Back from Toronto

Westin Harbour in Toronto

This week was our annual Spring TTA meeting and for 2016 we decided to host it in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  We have a few members from that area and thought it would be good to support our northern members.  Toronto is a big city, actually the 4th largest in North America with only Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and Mexico City being larger.  It's a very clean city and I was amazed at all the high rise building and condominiums that were around.  We got to stay right on the water front on the 21st floor of the Westin Hotel.  Although the rate was @199/night in Canadian, is US Dollars that's only about $150 an a pretty good deal for a room right in the heart of the town. It had fabulous views from the room and on the top floor (38th) was a nice bar and restaurant where we stopped and had one on the last night.  Absolutely beautiful.  I took a picture but it didn't turn out so good. Of course Toronto can be expensive, however as my friends from Canada state, you get used to it.  Apparently housing is quite high and they have a 13% Provincial sales tax on everything!  When you come back through the airport, you do go through US Customs right there so once through, the concourse is considered United States soil therefore you can simply get off your plane and head out as though you were flying from Chicago to Minneapolis.  They did have a duty free shop on the US side of the security and their Crown Royal was pretty cheap, $37 US Dollars for two one liter bottles (about half price) so I did get a couple for my friends.  In addition I got some ice wine and a bottle of perfume for my wife.  I would have bought more but I had enough to carry already!

Onions Arrived

Arriving home it was raining and I was thinking about picking some night crawlers but it was pretty cold out and I was tired.  This weekend is time to plant my onions as the ones we ordered from Texas came in.  Along with the right fertilizer it's a perfect time to plant potatoes and the onions.  I use to get the big Texas sized onions but they don't last very long after you dig them up, maybe only a few weeks.  Like last year I buy the long storage onions, they still don't seem to last very long but better than the other ones.  I use them for pickling fish, making my salsa, and just plain eating.  The Texas onions are fabulous as I have 4 varieties this year, 2 white types, a yellow, and a red type.  Along with the right fertilizer I should be set for planting as you saw last week, Ricky Shermer came over and tilled up my garden so it's ready to go.  Besides planting a few things my asparagus is starting to really sprout.  I love it as it is so good and sweet and is great on the grill.  The raspberries still need some work which hopefully I can get finished this weekend.  With 2 weeks before opener I need to mount my 3rd depthfinder in the boat.  I have a new Structure Scan 3D module however I am somewhat nervous about mounting the transducer and am still waiting for the flush mount to be shipped.  Maybe that will just have to wait.  Next week I am planning on going to my cousin Greg's place as well, reports are that Mom is going to be released from the rehab center to go back home.  She hasn't stayed there since March 6th so I am sure she's looking forward to it.  So much to do, so little time!  Looks like I might even have to mow the grass this weekend.  I did go to a fishing garage sale and found a couple of items worth buying, a Abu Garcia Zmax 2 casting reel and a couple of packages of Northland Tackle 1/8th ounce Fireball Jigs for opener.  At $1.00 for a pack of 12, it was a good deal.

Heading North

Official 2013 Team Walleye Shirts

After some debate based on facts and a little speculation, we are full steam ahead for the 40th Annual Team Walleye opener on Leech Lake. I finally got the boat back together, tackle box set (noticed I didn't say organized!), the correct rods in the boat, carpet washed an vacuumed, she looks pretty good. I am anxious to try out my new Titan tiller system which promises to make steering the 115 Suzuki much easier especially in the big waves. A few weeks ago a new Scheels 7 foot spinning rod with a Shimano CI4 reel found it's way into my rod locker and it just screams for that familiar tug of an opening day walleye inhaling a shiner minnow as we drift across Pine Point. Unfortunately Mother Nature may have other plans for us. The latest reports shows a lot of white ice left on the lake yet the ice out line continues to trudge north. My friend Jack was at his cabin on Platte Lake, west of Mille Lacs, on Sunday to get his boat ready but was unable to dump it in because the ice was tight to shore. On Tuesday night, Wednesday morning the lake was officially declared ice free. My friend Keith from Alaska texted me that on Wednesday the ice had officially gone off his home lake of North Long Lake, outside of Brainerd about 25 miles north of Jack's lake. We'll just have to keep our fingers crossed! Team Walleye is committed to going regardless of the ice. There have been some discussions about moving it by a week yet with 22 guys going this year, with schedules and having to rent substantial amount of space that is not really available, food purchased, it's not rally much of an option. Plan B includes the possibility of fishing some of the smaller lakes around and with the big wind due on Saturday, that might be enough to allow us to get out on Sunday. Oh well, it's just fodder for future stories about our group. I did pick up our official hats and shirts last night and admittedly, even if we are not fishing, we will sure look good!

Potatoes are Planted!

With the late spring comes late planting. My asparagus is 2 weeks behind as I normally have about 5 pounds to take with us for opener. Last night there were a few spears poking their heads out of the ground, maybe enough for a meal. The old adage is the best time to plant potatoes is on Good Friday. For 2013 that date would have been March 29th. Admittedly a little early for my preference however there is some basis for the folklore and in years where Good Friday occurs in April, it is not a bad reference. Easter is really celebrated the first Sunday after the next Full Moon which occurs after the Spring equinox (March 21st) Next year the first full moon is on April 15th putting Good Friday on my mom's birthday, April 18th. In the past lot's of things were tied to the moon phases and it's affect on life so many things are tied to these celestial occurrences. For me, I simple try to get it done when I can yet May 8th is pretty late to be putting in potatoes yet that's exactly what I did. Planting 5 varieties, Yukon Gold's, Russet's, Red's, Kennabec's, and a purple variety, at least that is done. Most everything else can wait another week or so. One of the things I have been meaning to do is upgrade my raspberry patch. Right now the garden has Heritage planted and although they do ok, the second crop tends to be later and often over half is lost to an early fall frost. Researching different varietals for our area, I decided that getting one summer bearing type, Boyne, and an earlier fall maturing type, Autumn Bliss was in order. My garden store ordered them and while in Chicago they came in. Sunday saw a new raspberry patch just behind my existing garden, we'll see how they do.

One last note, although the late spring is causing a number of issues, the good news is that it's stopped virtually all netting on Lake Mille Lacs. Although I try not to be too political here, this is a good thing as the Minnesota DNR and the Native American tribes from Minnesota and Wisconsin have really screwed up my favorite lake, Mille Lacs. One day you might just open up to a diatribe of personal thoughts yet it's time to fish so keep those minnows dunked and your lines tight!

A Trailer Load of Potatoes

As a child growing up my dad would always finish washing my ears with the comment "these ears are so dirty you could grow potatoes in them!".   Well whether there was any truth to that, I am always think of him as I dig my potatoes out of the garden before a hard freeze occurs.  This year was a bumper crop for one of my favorite things to grow.   Planted in early May, the wet summer was perfect for producing this trailer full of delicious tubers.  Potatoes, along with corn (maize) were the 2 most important food crops originating in the New World.  Native to Peru, South America, they have become a staple in the world's food supply.  Today's varieties are hardy, disease resistant, and yield exceptionally well.  This wasn't always the case as in 1845 when the Irish, for whom the poor people depended solely on the potato, experienced a blight (disease) which eventually killed over 1 million people.  There are some interesting side stories regarding the role of England, who controlled Ireland at the time, however that is a story for another time.  What is interesting about potatoes is that the plant contains toxic compounds, especially in the leaves, stems, and round fruit that grow from the flowers.  Although these compounds in severe cases can cause coma and eventually death, it is very rare.  Never the less potato breeders developing new cultivars are keenly aware of this property and look for toxicity levels in the tubers to minimize any problems associated with this.  When the tubers are not fully covered by soil and are exposed to the sun, the tops turn green.  The green areas have more concentration of these compounds and should be discarded before cooking.   A little research shows that in the last 50 years there has been no reported cases of death from poisoning, and those cases that have  been reported have been minor issues relating to eating the green portion of the tuber or because of drinking potato leaf tea (that doesn't even sound good!).  If any of you have read John Krakauer's book Into the Wild, the main character died a agonizing death eating a distant relative of the potato plant's wrong parts.

This year I grew 5 different varieties of potatoes.  They included Norland Reds, Kennebec, California White, Yukon Gold, and a blue potato cultivar pictured here.  The Norland and Kennebec tend to grow some nice large tubers as you can see the bigger ones in the trailer.  My guess is I dug over 125# of tubers from the 2 40 foot rows planted.  Fertilized with an 18-46-0 mixture, the high middle number assured good root development.  One of my favorite ways to prepare the fruits of my labor is to cut up a few potatoes along with an onion from the same garden and put them in some aluminum foil.  Add a little olive oil and Italian seasoning, throw them on the grill and in about an hour you have a delicious addition to any meal.  As with my pickles, the fruits of my labor pays off for all the hard work in the spring and summer.

As far as fishing goes, I am sorry to report there has been little time for that.  My plans are to take

Thursday, October 21st off to sight in my new rifle scope then head to Mille Lacs.  Now that the water has cooled, word has it the perch are biting better.  Going with my neighbor Lory, we hope to bring back a few of these great eating fish as well check out the evening trolling bite as we are right on top of the next full moon.  We'll see!!!

Biding My Time

In preparation for possibly participating in Wisconsin's fishing opener next weekend, I decided to take my boat out on Sunday afternoon, the better of the two days.  We got a nice rain on Friday/Saturday and although Sunday was somewhat windy, I found a small lake west of town that had a nice landing, making it easier for me to test my strength.  My Ranger has a 115 hp Suzuki Four Stroke outboard.  I am constantly amazed by these motors and their unbelievable ability to sit all winter with nothing more than Sea foam added to the gas, and start within one or two revolutions of the engine.  My previous 115 Susy did this and my new one came through the winter storage as though I had just shut the motor off 5 minutes ago.  One thing about the new boat is it doesn't idle as slow as the old boat, which consistently trolled down to 1.9 mph.  The new one is about 1/2 mph faster, which is not a big deal and may be related to the fact that the motor is still tight and needs a few more hours to loosen up more.  This also gave me a chance to test my new Lowrance HDS5 sonar/GPS for use with my front trolling motor with the built in transducer.   The GPS worked very well however the sonar took too long to lock onto the bottom and in a 3 foot weedy bottom, it did not even acquire. This was pretty frustrating and reading the manual did not offer much help.   Later that evening I posted the problem on Walleye Central's Electronics Forum and on Monday I had some great replies, including one from Lowrance's customer tech service.  Apparently there are setup selections you have to make in the main system's menu for your specific installation.  Changing to the suggested settings, I attempted to get a reading off my concrete floor and it worked great.  My 2010 maiden voyage was a success as I solved some issues that required some outside help.  I am ready to hit the big water.   Although casting for crappies yielded nothing admittedly I did not try too hard.

 The weather in Minneapolis continues to be about 2 1/2 weeks ahead of schedule.  The lilacs are coming into full bloom and my fruit trees have exploded with blossoms.  Luckily my good friend Bruce got his 4 honeybee hives in place on the back part of my land just at the perfect time.   With 5 acres of land, a large garden and a small orchard, the bees are a welcome addition.  I remember a few years back a neighbor (and not the most congenial) challenged me with a sense of displeasure "Dave, I understand you have bee hives on your property, I have to say that we have noticed a considerable increase in bees around our house".  Responding, I asked her if they were about 3/4 of an inch long, big and fat.  "Yes, that describes them perfectly, they are all over my flowers."  Without even flinching I stated that she really has a problem with bumble bees as my honeybees look almost like flies and she was obviously mistaken and misinformed .  Having just been outmaneuvered, she left without saying another word.  Most of the other neighbors find it fascinating and a side bonus is Bruce brings me enough honey to last for a whole year.  It tastes especially good knowing it came from my property and surrounding area.

The bees perform a very important function of pollinating all the fruits and vegetables throughout the growing season.  My yields on raspberries, apples, pears, cucumbers, and blueberries are second to none and I always have a bumper crop.  The middle picture is of a honey gold apple tree and the white blossoms are of a pear tree.   Feeling better I planted my potatoes and onions in the garden today.  This year I went with an interesting variety of potatos including Yukon Golds, Kennebec, Norland Red, All Blue (a blueish purple fleshed type), and Cal White.  Could make and interesting looking potato salad!  Along with the potatoes I put in onions.  Using plants instead of bulbs gets me larger and better keeping onions.  I know last year most of my onions averaged over 4 inched in diameter.   My garden center had some 8-10-42 ferilizer, which is a great for starter and root crops.  Time will tell. 

Hopefully I will have a great report from Wisconsin next week.