Pickled Fish, a Labor of Love

Two weeks ago our trip to Mille Lacs was specifically to catch some tullibees for making pickled fish.  As stated earlier, the tullibee is a member of the whitefish family, an oily fish, makes an excellent imitation of real pickled herring.  I have had pickled sunfish, northern, suckers, yet these fish lack the specific texture of herring.  My dad was a big herring eater and when I was young the real good pickled herring was bought at Nelson's Grocery Store in downtown Eleva.  The store was an old fashioned small town store in a brick building with wood plank floors and a full service meat counter.  Back then everyone shopped the local store as it was more convenient to simply go downtown as opposed to driving to Eau Claire.  There was also a different attitude about supporting the local business man, the level of service was superior and there was little need for going to a grocery store for things other than groceries.  Gary Hillestad was the butcher behind the meat counter and would cut up a steak anyway you wanted.  Usually in the fall Nelson's would feature pickled herring.  It was always served bulk as it came in a large wooden pail made of vertical wood pieces held together with brass banding.  The herring chunks were mixed with whole pickling spices, onions, and were sold by the pound.  Herring was in the category of oysters and T-bone steak, a special treat and it was none fresher than from Nelson's.  After moving to Minnesota and meeting my friend Earl Taylor, he was a huge pickled herring fan.  Earl always had pickled herring and his favorite was from the Day Fish Company in Day, Minnesota.  Later in life we learned that the Day Herring was really supplied by Olsen's Fish Company in Minneapolis.  Olsen's makes a pretty good herring however I have fell in love with my new favorite brand, Brasel's Dang Good Pickled Herring.  The first picture is the real deal from Lory.

Per my post a couple of weeks ago, we caught 7 nice tullibees.  I cleaned the fish and Lory agreed to make the pickled fish.  Ending up with 6 pints, it took about 12 days and holy smokes!  The fish has the exact texture of the best pickled herring with a much better flavor, less fishy and very fresh.  With my taste buds in a whirl I suggested to Lory we head back up to the lake and see if we can get more for pickling.  Stopping to see Bill, we picked up a carton of waxies, a couple new secret baits, and the latest perception of where to fish.  Deciding on a mid lake hump coming up to 30 feet, we drilled our holes and set up the houses.  Saturday was pretty cold, never getting above zero, however the fish didn't seem to mind.   Dropping my first line into the hole, the bait never reached the bottom before a nice fish hit the lure dressed with waxies.  Tullibees really put up a great fight and I was amazed at the size of the fish that came through the hole.  What a great start.  The fish continued to bite throughout the day and within a couple of hours we each had our limit of 10 fish.  I drilled a hole for my underwater camera and the fish really put on a show.  Tullibees tend to bite light and often are just at the end of the line.  A slow oscillation of the rod tip  can can be critical to pick up this bite.  When seeing them hit the lure on the camera, it's fun to correlate what you see to what you feel.  Often there were up to 6 fish in the camera's view with fish appearing every few minutes.  It's also interesting to see the fish under the hole that the depth finder is looking down and see how the fish are represented.

With 20 tullibees and a few bonus perch we headed back early to start cleaning fish.  I like to use my brother Steve's method of filleting fish for the tullibee, slab off the sides by cutting down the backbone then remove the ribs and skin.  This is identical to how we clean our salmon in Alaska.  Not being very good at the secondary operation of cutting the rib bones out, my new Cabela's fillet knife has made me an expert.  Wasting little meat, we ended up with over 9 1/2 pounds of fillets for the next batch of pickled fish.  Lory and I make a great team.  I have shown him a new species of fish to target along with locations, and technique whereas he brings his ability to turn them into a bonafide delicacy.  They won't be done for another week or so but I can tell you it will be worth the wait! 

Friday I am off to Rockport Texas to fish reds and sea trout.   A couple of years ago I fished in Jacksonville, Florida and had high hopes on catching a red drum as this is one my list of fish I have not caught.   I love watching the weekend fishing shows, especially when they are going after reds as they look like an interesting fish.  We will be fishing out of a large air boat in the barrier marshes of the coastal regions of Texas.  Reports include the possibility of seeing an alligator or two.  My host Joe Stanfield has arranged to spend the evening with a friend of his and are planning on having fresh fish for supper (notice I said planning!).  The famous Blackened Redfish starts with this fish and heres hoping we are successful.   Look for my full report next week.  

A Wild Weekend

With the weatherman predicting another record snowfall for Sunday while Saturday's weather would be the last of the February thaw, I decided it would be a great time to head up to our deer hunting grounds on Rich's place and retrieve my ladder stand.  The trek back to my stand consists of a quarter mile adventure through an alder swamp.  At the end of deer season last fall it was decided that rather than go through all the work of removing it piece by piece, it would be much simpler to leave it in the woods and wait till the swamp freezes.  Of course that's what I said year and the heavy part of the stand keep it's host tree company all year.  Determined to get it out before the thaw, and looking at my schedule, it was as good a time as any.  The fact that I needed to pick up my ice fishing gear from Bill Lundeen and my friend and hunting partner Jack claimed the crappies were really biting on his lake, I picked up my frequent weekend companion Lory, and once again headed north.  Our route takes us up the Great River Road which parallels the Mississippi River, crosses the confluence of the Crow River before meeting the highway north.  Crossing the Crow River, we ran into an interesting scene, 10 - 12 wild tom turkeys robbing a ground feeder in front of a house.  It's been a tough year for turkeys with the deep snow. 

The pending storm must have had the all the wildlife on high alert.  Hooking the trailer to the truck, I noticed something ran over the edge of my holding pond.  Sure enough  it was my red fox whom lives inside the drain culvert.  This holding pond is basically a depression that drains a good portion of my neighborhood runoff rain and melt water and allows it to be reabsorbed into the water table.  If the water gets too high, there is an outlet culvert which runs underground a few hundred feet, emptying onto the flood plan of the Mississippi River.  It only to the outlet in the spring while the ground is still froze and the melt is fast.  I suspect that the depth of the culvert keeps it fairly warm deep inside, making a cozy home for the fox.  One of the benefits of having the fox around is the noticeable absence of rabbits on the property.  Last year the rabbits were at epidemic levels, eating everything in site.  I hope it decides to stay around for a while as it pretty cool to see it around quite a bit these days.  One thing is for sure, if you walk down to the culvert the fox has made his presence well known as they make sure their skunk like scent is everywhere!

Our first stop was at Bill's to pick up my portable ice house, Vexilar FL20, and my underwater camera.  For my efforts I was rewarded with a smoked Tullibee that he had caught last week.  The fish was a work of art and would go great with the Miller High Life that Jack always has.  Next stop was Jack's cabin on Platte Lake, 12 miles west of Mille Lacs.  There we unloaded the trailer, replacing the contents with his 2 up snowmobile, the perfect means for hauling out tree stand and headed for Rich's place.  Coming around the corner, something caught my eye, a huge immature bald eagle high in a tree.  Stopping to take a look, it soon became apparent, it was guarding a road kill deer, exposed by the weeks snow melt.  Getting out to take a picture, it decided to take flight.  Had this been a more mature eagle, I doubt it would have given up it's readily available food source.  Never the less it was pretty cool to see a young eagle this close.  After accomplishing my goal, we headed out on Platte Lake for the evening bite, which never developed.  A few sunnies was about all I could muster up, but all in all it was a good day.

Admittedly I am getting sick of winter.  After spending a few days in 76 degree Anaheim, CA two weeks ago, then a couple of 60 degree days in Denver last week and reading Jeff's adventures in Mexico, the latest 12 inches of snow has taken the wind out of my sails!  A week from Friday I travel to Rockport Texas to fish Redfish in the barrier marshes of the Gulf of Mexico with my Texas friend Joe Stanfield and Jim Cox, one of my suppliers.  The website looks interesting and will provide a good break for this long winter.  In the meantime the weekend plan is to try again for a limit of tullibees, maybe smoking them this time.  We did open a jar of the pickled ones Lory did last week and they are coming along real well.

Tullibee Time

Earlier in the week my friend Bill Lundeen asked if he could once again use some of my ice fishing equipment for a large client outing he is having this week.  This presented a perfect opportunity to head up to Mille Lacs as the word was out the tullibees were biting with some bonus jumbo perch mixed in.  With the weather scheduled to hit the mid 40's on Saturday, I called my neighbor Lory to see if he was up for some tullibee fishing.  Having never caught one of these beautiful silver fish, he jumped at the chance.  Tullibees are a member of the whitefish family and are often referred to as cisco's.  Mille Lacs represents the southern most extent of their range as they are a cold water fish, thriving in the lakes north to the arctic circle.  On Mille Lacs tullibee die offs occur, especially if the surface temperature stays in the high seventies for too long.  The lake is shallow and windy causing the water temperature to mix and stressing these cold water fish.  3 years ago the lake experienced a considerable warm spell triggering a massive die off of tullibees.  In August, thousands of dead fish were floating everywhere.  Well of course, this has happened before however this time we had a new culprit, Global Warming!  The crash in the population at Mille Lacs generated new regulations.  Fisherman were now limited to a 10 fish limit and the fall netting season was cancelled, and remains so today.  At one time they were considered rough fish, bony, only catch able in the winter, and basically good for pickling and smoking.   The last 2 summers have been much cooler and the fish have rebounded tremendously.  Gill net surveys of the lake revealed a year class never before seen on Mille Lacs.   

Tullibee are a fun fish to catch. They generally inhabit the deepest waters of the lake and a good place to start is on the deep edge of the flats that are scattered through out the north half of the lake.  32 to 36 feet is prime depth.  These fish have a pertinacity to follow lure high off the bottom, and the flashier the better.  I have "jigged" them up over 25 feet to the point where I could see them down the hole.  Having a fairly small mouth, they will occasionally hit a lure dressed with a minnow head however a nice plumb waxy grub is almost irresistible.  I like to use a small panfish jig with a larger hook, say #6, tied about 6 inches below a hook less spoon, something shiny as an attractor.  Perch find this combination pretty tempting as well.  Drilling a number of holes starting from the top edge of the flat to about 30 yards off the deep edge we immediately started catching smaller perch. Sometimes these little perch will also follow a bait up high before plunging back down to the bottom.  When a tullibee hits, you will know it.  They are very powerful for their size, violently head shaking all the way to the surface.  By the end of the day we had 7 nice tullibees and 4 jumbo perch in the 12 - 13 inch range.  I figured we must have missed at least 10 more of the silvery fish as they were biting pretty light.  I made a deal with Lory, I'll clean them for you and you make your famous pickled fish.  Tullibee is a member of the herring family and have the same texture and flavor you find in gourmet pickled herring (although some may find that a contradictory term).  It will be a couple of weeks before they are done but I will let you know how they turn out.

Writing from 38,000 feet, I am on my way back from Denver.  Tuesday night we had the chance to take a quick ride through Estes Park, CO and the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park. This time of year the town fills with wild elk that use this area as there wintering grounds.  I was surprised to see a large number of nice bulls gathered in small groups grazing along the roads.  This was an exceptional animal as you can see he has a few battle wounds from previous encounters with other bull elk.  His left brow tine is broken, his left ear is pretty mangled and his hair had evidence of past fights.  I guess they will begin losing their antlers soon, growing a new set by August.  Simply amazing!

All's Well in Cheeseland

Well, I suspect you probably know what this post will be, my  beloved Green Bay Packers won their 4th Super Bowl on Sunday with Aaron Rodgers erasing any doubt that Ted Thompson did the right thing in getting rid of Brett Favre after the 2007 season.  Being the only true Packer fan in my neighborhood, it was sweet justice!  Even on Sunday afternoon my Viking fan neighbors chose the Steelers over me.  In the end the inability of the Steelers to complete their 4th down play in the last minute killed their chances.  The Packers were a sleeper this year.   Their record of 10-6 didn't tell the whole story as the Packers never trailed by more than 7 points both during the regular season all the way through the playoffs being the first team in NFL history to have such a tight scoring differential.  Of the Pack's 6 loses, 5 were by 3 points and the 6th was by 4.  Pretty unbelievable if you think about it.   Either way its a great time to be a Cheesehead for sure!

Last week I reported the plan was to take put the Brazilians for a Minnesota ice fishing experience.  Well Friday I received the call, it was too cold and they cancelled.   What!!! Too cold, holy moly, it was only 28 degrees out!   Never the less I was still interested in going out to I decided to call the Braselians, Lory and his wife Lynn to see if they were willing to step up to the challenge.  Agreeing, we headed back to Pelican Lake for the evening crappie bite.  Getting there around 1:00 we moved 2 times before hitting the honey hole.  Drilling 2 holes and setting up the house, i was lowering my dead stick bait with a minnow however it wouldn't go down.  Little did I know that the a crappie had sucked it in, waiting for someone to set the hook.  I had a rather small #10 hook which is not the best for minnows and subsequently lost the next 6 minnows to the initial drop.  Finally getting a nice fish, we stayed till dark catching a nice number of fish while bringing home enough for a meal.  Not the most prolific day on the lake, it was fun never the less.

Writing this from Anaheim California, the weather is nothing short of fabulous.  With temperatures back home below zero, we are enjoying 70 degree days.  Attending the Medical Device and Manufacturing Show, the largest in the nation, we get a chance to talk to future customers that may need our services.  Working trade shows is a lot more difficult than it seems but all in all it is a necessary to attend and be a player in the industry.  I will leave you with a picture from my back lot, a beautiful red fox living in the culvert that drains my water catch basin for the storm sewer system.  The culvert is 4 feet or so under the surface and provides a warm environment for the fox.  He often is found sleeping on the south facing bank of the catch basin, catching a few rays of the warm sunshine.  I hope he sticks around for a while as it's kind of cool to have him around.  Hopefully  I can get to Mille Lacs this weekend.  You will have to put up with one more week of my beloved song, sorry, I cannot help it!

My Snowmobile Weekend

Friday was my annual snowmobiling trip with my friends Dwight and Mike.  This is our third year of hitting the trails and its been nothing short of fantastic.  Taking Friday off assures that the trails are still pretty smooth before the weekend crowd does it's damage.  Friday we put 146 miles on our sleds as we made a loop from Emily, MN to Hill City, Palisade, then back to Emily.  Finishing out the evening at the Bungalow Supper Club, we enjoyed an all you can eat rib dinner that was out of the world.  Nothing beats a small town Supper club.  Having stuffed ourselves beyond reason, we headed back to Mikes cabin for an evening glass of wine while sharing a few stories of our snowmobiling adventures from years past.  Unfortunately this is one of the few times I can get out with my sled and it's much appreciated.  Saturday morning we got up and drove west 15 miles to Cross Lake, MN for breakfast.  That sausage and sauerkraut omelet sure hit the spot!  Back by noon we loaded up with a total of 176 miles, shut the cabin down and headed back to the city.  We have record snow on the ground I am planning on trying to get more miles in this year.

Vic Wenaas owned the Mobil Service (heavy on the service) Station in Eleva.  Formally owed my my grandpa Roy, I started working for Vic in 1970 at the tender age of 15.  My job was to work the 5:00 - 9:00 shift, pumping gas, washing windshields, checking oil, all those things that one used to expect when you would pull into a gas station.  All gas stations were "full service" then and the thought of pumping your own gas was unthinkable.  Regular leaded gas was $0.379 per gallon and fuel oil was a whopping $0.199 per gallon.  During that summer I had 2 jobs.  3 nights a week loading chickens for Willy Drangsveit and 4 nights a week working for Vic.  About August Vic gave me an ultimatum, either quit loading chickens and work for him or quit and work for Willy.  I chose Vic and never looked back.  I can not even imagine today any 15 year old having to make that decision, as I don't even think they could work until they are 16.  One thing it did was give me plenty of money in my younger days.  Vic was the most important mentor in my life outside my family.  He also had a Ski Doo snowmobile and influenced me to buy my own that year.  Managing to save a pretty good chunk of money, Vic brought me to the Ski Doo dealership in Augusta, Wisconsin were I bought a 1971 Ski Doo Olympic 299 single cylinder Rotex engine with a whooping 18 horsepower.  I still remember paying $572 cash for my new form of winter entertainment.  Those were some of the best times of my life.  Along with my friends Jimmy Tollefson, Steve Herbenson, and Tom Peterson, we turned snowmobiling into the major transportation method for the next 3 years.  Most trails at the time where simple one width tracks that traveled between major towns and those that owned sleds.  My friend Jim had a trail going from behind my house, up through Schultz's pasture, through Indian Valley, up over Old Baldy (a large hill with no trees on it), through Heaths, across O'Krooley's and ending at the Tollefson farm.  Jim, his dad Gyle, and brother-in-law Jim Rose had made a number of trails through their back wooded acreage which claimed a number of front bumpers as maneuvering became more difficult as the winter went on.  I ran that sled hard for about 3 years, literally wearing it out before trading it to Gary Engen, along with a bolt action 22 rifle and a recurve bow for a blonde stock Belgium Browning A5 shotgun.  I still have the shotgun as well memories of those days sledding with my 299 along with Jim and the "Great One". 

Today I run a 2006 Polaris 900cc Switchback.  This sled is quite a contrast from that 1972 single cylinder Ski Doo.  Putting out a solid 152 horsepower, she'll top 115 mph faster than you can imagine.  It sports a 144 inch, 1 1/4 inch lug track that hooks up with the ability to lift the ski's when you crack the throttle at 55 mph.  One of the best things about the motor is the electronic reverse feature.  To go in reverse, let the engine return to idle, push a button and the engine begins to slow down.  Just before it's ready to stop the ignition suddenly changes causing the piston that was just on its way to TDC (top dead center) to ignite prematurely forcing the engine to reverse direction.  No gear changes, nothing to engage, just a simple push of the button.  Back up, push the reverse button again and the motor does the same exercise only reversing the engine back to it's normal running direction.  Sweet!   The sled is great in the deeper snow as it has that longer track (normal track size is 121 inches) however unfortunately is pretty front heavy.  It's been out west with me a couple of times before I reconfigured my older 2004 700cc Switchback as it is lighter, more maneuverable, and handles much better on the side hills.  Oh well, with the new sleds selling for more that $10,000, I suspect the 900 will carry me for a few more years. 

This weekend is guaranteed to be exciting.  On Saturday I have been recruited to take a number of guests visiting from Brazil ice fishing with my fishing partner Mark Applen.  Mark called me for some advice and help.  I think we have a great plan to show what we do for entertainment here in Minnesota.  Maybe we can trade and ice fishing trip for a Peacock Bass Adventure on the Amazon.  Sunday needs no explanation as the Packers are in the Super Bowl.  Back at my neighbor Tim's for the big game,  there will be at least 50 people expecting to leverage the situation against me.  Oh well, at least the Pack are Back.  Enjoy the game and Happy 81st Birthday to my Dad!

GroundHog Day?!?!?

In the 1993 movie Groundhog Day, Bill Murry was destined to live the same day over and over and over.  Last week seemed like my own Groundhog Day week, living the week as I did the week before, fishing Pelican then watching the Packers.  Stopping at my neighbor Lory's, I asked him if he was interested in hitting Pelican Lake for a few hours on Saturday.  Never one to miss an opportunity to wet a line, I picked him up and we headed to Pelican.  Now last weeks spot was fabulous and I had turned the GPS on to get a fix on our position yet I made one mistake, I never marked the spot.  Taking an educated guess, away from the crowds, we drilled a hole and verified we were in the zone, 11 feet.   Drilling 2 more holes for the house and 3 outside we cleaned them out, set up the shack, and lowered my camera.  Well at about 6 feet the camera hit the bottom..............impossible!  A sanity check with the Vexilar confirmed  that whatever I read 10 minutes ago wasn't what I was seeing now.  Looking at Lory, I informed him that we would have to move.  I think he assumed I was crazy yet somehow knew that if he didn't agree, he was going to have to fish them holes by himself.  Driving around, trying to get my bearings, we stopped, drilled and CAREFULLY measured 11 feet.  I suspect that I had ice on the bottom of the transducer, skewing my first assumptions.  Resetting everything, the crappies started immediately.  Starting at 3:00 and finishing around 6:30, we logged about 30 total sorting out 9 for a meal later.  It was fun, lot's of little ones with not a single sunfish caught.  I felt we had a good spot but maybe too close to the crowds. 

One of the things worth mentioning was the temperature Friday morning, January 21st.  My thermometer had 25 below zero when I woke up and had climbed to about -22 by the time I took a picture of the bearer of bad news.  Later conversations confirmed that the neighbors had a minimum temperature of -28 earlier that morning.  Although these temperatures are great for making ice, as I get older it is easier to understand why people head south for a few months.  I sent this picture to my friends in China as they seldom see temperatures lower than 40 degrees.  When asked how cold it really is I tell them that if you went outside and yelled your name, it wouldn't be till March until you heard it!  This is traditionally the coldest week of the winter and temperatures in Northern Minnesota lived up to it's reputation, -46 in International Falls.  It certainly builds character!

If you have sound on your computer, you can't help but love the selection for my opening song, I love The Green Bay Packers.  In a repeat of last week, the Packers defeated the Chicago Bears to win the National Football Conference Championship and are headed for the Super Bowl on February 6th.  Trust me, being a Cheesehead in Minnesota, especially in my neighborhood can be rough.   Viewing the game at my neighbor Tim's place is a pure pleasure despite being outnumbered by Viking fans 10:1.  No matter, I am basking in the glory as everyone knows where my allegiance is, win or lose.  The entire state of Wisconsin is giddy for the next 2 weeks and we are excited about Aaron Rodgers having the opportunity to finally put the last nail in the Brett Favre era.   Tim has an annual Super Bowl Party and I am sure all of the neighbors are just waiting for me to show up as I always make a big deal about my Packers every year.  Hopefully it will end exactly how every Cheesehead dreams of.  Next week I am traveling with my sales representative Bernard Guzzi from the Chicago area.  Our plan is for me to fly to Milwaukee, drive to LaCrosse, drive to Appleton, then back to Milwaukee.  When he originally asked me to make the rounds I responded, under one condition...........we stop at the Packer Pro Shop in Green Bay.  He agreed however I found out today Bernard was at the game on Sunday.  It should make for an interesting 9 hours in the car together!  So until the Super Bowl is history, you will have to endure a couple more weeks of Eddy J. LEmberger.  GO PACK!!!

A Fantastic Weekend

Saturday turned out to be one of those days where the stars must have been aligned just perfectly.  After shoveling snow again (the last 30 out of 40 days) I stopped by my neighbor Tom Olson to see if he was interested in heading out to fish Pelican Lake in the afternoon.  After finishing up the endless snow removal and filling all the bird feeders, I hooked up the trailer, loaded everything up and stopped by Tom's to pick him up.  Next stop was Cabela's to pick up some bait and check to see if they received in any more of there special 6 inch fillet knives, a heck of a bargain at $9.99.  Well, they did have the knives but no waxies.  A quick stop at the hardware store in St. Michael and we were ready.  I have described Pelican Lake as a prolific shallow lake about 15 miles west of my house.  The last few years have been fantastic, even as the fishing pressure seems excessive.  After the water had risen more than 6 feet, it has transformed from a rather worthless duck swamp to a popular fishing lake.  The DNR is still planning on draining it, Lord knows why.  I guess creating duck habitat for the few if any ducks that fly this far east anymore is more important than the thousands of people that enjoy this unique fishing destination.  With the lake in sight, it was the typical scenario, there must have been over 500 shacks on the lake.  These shacks seem to form little communities on the lake and I am not sure if they are really catching fish or just having fun.  I guess it probably doesn't really make that much difference.

My strategy is always the same.  Because the lake is no deeper than 12 feet, I find an area in the middle of nowhere and drill my holes.  Today would be no different, yep 10 foot of water and a hundred yards from anyone.   Although I have fished with crappie minnows, like back home, I prefer waxies.  Crappies, especially larger ones can be extremely lite biters.  The key is to keep your bait moving slowly down from about 3 feet from the bottom.  The fish will simply inhale the bait and the only indication will be the line going limp as tension is taken off.  Time is of the essence as they will spit it out just as fast.  I think too many people in Minnesota ice fish crappies with a minnow and bobber combination.  Although I am sure they catch their share of fish, I cannot believe it's as effective as waxies and line watching.   Proof is the nice 12 incher Tom is holding in the first picture.  Using 3 pound fluorescent orange line, he can easily work his bait and detect the slightest change in the feel.   On the lake by 2:30 and off by 5:30 we ended up with a couple more added to this nice pile of sunfish and crappies, all larger than hate 2 status (hate 2 keep em, hate 2 throw them back).   By 7:00 all the fish were cleaned and I was ready for the next event of the day.

The other reason to fish a local lake was to make sure I didn't miss the much anticipated Green Bay Packer vs the Atlanta Falcon game.  Being a bonafide Cheesehead, I proudly fly the Green and Gold on my flag pole, just under the Stars and Stripes.  Although my neighbor Tim and his family hates the Pack, he has a huge projected screen television, perfect for watching football.  With my neighbor Otto (another closet Cheesehead) we convinced him that Otto and I could turn his boring night into something a little more exciting.  Bringing over the Walter's Beer from last week, we settled into what would be a totally unexpected outcome, a blow out by the Pack.  Of course we knew the Packers could win however it was pleasantly shocking to see the final score go from being 3 point underdogs to a 27 point differential.  My friend Phil was at the game and the tee shirt I sent was a big hit.  It was amazing to see how empty the stadium was during the last half of the game.  By the 2 minute warning it was evident the only people left were the Packer fans.  You'd never see that at Lambeau, I don't care how bad the Pack were losing or who the opposing team was.  Everyone is talking Super Bowl and it's easy to jump on that band wagon as Aaron Rodgers is proving to be everything Brett Favre isn't, yet we still need to get by Da Bears.  Here's hoping you have sound as you will find a special song in celebration.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed as Sunday's schedule will certainly effect my fishing plans for this weekend!

Not Much Going On

Its been one of those weeks that before you know it it's a week later.  It's amazing sometimes you seem to be so busy you can't find time to do much of anything yet it seems like you have done everything.  Besides snowing every day this past week I did make it back home on Saturday to see my dad.  He got a positive report from the doctor that his cancer was knock down as he continues to learn to swallow normal food.  Before stopping there I dropped my wife off with her sister and cousins and hit a few of my favorite spots in the area.  First stop was the Leinies Lodge in Chippewa Falls.  Leinenkugels Beer is brewed in Chippewa and they have a nice store where you can get a number of branded apparel.  My goal was to get a more formal Stormy Kromer hat, one with Leinenkugels embroidered on the side.  I like my red plaid Stormy Kromer but it's a little too farmer for those special occasions.  Finding a charcoal colored hat, I am pretty well set for any event!  My next stop was Schell's Sporting Goods in the Oakwood Mall.  I like Schells as they seem to have a good collection of stuff as well a full selection of Green Bay Packer merchandise.  I found the perfect shirt for my friend Phil Gordon.  A Packer green T-shirt with gold letters that spelled out "Brett Who?".  Obviously us Packer fans have all but forgot Mr. Favre as we celebrate the second round of playoffs with Aaron Rodgers.  Phil lives in Indiana yet he is a die hard fan and tells me he is on his way to see the game in Atlanta.  I hope the shirt brings him and the team good luck!  My next stop was to check out the rumor that Walter's Beer was once again being brewed in Eau Claire.  Back in my younger days Walter's beer was a staple of the area.  It's tag line was simple, "The Beer that is Beer". As a teenager I would work with guys like Bud Tollefson or Ronnie Semingson and Walters is what kept us going.  Like many local breweries, the Miller Lites of the world took it's toll.  Walter's closed in the late 80's, a victim of the changing times.  Arriving at the brew pub, yes they had Walter's, another goal in reach!  I ordered a glass, trying to relive that taste I had not experienced in over 25 years.  It was ok but I guess it just seemed to be better when I was 25 years old.  I did buy a six pack for home, it will give me something to talk about with the neighbors.

I did make it fishing to Mille Lacs on Sunday.  Deciding to try to evening bite, my friends Jason Rombalski and Lory Brasel filled the empty seats in my truck.  Getting a late start we headed to the pond and drove out past Indian Point.  Heading for my spot in 28 feet of water, we got the holes drilled and houses set up just before the witching hour, 3:00 - 5:00.  Although we have been fairly successful the last few times, the fish were skittish and I ended up with 2 smaller walleyes.  Jason had a few chasers and Lory caught a small one.  Certainly not my best trip, as always, it's nice to get out.  On Thursday I plan on heading down to the St. Paul Sportsman's Show to check out the first big show of the year and say hi to my friend Keith Holtan.  Keith and his wife own  Beaver Creek Cabins on the Kenai River in Alaska and was our guide in 2002 when we chartered with my friend Jeff King. 

I am leaving you with a picture of my dad, his brothers and sister.  From left to right is my uncles Gordon(Dewey), my dad Don, Uncle Keith, Aunt Lavonne, and the little guy in front is my beloved Uncle Jerry.  This picture was probably taken around 1937 or 1938 and really shows the style of the day, bibs!  Implying that time flies, although this picture was taken almost 74 years ago, dad remembers it like it was yesterday.  It's a great reminder to enjoy life while you can..........

Winnibigoshish by Gosh!

My first trip to Lake Winnibigoshish (Winnie) turned into one of those trips not to be forgotten. My host, Mark Applen had planned the trip along with a few of his old neighbors and friends familiar with the lake and I was fortunate to ride shotgun. The plan was pretty straight forward, Mark was to pick me up at 7:30, drive to Mille Lacs and pick up his wheel house, head north up through Remer Mn, and be on the lake by 1:00. A stop along the way to pick up some groceries to fill the gaps, we made it pretty much on schedule. Heading out of Denny's Resort on the very south end of the lake, we made a beeline for the waypoint Mark's friend Russ had given us. The resort was expecting us and had plowed a road about 5 miles up the lake, creating a turnaround precisely at our destination. Lake Winnie has a very distinct drop off running along the south and southeast end of the lake. This drop off is pretty steep going from 15 feet to 30 feet in about a 60 foot span and runs pretty parallel to the shore for a good 6 - 7 miles. The waypoint put us directly on the drop, with little structure around us other than the drop itself. Pat the resort guy suggested we park at 21 to 25 feet. This structure reminds me of the pronounced edges of the flats on Mille Lacs where we fish either the top edge or the bottom edge, seldom in the middle of the drop. Well, never fishing the lake and subordinating the "spot on the spot" to my hosts, we set up in the middle of that break. Although I wasn't crazy about the location, my strategy was to drill a few holes on both the top side and the deep side, with a few in between to test their effectiveness. After helping get the house dropped on the ice it was show time. A typical pattern would be perch on the deep side, and occasional walleye passing through, finishing on the top side for that evening migration of walleyes to the shelf. Winnie is known for its perch however the walleyes were showing themselves the first day. By the evening I had 3 nice keeper walleyes and a few respectable perch. By 5:00 the bite had died and it was time for supper, smoked pork chops, salad, some munchies and a glass of cabernet. Jigging in the house proved to be purely wrist exercises.

By the evening we had 4 wheel houses in our group. They included Russ, his Brother Randy, and Mark's old neighbors Mike and Judy. Issues with Russ's generator force everyone to plug into Mark's Honda 2,000 watt power plant. Although expensive, these Honda's are extremely quiet and are barely noticeable. After an hour of inaction we headed over to Randy's mansion to play a little Farkle, a new dice game I was introduced to. Randy has a very nice wheel house and had no problem accommodating 6 of us around the table. A few beers and $2.00 poorer, we headed back to our house to set the rattle reels and retire for the evening. Mark's house is set up with Direct TV and the weather channel became our next focus.  Forecast for our area was a winter storm warning, due to arrive within the next 12 hours. Hitting the sack, the rattle reels were silent through the night. We awoke Thursday morning to a light drizzle, not enough to stop fishing outside but still enough to get us wet. By noon the rain started freezing on the reels and by after lunch the snow began to fall. Thursday morning was fairly productive with both Mark and I scoring well on the perch in the 30 foot depth. After we had lunch I suggested we move the house to the deep side, at least we were catching fish there. A half hour and a 50 foot move,  we were reset for the duration and none too soon. The wind and the snow got progressively worse and it looked like we weren't going anywhere for a while. By 6:00 the blizzard conditions were severe and there was no way we would repeat any visits as the night before. The move proved to be a good decision as we caught a number of perch before dark and finished the night with a couple of nice walleyes, one at midnight and the other at 4:30 in the morning. Here are a couple of those walleyes caught on the rattle reels.

Waking up to a clear cold morning on Friday, the first order of business was to get the door open. The blizzard raged through the night and had created a good 4 foot snow drift outside our door. Mark had wisely faced his truck into the wind which minimized any drifts around the vehicle. It worked pretty well. After eating breakfast the next priority was to get the house lifted off the ice. The weight of the house, the 2 pickup trucks parked outside, as well as the newly formed snow drifts caused the water to flood the ice through the holes we had in the house. With over 2 inches on the ice, it was imperative we get the house back up on the axle before it froze in. By 8:00 the group had the houses hooked up, ready to go absolutely nowhere! What was a situation where you could drive anywhere on the ice on Wednesday turned into the inability to move more than 50 feet from our original parked spot. 15 inches of snow had fallen and the ice was all but impassable with 3 foot drifts as far as the eye could see. Well, never say never to a bunch of guys. Knowing the resort would plow us out eventually, the weather had predicted another 6 - 9 inches later in the day. Plan A was hatched, take the biggest, baddest , 4 wheel drive we had (Randy's 3/4 ton GMC) and attempt to blaze a path to the resort's houses about 4 miles away. 2 hours later, getting stuck about 20 times, and 1 1/2 miles down the lake, Plan B was decided upon. Someone had called the resort and our rescue was imminent, provided we had the patience to wait. Even though we had a good path started, Plan B sounded pretty good and we headed back to hook up the houses. About an hour later you could see the cloud of snow being pushed ahead of the V plow headed our way. It seemed forever to get to us and what a welcome sight as he plowed by. Here is a picture of the plow as it blew by us, pretty impressive. A half hour later we were off the ice, heading south right into the next storm! We ended up with 3 nice walleyes, about 20 perch, and a pretty good story of my first trip to Lake Winnibigoshish. Further south had significant rains, clearing most of the snow from Mille Lacs. Sounds like a pretty good excuse to check it out on Sunday, if you ask me!

Back for More

Here's the hope that everyone had a very Merry Christmas.  I had the opportunity to spend some quality time with my father.  A month from 81 years old he had just finished a regiment of radiation and chemo in his fight against esophagus cancer.  Always the optimist, he is doing surprisingly well with his doctors giving him kudo's for his ability to take everything they have thrown at him.  He is also a realist.  His first CT scan will be on Monday, January 3rd and we will see how he has progressed.  Whatever the results, even at his age he is an inspiration.  We also got a chance to visit with my good friend Kevin and his family.  Although our time was short, we always seem to squeeze in a months worth of updates in a few hours.  One of the things I look forward to (but never expect) is the possibility of getting a package of Kevin's homemade lefse.  Well, I was rewarded with a couple of packages before we left.  If you have never had homemade lefse, I guess I feel sorry for you!  Nothing is better than a piece of lefse, spread with butter, rolled up and warmed in the microwave.  For all you non-Norwegians, I feel sorry for you!

Sunday was back at Mille Lacs Lake with my good friend and hunting partner, Jack Taylor.  Jack has been catching northerns at his lake place on Platte Lake, west of Mille Lacs and was hoping to run into a few walleyes.  I told Jack I would pick him up in the morning, he would have to do nothing other than bring refreshments and I would take care of the rest.  The morning started out plowing the snow in my back area to get to the trailer.  Next was the need to shovel 2 feet of snow that accumulated on the trailer.  Pulling the trailer down to the shed, the next task was to load up the ATV and my portable shack.  I guess someone had other plans as I backed the trailer up, both front tires were flat with the beads broken.   Plan B!  Getting the jack out, I grabbed a ratchet strap and wrapped it around the tire.  Immediately the bead took and 1 tire inflated, one to go.  The second one wasn't as easy.  Doing the same exercise, I noticed the valve stem was shot.  Having a new valve stem I attempted to replace it but that proved a waste of time.  Replacing the tire with a spare an hour later I had the equipment loaded.  Picking Jack up we headed north, stopped at Bill's and went back to Dewey's.  To my surprise they were driving right to my spot.  With 18 inches of ice I was willing to take the chance.  As last week the 3:00 - 5:00 slot was the magic time.  I ended up catching 6 walleye and missing a beauty. 

Jack's dad was my good friend Earl Taylor, who passed away about 14 months ago.  Earl and I spent many hours fishing as we had many great experiences on the ice.  When I picked up Jack he had a surprise for me.  Back in the early 90's I had helped Earl get set up with a depth finder for ice fishing.  Being in electronics, I always had the pulse on the latest and greatest.  Back in the late 80's the hot portable depth sounder was Tom Mann's Super Sixty Hummingbird.  In it's trademark yellow case, it was powered by 2 - 6 volt lantern batteries.  Capra's Sporting Goods Store had a special bracket for mounting transducers and worked great for these types of units.  I gladly accepted the gift from Earl, a reminder of both him as well as how far we have come with winter ice fishing electronics these days.  Here is a picture of my prize, just as I set it up for Earl. 

Notice the bracket is a clamp connected to a ball type connector.  One would clamp the bracket to the edge of the case and stick the transducer into the hole drilled in the ice.  To help with the alignment I would glue a small bubble level to the top of the transducer.  This assured that you could position the transducer for the optimum sensitivity.  I am looking forward to getting her running again and may just take it out to experience the way we ice fished 20 years ago.  Either way it a cherished gift from Earl.  Wednesday I head to up to Lake Winnie with my friend Mark Applen.  We plan on staying in his wheel house, fishing Wednesday afternoon, Thursday, and coming home on Friday.  It should be an exciting couple of days and hopefully a great report. 

First Ice, Double the Pleasure

The much awaited first ice fishing trip of this winter season finally happened.  As I had predicted Mille Lacs lake was ready for us as my neighbor Lory accompanied me to the lake Saturday morning.  I was originally going to just bring up my gear and use the 2 up Polaris Touring snowmobile that Bill and I own yet seeing how much gear we actually had, I reconsidered and decided to haul up the ATV.   The other advantage of this would be our starting point could be 5 miles closer to our destination, a definite plus.   As always a stop at Lundeen's confirmed our first strategy as we loaded up with some fatheads, rainbows, a couple of the newest secret baits, and some refreshments.  Our destination was the deeper areas just off of Indian Point.  The best place to start from was Dewey's, just south of the point where we knew there would be ample parking.  Surprisingly he had a road plowed out at least a mile and a half out onto the lake.  Not enough to get us at our spot, we paid him the $5.00 to park on the ice (a pretty good deal) and after loading up the portables, augers, electronics, and bait we were off.  Arriving in 28 feet of water I had marked from a previous visit we separated, drilled our holes and got down to business.  I was excited to try my new camera and was not disappointed.  I usually drill 3 holes in my shack; one on the upper right for jigging, one in the lower left as a dead stick, and a third for the video camera.   The camera itself is tethered to a cable that connects to a wireless remote control positioning tripod.  This allows me to us a small hand held control to rotate the camera in any direction.  Whats real interesting is the camera has a built in sensing device which has a direction indicator on the screen.  Once you locate your lure, it's easy to pan the lure in the other hole then return to your main lure.  Well the walleyes started coming in almost immediately.  The camera is a great way to study how they approach your bait, what kind of mood they are in, and their relative size.  It also helps to confirm your depth finder readouts as they relate to what's below.   The walleyes were not very large and almost in a negative mood.  I tried a number of lures with little luck starting from a Rattlin Flyer to a Hawger Spoon.  When the fish are negative often it takes a lure like a Swedish Pimple with a minnow head to trigger a strike, but that didn't even work.  Frustrated by their lack of interest I panned over to my dead stick pole with a plain minnow hanging from a bobber.  As the camera panned over onto the screen was a walleye just sitting there with my minnow in it's mouth.  A quick jerk and the walleye was off the screen and heading to the hole in the ice.  Only about 12 inches, it never the less was my first walleye of the season.  In the meantime Lory had already caught a couple of walleyes, but was not setting the world on fire.  I decided to move down the spot about 100 yards and after only 15 minutes Lory called stating the walleyes had turned on.  Moving back to my original spot I reset putting on a jigging rap, figuring a more aggressive bite was happening.  Lory on the other hand was catching them on a plain jig head and a whole minnow, and had 4 on the ice.  I finally got the hint and switched, catching a nice perch and 5 more small walleyes, while he ended up with 12 walleyes caught and a bunch missed.  All told we caught 18 walleyes total, kept 6 respectable fish and had a blast.  As usual the prime time was between 3:30 and 5:00.  Here is a picture of Lory with a nice eater.

Sunday was a cleanup day around the house and with things settling down, I decided to try the dusk crappie bite at one of my favorite early season lakes near Buffalo, MN.  My other neighbor Tom wanted to go with us on Saturday however his truck's timing chain had other plans for him.  Sunday was a better day for him so we loaded up the gear and headed out, arriving at the lake around 3:00.  We knew this would be a quick trip and if the crappies are in, it won't take long.   The fishing area is close to shore allowing us to simply walk to the spot.  Some guys were driving on the ice which was about 10 - 12 inches and I surmised they must have much better insurance than I do!  The sunnies were in like crazy so I took this picture of the camera view below the shelter.  There are at least 8 sunfish swimming by and you can see the one near the center about ready to inhale the bait (the small white object in front of it).  While watching the sunfish sort of disappeared as the next thing you saw was a large northern pike coming into view.  I guess those fish aren't that stupid.  

Sundown came however the crappies had not shown up.  Too dark for the camera I put it away relying on my trusty old Vexilar FL20.  Tom was determined to try some crappie minnows while my go to bait is a waxie.  In this fairly shallow water (about 12 feet) I like to work the water column as crappies can be about any depth this time of year.  Noticing a jiggle at the the bottom of the display I lowered my bait and was rewarded with that tell tale inhale of a crappie bite.  Setting the hook, it was a solid fish, just what we were looking for about 12 inches.  The real question would be if this was a loner or part of a school.  10 minutes later confirmed it was a loner.  I did manage a second smaller crappie and added it to the pile of 3 reasonable sunfish and the crappie.  Although we didn't slay them, it was still nice to get out 2 days in a row.   This weekend is Christmas and I will be busy visiting my dad, who turns 81 this year.  With a little luck I will be back at Mille Lacs on Sunday and maybe a couple more days before New Years.  BTW, I am keeping the Dean Martin Christmas song for another week as we did get another 6 inches on Monday, so enjoy!  Have a fabulous Christmas and hope each one of you has a good tug at the end of your line.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

So the predicted snowfall for Saturday was 12 - 16 inches and they were not too far off!  17 inches later, Saturday's snowfall was listed as the fifth largest since they began keeping records.  Considering that 18,000 years ago Minnesota was covered with a sheet of ice 2000 feet thick, I seriously doubt this is the case.  Never the less it makes for an interesting weekend of frantic weather coverage.   The weathermen are stuck in the studios, going on 18 hours without sleep.  You know these events have to be the highlight of their careers!  Truth be told, they probably could not leave anyway as all the roads were closed down.  Lucky it was the neighborhood Christmas party on Saturday night, with the roads blown shut, there was no better place to go than to Bot's house.  Here is a picture looking down the road by my house.  I have to admit this is pretty darn early for this much snow as we probably have 2 feet on the ground already.   Apparently this is the snowiest start to December on record as well.

One benefit of this huge snow event was the collapsing of the Metrodome, home of the Minnesota Vikings.  Being a Packer fan I would have to say the side show has been nothing but comical.  When the dome was built in 1982 the first couple winters saw the roof give out.  See the Metrodome uses air pressure to keep the dome inflated, like a big balloon.  It's interesting to go to a game there, as you enter the pressure pops your ears.  When the game is done, they open the revolving doors and as you approach the opening you are literally pushed out with a gust of wind.  Give them credit, it has held for quite awhile, including the great Halloween Blizzard of 1991, which dumped 28 inches of snow on October 31st.   Anyway it should play well for a new stadium.  Monday night's game is going to be played at the new University of Minnesota's football stadium.  They will be hard pressed to accommodate all of the ticket holders but it will be fun to see how the Vikes do in their new surroundings! 

Luckily the snowfall totals on Mille Lacs has been significantly less.  Snow cover tends to insulate the ice, keeping it from freezing (makin' ice) as fast and adds weight to the top causing water to sit on the top just under the snow.  The high winds of Sunday keep much of the lake bare and with -15 overnight temperatures it can make an inch of ice a night.  Reports from Bill claim that there are already plows on the lake pulling out houses.  You wouldn't catch me driving on the lake with my suburban this early!  By Saturday there should be a good 12 inches in most places, more than enough to take a snowmobile or ATV to a few of my secret early ice spots a few miles out on the lake.   Hopefully I will have a great report for you as I don't think I could stand another weekend of dealing with the snow.  As far as local lakes, the snow will make this first ice challenging at best.  I am anxious to try out the new camera, the new St. Croix ice rod I bought at the show, and a few of those special lures that seem to catch me every year.  I will leave you with a picture of the parking lot at work.  We are suppose to get another 3 - 4 inches tonight and quite honestly, I am not sure I know where they are going to put it all.

The Ice Fishing Show

Last weekend was the annual St. Paul Ice Fishing Show at the Excel Center in downtown St. Paul.  This is a 3 day show featuring the latest and greatest products for the upcoming ice fishing season.   My good friend Mark Applen called and suggested we head down on Saturday afternoon, an idea I was up for.  The show has grown significantly in the last few years and arriving the 2010 attendance was incredible.  One thing that became clear very quickly was the amount of new and exciting products for the guy who loves the hard water fishing.  From the latest in depth finder technology to what I call mansions on wheels, there is something for everyone.  There were gadgets for jigging your pole, new ways to clean the slush from your freshly drilled holes, and an amazing collection of sophisticated electronics claiming 1/4 inch separation 30 feet below you.   One of the newer devices out is a LCD display underwater camera.  I have owned a couple of the earlier model CRT type cameras however they are somewhat bulky and have limited battery life.  The new Marcum VS625SD pictured here has a bright sunlight readable screen, a High Definition Sony camera, and respectable battery life.  Cabela's had a nice $100 off coupon this week and coupled with a number of unused gift certificates, I pulled the trigger on one.  I am looking forward to using it this winter and of course they are becoming popular options for summer fishing.

One thing that is fun at these shows is buying "The Show Special".  Mark and I are suckers for this tactic and readily open our wallets to the deals.  I was the first to fall victim, buying a clip on LED light for the inside of my portable ice house.  Having seen them at stores for $25.00 the $12.00 I paid seemed like a bargain.  Next were the new St. Croix ice rods, nice and light with just the right action.  $20 regular price, the show special was another 10% off.  Well, contrary to what anyone says, it's always nice to have another fishing pole, in the bag they went.   After enjoying a shot of Christian Brothers Brandy at their booth we headed for the back room and ran across a very unique product, the Frying Saucer.  A second look verified a clever fish fryer using what looked like and inverted sombrero mounted on legs with a propane burner.  Completely portable it looks like just the ticket for frying fish outside.   A perfect compliment to Mark's ice house, he just had to have one and they were more than able to oblige!

20 years ago the ideal setup for ice fishing was to pull a permanent fish house, built on runners, onto the ice and leave it there for the season.  Today it is being replaced with what are called Wheel Houses, a fish house built on a special trailer, made for the ultimate in portability and comfort.  The base trailer frames have special axles that lower the house to the ice via rotating the wheels.  More like a modified travel trailer they have holes in the floor, bunks, a table, storage, and depending on what you want to pay, kitchens and bathrooms.  Starting at $6000 for a basic model you can spend up to $25,000 for a luxury house.  The convenience is the ability to move around from lake to lake or simply leave it in one spot.  Mark has a nice smaller house and he has talked about getting something larger.  For me, I still like being able to move around the ice with minimum effort.  Maybe someday!

Finally we have had enough cold weather to create fishable ice conditions.  Unfortunately we are also having record snows, with at least 10 inches on the ground with another 12 - 16 predicted for tonight and tomorrow.  Last Friday I returned from a 4 day trip to Austin Texas to a winter wonderland.  Arriving late Friday night, it was obvious I was going to spend the next morning shoveling snow.  By the time I cleaned up all of my driveways plus my neighbors, hit the Ice Fishing Show, and repairing my plows and snow blowers, the weekend was done.  It appears that I will be repeating the same thing this weekend with significantly more snow to deal with.  Blizzard conditions are predicted with the high temperature on Sunday to be around 0.  It's way too early for this.  Hopefully I can get out but it's looking more like it won't be till next week.  Oh well, I do have my portable set up in the shed and I can still pretend!  I will leave you with a shot of the Ice Fishing Bikini Team, always a warm reminder of winter's more interesting traditions here in Minnesota.

Electronics and Fishing

Electronics and fishing have had a long history together. Things have progressed a long way and at a crazy pace. Modern electronic components such transistors, Mosfets, and integrated circuits have worked their way into the necessities of today’s fishing scene. The average boat today has more electronic capabilities than computers of just 15 years ago. One simply has to look at my boat, a 2008 Ranger 620T and you quickly see what I am talking about. Bolted on the back is a 115 Suzuki 4 stroke, fuel injected, computer controlled, including oxygen sensors, timing circuits and other sophisticated engine management systems. Next to it is a Minnkota Vantage trolling motor, complete with a deployment system for lowering the motor into the water which state of the art pulse width modulation circuit maximizing the power for optimum battery life. Under the stern area houses 3 large glass mat series 31 deep cycle batteries all connected to a built in microprocessor controlled battery charger assuring maximum charging for each outing (if you remember to plug it in each time you put the boat away!). Moving up to my control console, there sits a Genetron depth sounder with incredible circuitry for marking fish and a Garmin GPS that has a built in base map accurate to less than 20 feet. A control module directs which functions such as lights, live well, and accessories can be turned on or off with a simple poke of a button. With built in live well timers it even has electronic circuit breakers, replacing the need to have replaceable fuses. The engine gauges now provide integrated information such as total hours and service alerts on top of the standard RPM readings. In the control panel is mounted a sound system, complete with an AM/FM/Sirius satellite radio and a built in Ipod dock. In between the back and the front, each compartment including the live wells have it’s own LED lighting assuring that if left on the power consumption will not drain the batteries for weeks. The front of the boat has a remote control module for the sound system, a Maxum Bow mount Trolling motor with the same maximizing circuitry as well a built in transducer and temp sensor. This feeds into a Lowrance HDS 5 color depth sounder/gps unit with the latest base map information. Eventually I will replace the Genetron with an Lowrance HDS10 with side scan sonar, integrated GPS, Sirius Weather Radar capabilities, and can be connected to the sound system to control all functions from one central location. This is quite a step from the first depth finder I owned, a Heathkit which I built myself. In my tackle box are a couple of lighted bobbers which are triggered by the presence of water between 2 contacts. Reel them in and they shut off………….magic! (actually it FET technology at it’s simplest)

Being in the electronics business I have had my associations with a number of these products, some that are main stream while others were simply some ones next million dollar idea. As mention in a past post, I designed the power output transformer for the Clearwater Classic which is still being used today by Marcum. My Genetron’s were provided by Dick Knutson for whom I made many wound parts for. Although they are still one of the finest fish locators out there, technology past them years ago and combined with the Red River floods of a few years back and the passing of Dick, they are destined to be museum pieces soon. Some of the less famous products I have been involved with include an electronic controlled trolling hard bait, like a Shad Rap. Inside were a battery, solenoid, and a timer circuit. The solenoid controlled a movable lip which would dive for a certain time then pull the lip causing the bait to change direction or depth on it’s own. Interesting idea but at $35 each, those snags could be awfully hard on the wallet! My good friends Tom Emmons and Tom McAtee made a maximize for our trolling motors long before Minnkota introduced them. Probably the most interesting device is the one pictured here, the Magnabait. It is a water tight, floating device that has built in speaker with an LED in middle of it. Powered by a number of internal batteries, it’s purpose is as an electronic lobster baiting device. See, lobster fishermen have to use rather expensive bait to entice lobsters to into their traps. The electronic device has a built in circuit which produces a short sound mimicking the mating call of a lobster. The LED flashes at the same time as the sound is generated, about every 20 to 30 seconds. Apparently this is an acceptable alternative to actual lobster bait, and I guess it works pretty good, unless of course they lose them. I have some friends in the electronics consulting business that did some work for the company and offered me to try them while ice fishing. The theory is that crawfish make the same basic sounds and will call fish into the area you are have your holes drilled. Although I used them many times, the jury is still out as to their effectiveness. As for lobsters, well I haven’t caught one yet! Here is the website if you are interested in more information: http://magnabait.net/

Once again I am writing this on a flight to Austin Texas, where the weather promises to be in the 70’s all week. Much better than the 4 inches of snow I just left. This weekend is the Ice Fishing Show in St. Paul and I look forward to checking out all the new gadgets for this year. I might even get a chance to hit the ice on Sunday, as it is forming as I write.