boat was my neighbor Lory as well I allowed my friends Tom and Tom to tag along, provided they stayed out of my way!  Having exhausted my supply of leeches we stopped and picked up a half pound before heading to the lake.  Our destination was the Shah-Bush-Kung-Bay landing, just north of the casino.  Sometimes known as Cashes Landing (years ago), it has a nice deep water protected landing and offers a lot of fishing options being near the middle of the lake.  There are a number of great late spring/early summer spots just off the landing which are excellent for catching walleyes.  This year everything is about 2 weeks late and these near shore locations should be really hot.  Well my predictions were true.  Within 15 minutes we had our first walleye.  Looking for something in the box the first 6 fish were all larger than 18 inches.  With the slot at less than 18 and 1 over 28, it was proving difficult to do.  I started with a crawler and Lory with a leech, Lory nailed the first 2 so I switched.  That was a good strategy for the first couple of hours.

As often happens, the bite went slow for a little while so I decided to head to a deeper rock reef a mile north.  Generally this reef is good for some of those slot fish for the livewell but the rocks makes it more difficult to fish.  My guess was correct as we nailed 2 fish, one for the box and a 25 incher I am holding in the first picture.  More often than not usually I am the only guy on this reef.  Many times guys will drive by and see my boat, quick turn around and see what's up.  On Mille Lacs most people fish the well known spots where all the other boats are.  When they see someone in a spot unfamiliar, they got to check it out.  As I stated its quite difficult to fish with the rocks so most people don't stay long.  After a few lost rigs and fewer marks on the sonar we headed back to our original spot.  We immediately started catching fish again, ultimately ending up the day with 12 and 2 in the box?  Lory nailed this fat 26 incher on a leech, the largest of the day. We chose to spend the last hour trolling Indian Point with Shad Raps.  With a south wind hitting the reef all day it should have been good for a couple of keepers.  Well all we caught were 6 smallies.  I truly believe that these reefs have been over run by smallmouth bass which leaves little left for the walleyes (in my opinion!) 

I am getting more familiar with my HDS10 and am having a lot more fun.  My previous depth finder, the Genetron, was excellent at marking fish which over the years I had developed the confidence.  My greatest concern with the new Lorwance was redeveloping that confidence.  One of the ways I am learning is to record the sonar readings and look at them on my computer.  This is actually pretty amazing as I found recordings of my sinker and bait falling to the bottom.  We marked a tremendous amount of fish and it is fun to go back and actually see where they were, look at the GPS points, and try to establish some patterns.  A labor of love for sure.  Friday is my annual duty of helping my good friend Mark Applen making his ENA Golf Tournament another success.  We hope to raise another $25,000 for helping kids with cancer, having passed the $200,000 mark in the last 8 years.  It is a tribute to the Applen's dedication to their son Eric, who passed away from this terrible disease.  Sunday is Father's Day and with my father struggling it will be good to spend some time with him.  As a bonus my Uncle Jerry is in Eleva, man I have been practicing up for a few years now!  Luckily we like each other.  Might just have to skip out early one day next week for that evening bite as the night ban has expired on Mille Lacs.

Chuggin' Along

Patience is a virtue and I am certainly exercising every bit of it I can muster. Sitting home for the second straight week has me thinking that things should be progressing faster than this!  I guess it reminds me of an old Rodney Dangerfield joke....................I get no respect, when I was a kid my dad got sick and tired of me running around in circles so he nailed down the other foot!  Oh well, time will pass.  I am still awfully sore and have severely underestimated the extent of the healing process.  Luckily I have started cardiac rehab today.  My condition is different than the standard bypass surgery patient, however the healing process is the same.  I am bound and determined to be back to a winning form by fishing opener.  I think I'll make it.

One of the great benefits of being laid up is all the nice attention one gets.  From comments on my posts to a slew of get well wishes, all serve to remind one how fortunate I am with all of my friends, relatives, business associates, and neighbors.  One guy that has stood out has been my Uncle Jerry.  Jerry is my dad's youngest  brother, living in Boise Idaho.  If one would blame anyone for my love of fishing, you could definitely point to Uncle Jerry!  His mother, my Grandma Myrt would always compare me to him, our love for fishing was legendary.  Living in a small town in Wisconsin really limited fishing to the local rivers, streams, ponds, and if one was lucky you could hitch a ride to fish the Mississippi River near Alma, Wisconsin.  Jerry had left Eleva while I was quite young so most of my knowledge of him was passed on by my Grandma Myrt.  Apparently he was drafted into the Army where legend has it they could not wait to get rid of him, but kept him anyway to add to the torment.  Although after the Korean War and before Vietnam Jerry would proclaim it was not the most pleasant time of his life.  Upon being released from his own personal hell, he started school in Montana to become a forest ranger before shifting gears to become a dentist.  Back in about 1966 my dad took my brother Steve, Grandma, and myself out to visit Uncle Jerry.  A memorable trip, we traveled though the Black Hills, The Big Horns, and Yellowstone before arriving in Boise on the third day.  Apparently my dad must have made a deal with Uncle as both Steve and myself had all of our teeth fixed, no small task!  I still have fillings intact from that visit as my dentist compliments me all the time on the great work he did.  Intertwined with drilling teeth and filling holes, we managed to get a ton of fishing in.  Jerry is an excellent fly fisherman, virtually unheard of back in Eleva.  There we learned the correct way to hold and cast a fly line, using a book held between your elbow and side as to assure the proper wrist action.  They don't teach fly casting this way any more as it is more free flowing these days.  I guess I will always prefer the "right" method!

Jerry and I have a very special relationship.  I received a fabulous get well card from him last week wishing me well and as a bonus sent me a number of pictures he knew I'd appreciate.  The first picture is a very nice 36 inch rainbow trout out of  the North Fork of the Clearwater River in Idaho.  When you compare the fact that a 18" trout was a huge fish back home, this is a definite trophy.  The next 2 pictures are proof that Jerry still has a sense of humor!  Holding this 25 pound carp caught in the Brownlee Reservoir, on the Snake River, it must have provided an epic battle.  He included 2 pictures of this magnificent fish, with one showing an uncanny resemblence to himself.  He should know better!  One thing the carp does represent is the great fishing we both experienced in the Buffalo River back home.  Although there were fish in the river as large, we seldom caught anything over 10 pounds.   You can take the kid out of Eleva, but you can't take Eleva out of the kid.  I'll bet Jerry enjoyed catching the carp as much as he did that nice rainbow he is holding.  I like that!  Sharing the same level of excitement and appreciation for our past accomplishments, I am sure that the good Lord has a special place for us as I could not explain heaven any better than spending eternity fishing with my Uncle Jerry.