An Incredible Journey

Salmon fishing in Alaska is an education in one of nature's most amazing events. Each species of salmon utilizes the various rivers and streams in completely different ways. The 5 different types of salmon one meets in Alaska are the Chinook (King), Coho (Silver), Pink (Humpback), Sockeye (Red) and Chum (Dog). The Kenai river has all five however the Chum are quite rare. Each species utilizes different calendar times and sections of the river that are quite unique. When the salmon enter the river to spawn, it is referred to a run. Reds, Kings, and Silvers have 2 distinct runs with the early run fish utilizing the upper stretches of the rivers and tributaries and the later runs utilize the lower part of the rivers. Kings come in with the first run in early June. By the end of June the run is done however the second an larger run is right behind starting about the end of the first week in July. Red's first run occurs right around the middle of June with their second run starting the 3rd week of July. Silvers start showing up around the first week in August peaking around the 15th with the second run starting the first of September. The Pinks only make one huge run and this occurs only on the even years, like this year 2008. And what a run it is! It is estimated that 3 - 4 million salmon enter the Kenai every year in a 6 week period from mid July to the end of August. The run timing is important for planning your trip as the first time we went we arrived the last week in June and about the only thing going in our area was the Red's on the Russian River and this sure wasn't the Alaskan experience. You can go to the Alaskan Fish and Game site and get quite a bit of information including run timing charts like this:http://www.sf.adfg.state.ak.us/region2/pdfpubs/kenrun.pdf

There is basically 2 types of salmon fishing, open ocean fishing and freshwater fishing. The picture to the left are of the 12 salmon were caught in the ocean. They include silvers (bigger fish) and pinks (smaller ones) which were caught in a bay which a glacier feed river emptied into. Notice the fish are very bright and silver colored. This is referred to as chromed. All salmon basically look the same in the ocean, and except for size may be difficult to identify. When salmon enter fresh water however, they begin to change almost immediately. The below picture is a Pink that Greg caught and it is one of the best examples of this change. This fish enter the river looking like the fish on the far right of the 12 and within a number of days they completely change to this prehistoric looking thing.

The picture on the right are Red's in Quartz Creek, which one crosses on the way to Soldotna. Again the fish enter the river chrome and quickly change to a deep crimson color with an olive colored head. Usually once the fish have turned to their full spawning colors, the meat is no longer desirable as table fare. When these fish have finished spawning they die and become part of the ecosystem of the river nurishing the next hatching of all the salmon.

Salmon enter the rivers on the high tide so understanding this relationship is important. On our flyover trip with the bears at Polly Creek, low tide occurred about 11:00 in the morning. The next high tide that day was scheduled at 5:20 and be 25 feet higher than at low tide. At low tide the river ran crystal clear, which made it easy to see the resident Dolly Vardon trout that come into the rivers to feed on salmon eggs and spawn themselves. There were few salmon in this section of the river although we did catch a few pinks and had a nice Chum on the line. At our location the tide would eventually raise the river about 4 feet higher than it was at 11:00. As the tide came in the river current slowed considerably. The water was still clear as the fresh water was essentially dammed up by the incoming salt water. While I was standing on the bank watching the water come up a school of about 15 silvers swam by as if on cue. A quick cast of my spinner and the race was on to see which salmon was going to get at it first. I landed that fish only to have my cousins hollar "bear!" We had seen the bears earlier and decided to move downstream to group together. With fish in hand I was wading toward the guys when one shouts "Dave, it's coming towards you" I was at the edge of the river and could not see very far beyond the bank. Being somewhat nervous and with a fish in my grip I figured it was probably not a good idea to play waiter to a brown bear located somewhere above me. Bear's have a great sense of smell and I decided to let the fish go rather than draw attention to myself. It probably was a dumb move but I guess you would have had to been there! We went on to end the day with 6 beautiful chrome silvers along with having caught and released about 50 Dolly's. The magic time for the salmon occurred for about 1 hour before the high tide muddied the water considerably. The plane was somewhat late however the pilot was concerned about having enough beach to land on as the high tide was reversing. We loaded up having experienced the effect of the high tides first hand.

I'm Back!

Well, I finally returned from the great state of Alaska no worse for the wear! For me Alaska is a place were fishing is the priority and sleep is an option. As stated in an earlier post, I had the pleasure of traveling with my brother Steve, and first cousins (all on my dad's side) Paul, Greg, and Mark. Besides being family, these guys are the greatest in the world, putting up with me for 8 days was punishment enough. We landed in Anchorage about noon on Thursday August 14th. Greg flew Suncountry and arrived 2 hours ahead of us so he met up with my cousin Mark, who lives in Anchorage. Their job was to get a hitch for the rental car which we were not suppose to do as well get a landing net. We arrived and began the adventure. Mark is a retired Army guy and he was able to rent us a boat from the base to use on the Kenai for $350/week. This was incredible so we picked it up and headed for Soldotna. There we dropped the boat off at a friends until we returned on Sunday. One of the things we bring to Alaska is fresh sweet corn. This is like gold to our friends and we know they appreciate it. After dropping off about 5 dozen ears we headed to Seward, our destination for the next 3 nights. Seward is located at the south end of the Kenai Pennisula and is an important place for tourism, fishing, and cargo port with a major coal transfer facility there. Our plan was to do 2 full days with Neil Marlow aboard the Shearwater searching for halibut, lingcod, rockfish, and silver salmon. Friday proved to be the best silver day and we did real well including this 15 pounder that you see me holding. In the ocean the salmon are schooled up chasing bait fish, getting ready to head up the local rivers to spawn. Our strategy was to fish the bays that had rivers flowing into them. We fished with 5 oz chain bead sinkers with a 2 foot leader attached to a hook and a squid attractor. A chunk of herring was all it took. We fished the rockfish the same way. Rockfish have swim bladders so when you pull them out of 100 feet they are pretty well done. Besides our 3 salmon and 4 rockfish per day, we were hoping to get at least 2 25# halibut per day. This would give each of us 50# of meat to take home. Unfortunately we were only able to catch about 30 pounds each for the 2 days. Well, that's fishing! On Sunday we returned to the Kenai for the peak of the early silver salmon run. Because it is an even year, the pinks were in and this is a tremendous understatment. In future posts I will elaborate on this incredible event in nature.

My previous post mentioned bears. On Tuesday we flew out of the Funny River Airport in Soldotna to the north side of Cook Inlet and a landed on the beach at the Polly Creek outlet. Here was our "Alaskan Wilderness" experience. The pilot dropped us off at 9:00AM and vowed to return about 8:30 that evening. Upon leaving he gave us each a hand held flare and told us if we run into a bear that was aggresive, wait till it's about 10 feet from you them pull the flare cord. Yeah, right! At about 4:00 the bears showed up, a sow and her 3 cubs of which 2 were second year cubs and pretty big. It was exciting to see as the appeared across the river which initially gave us a physical barrier, which we soon saw it made no difference. While watching momma, one of the older cubs suddenly appeared on our side, barreling full bore towards us. The last thing we wanted was to be in the middle of the sow and her cub. A little noise and the cub headed across the river to mom. Although relieved, it was a tense but exciting moment.

I have many pictures to sort out and many stories to tell, too much for one setting. I will post a number of our more interesting adventures in the coming weeks as I hope my sharing of this experience will encourage you to at least make the same trip. You will never be the same.

North to Alaska!

Just a short post before I leave. The silvers are in like crazy, the pinks are making their usual even year run, and the halibut are cruising for that piece of octopus. I'll be back in about 10 days with a some great pictures and stories. Hopefully we don't get ate by bears before then!

Followup On China And Other Things!

Well, I finally made it back from my trip to China. Our last leg of the trip took us to a city call Wuxi (Woo-She), which is about 2 hours west of Shanghai. I thought I would post a number of interesting pictures and explain a little bit about them. As a fisherman, the first thing you notice about the area is that it is flat and has significant numbers of canals criss crossing the area. The top picture is the Grand Canal. This was built over 1500 years ago to serve as a main transportation route from the Shuzhou and Wuxi area to Beijing. Although it is no longer used the full length, it is still an important waterway for barges delivering building materials such as sand, rock, and bricks to the coastal areas which are basically void of good base materials. Attached to the Grand Canal are hundreds of little canals that are use for everything from irrigation to side transportation to raising fish. The next picture on the left are 2 Chinese boys enjoying a little fishing in the canal that borders there house. This canal was along a major 4 lane road and I had my driver Sam pull off to let me take a picture of them fishing. Like fisherman everywhere they waved back at me and allowed this picture. They were using homemade cane poles and reminded me of my grandpa Howard, who use to come up to Eleva every summer with his cane poles and we would head to Alma for some fishing. I could not help but take a picture of the preferred toilets in China. Basically it's a squat toilet identical to our methods of relieving ourselves during deer hunting. The difference is that these toilets flush! The next picture at the bottom and on the left is of Antique Road in Shanghai. It is a 4 block market in the heart of Shanghai and has many old antiques (or replica's) and other tourist type goods. In China everything is negotiable. What may start out at 2000 RMB (6.75 RMB to 1 UD Dollar)may eventually get down to 150 RMB, but it's not for the faint hearted. We bought a silk scarf that started at 200RMB and we offered 50. She was extremely angry with us but upon returning we bought 3 for 210. Not bad. We ran into a young man that owned a tea shop on Antique Road. All attempts to get him to move on the price was in vain. His line, I have good tea and good prices, no need to negotiate! This was our second trip to his shop and indeed, his tea is 30% of the price at the Shanghai airport. The last picture is taken from the Bund in Shanghai looking across the river to Pudong (poo-dung). Shanghai is divided into 2 main sections, Pudong (dong means east) and Puxie (poo-shay, xie means west). Pudong represents the modern Shanghai and is home to the large telecommunication tower you see on the left with the big ball near the top while Puxie is still the old Shanghai with the definite European influence. The word Bund means embankment and is at the end of Nanjing Road. (You can learn more about the bund here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bund) Standing on the Bund, looking to Pudong is one of the most beautiful city views in the world.

I did have a guide trip on Sunday but it started to lightning out. Me and that kind of electricity do not get along very well so we did a raincheck. I am really looking forward to fishing with these guys again. Today I went to South Center Lake and got a few crappies and sunnies, nothing special just nice to get out. Thursday I head to Alaska's Kenai Peninsula to attempt to catch some halibut and to take advantage of the Kenai Rivers Pink and Silver salmon run which should be in full swing next week. Stay tuned!

I Finally Found a Tackle Shop in China!

Qingxi (ching-she) Town, DongGuang, GuangDong, Peoples Republic of China is about as far away from the clear clean waters of Minnesota as one can get. Qingxi Town is located 30 miles northeast of the Hong kong/Chinese border crossing of Lo Wu. It is a mountainous area with peaks rising to 3000 feet amongst the numerous valleys that are home to the industrial factories making almost everything we buy from flat panel televisions to plastics to toys. This area was one of the first to be developed in modern China because of it's proximity to Hong Kong, which serves as a focal point for trade coming out of the area. It is sub tropical in nature with many small rivers feeding reservoirs which in turn supply water to the 30 million people in the area (bottled water for me!). In restaurants if ordering fish you usually are given a choice between river fish or ocean fish. One look at the rivers solves that question pretty fast! Although in this area one sees little fishing going on, it does exist in the form of privately owned fish ponds where families go for a day of entertainment. Knowing almost everything we buy today in the fishing world comes from China and the fact that the price we pay is at least 4 times the manufactured cost, I have always been on the lookout for a place to buy fishing tackle. Well, I finally found one just 2 blocks away from our hotel. I was excited to see what was offered, how they fished, and the prices. In GuangDong Province the people are know to eat anything that walks, swims, or crawls. To some the dozen shiners we pick up on the way to Mille Lacs would be a great meal for their family. The tackle was indicative of finesse type bobber fishing with a variety of pencil type bobbers, line stops, and simple terminal tackle. Very few if any lures were available and their rods were long telescopic type similar to those used in Europe. I was very taken back by the pricing. Some special bobbers were selling for 125 RMB (6.75 RMB to 1 US dollar) for 3 which amounted to over $6 each. Interesting enough there was little negotiation as with most baitshop owners, they were small family run enterprises with honest, hard working individuals just trying to make a living, just like my good friend Bill. My goal of finding a place to get good deals on reels have been dashed. Although the reels they had were of good quality, the prices were at least the same as what you can find in the US. So much for that goal. The bait was in the form of prepackaged dough balls and gunky looking bulk concoctions which reminded me of carp and catfish bait we use in the states. I did buy something for a couple of my close friends that fish the reefs on Mille Lacs with leeches and bobbers. The systems are similar to our slip bobber and for night fishing offer small light sticks that conveniently fit on the top. The light sticks were cheap, about 2 RMB for a package of 2 so I did load up on them hoping to see how they work. I am off to my next destination Wuxi (Woo-she), located west of Shanghai where there is much more water, lakes, canals, and evidence of more extensive fishing. Hopefully I can report better success from there. Zaijian (zi-jee-ahn).

Ed Enos, Smoked Carp...An Evening From The Past

Eleva Wisconsin was not much different than many midwestern towns established in the late 1800's to early 1900's. Nestled in a river valley had many advantages, flat and expansive flood plains left over from the glacial times made excellent farm land. Availability of water to power grist and saw mills, as well as means to transport goods such as logs, furs, and other goods was vital. Of course rivers also did a great job of being a convenient sewer for those living by them. These valley's became natural corridors for the rail roads as they expanded. Eleva sits at the junction of the Buffalo River and Big Creek. The Buffalo River is a confused river. There are 4 major communties associated with this river valley. Osseo is on the upper end, then Strum, Eleva, and Mondovi before it cuts to the southwest through some of the most beautiful bluff country in the US finally meeting up with the Mississippi River. Upstream from Strum the river is called the Beef River. Downstream from Strum it may be referred to the Beef however it is better known as the Buffalo River until it finally empties into Beef Slough at the Mississippi confluence. The Buffalo River is a relatively clean sand bottomed river that literally winds it's way traveling 2 miles for every mile of real distance. There are many oxbow sloughs and swamps, remains of the river's ever changing course. Around Eleva, it's fish include suckers, carp, redhorse, sheepshead, catfish, northerns and the occasional trout escaped from the local streams and planted mill ponds. My best fishing buddy was (and still is) Kevin Aiona. We would exploit every aspect of this. As stated in my "about me" we would dig worms on the south side of building while there was still snow on the ground to hit the early sucker and redhorse run. Often we would get a nice carp, which was a special bonus. Carp were excellent fighters often challenging the basic equipment that we used. Kevin's grandpa was Ed Enos. Ed was the local barber for probably 50 years. There were many guys past 50 whom Ed probably gave them their first haircut. Ed had a small shop on mainstreet and himself was a legendary fisherman. He had the foresight to plant nightcrawlers behind his shop which eventually became the premier spot for catching bait during a rainstorm. Ed could also smoke carp turning it into a bonifide delicacy in the area. Although his recipe was simple, mix salt and water till an egg floats, soak the carp overnight and smoke till done, few had the process down to produce what Ed could do. Any carp that we caught in cold clear water of the Buffalo River in the spring was destined for Ed. On Sunday night I decide to fish a local lake near my home. Driving away I stopped by my neighbors house only to see his riding lawnmower start on fire. Running home I retrieved my extingisher and promptly dispatched the flames before it totally engulfed the machine. Having killed 40 minutes, I had lost my travel advantage and decided to simply fish the Mississippi River behind my house. I live about 2 blocks from the river and can get access through many of my friends that have river lots. With nightcrawlers, simple tackle, a cooler with a few beers, and a pack of sunflower seeds I headed to one of the docks along the river. My first fish was a small fiddler cat (small channel cat) which poked me good with one of it's side barbs. I bled like a stuck pig as it was a bad reminder of how hurtful these little buggers can be. After missing 2 more I finally had a substantial hit. Setting the hook the fish took off like a torpedo. I had completely forgotten how exciting a carp can be. After a 5 minute battle I landed this 8 pound carp. The night ended with another nice catfish before the sun totally set. The carp is destined for either the smoker or eventually helping my garden's general well being. Either way Ed would understand and be proud that we carry on the traditions. It's funny what can bring you back to 12 years old again.

The Tables Turned

Having received this from one of my colleagues it reminded me of a discussion I just had with a friend so I decided to see how hard it would be to post a video. It worked!!!

33 Days and Counting

Anyone who flies commercially with any frequency understands the role the internet has played in making the experience much more interactive. I was checking on my current flight reservations and noticed a message above the information that our flight to Anchorage is 33 days away. Wow, there is someone other than me keeping track! Anticipation is what helps to keep us young and I am starting to get giddy about our trip this year. It prompted me to think about past trips and as long as I was just sitting here I thought I would share two of my more interesting pictures. The first one on the left is my cousin Greg holding a very nice yellow eyed rock fish he caught out of Seward. Greg is returning this year after taking 2006 off because he had lost an argument with a ladder. This is the actual color of the fish coming out of the water. The only thing that would have made this picture complete was the addition of Greg's teal colored rain pants. Not only are they a handsome fish but are excellent table fare as well. Our Seward trip turned out to be one of the most memorable fishing trips ever. We caught a variety of rock fish, halibut, lingcod, and sea run silver salmon. The action was non-stop. In 2006 we attempted to repeat ourselves but the weather was not very cooperative. The boys are going to give it one more try again this year and hopes are high for a repeat. I still think Greg should get a graphite reproduction as this fish was truly a trophy sized Yellow Eye.

This is me with an average size silver salmon caught out of the Homer Fishing Hole. This is about a 3 acre hole that was dug out just a few yards from the ocean. The tides in Homer are hard to imagine for a Wisconsin boy like me. They average over 18 feet with some months exceeding 25 feet. Tides are a result of the gravitational pull from the moon and because this also causes a bulge on the opposite side of the earth, 2 high tides occur each day as well as 2 low tides. They are in sync with the moon and high tides are the highest during a full/new moon when the moon is working with the sun and lowest at the quarter moons when it is pulling at right angles with the sun. Because the moon's rotation around the earth is slightly longer than 24 hours, these tides are about 6 hours and 25 minutes apart. If you use the average tide as 18 feet, then the level of the sea changes 18 feet in a little over 6 hours then back down 18 feet during the next 6 hours. Breaking it down to 3 feet and hour, the water level is rising (or falling) at little over 1 inch every 2 minutes. At the Homer Fishing Hole they have an outlet (you can see it behind my head) that only lets water in on a high tide and is at least 10 feet above the low tide ocean level. The Alaska Fish and Game plant salmon smolts into this fishing hole and when they are ready to spawn, they return to this small area, coming in when the high tides reach the outlet and water starts pouring in like crazy! You can stand at the edge of the fishing hole and in a matter of minutes your shoes are covered with water. They will plant Chinooks and Silvers as they are the most prized of the salmon. What is unusual about this picture is that if you look close (you can click on the picture for a larger view) one can see that it was caught with a number 7 fire tiger Shad Rap. Trust me, there isn't a Shad Rap to be had on the Kenai Pennensula! I brought it along just to see if it would work. Unfortunately after catching another fish and losing one, it literally fell apart. I am not sure if it was the salt water or something else but my shad rap lasted about 30 minutes. Being a walleye guy, one never leaves home without a few in the tackle box, and for what little time it gave me I was happy to add this fish to my list of species caught with my favorite bait.

Traditions and Tom's on the 4th

The 4th of July holiday means many different things to different people. Fireworks, picnics, yet to me it usually means the opportunity to fish with my 2 great friends the Tom's, Mr. Emmons and Mr. McAtee. These two guys are the the reminents of a once great company, CPT, where I had the pleasure of meeting both of them in the early 80's. I would bet the mature combined weight of us three is at least 200 pounds greater than it was when we met! Both Tom's are excellent electrical engineers with one recently returning from a long stent in Austin Texas while the other is hopelessly tied to South Minneapolis and hates Kool Aid. As you see in the picture Mr. Emmons is much more outgoing where Mr. McAtee is still the shy young school boy. We usually get together for a Christmas vacation ice fishing adventure or a day at Mille Lacs on the 4th of July. This year we met at noon and headed to the pond. The surface was like glass as we headed for the first spot to cast for smallies. 5 minutes convinced me we needed to move. My strategy was to deep troll #11 tail dancers and reef runners in the mass expanse of nowhere land. Trolling in the deep waters off the 4 mile gravel for about a mile produced nothing. There was still nary a ripple on the water so I headed to 3 mile reef for some sight seeing. The water is incredibly clear and the view of the reef was nothing short of spectacular. The house sized slabs of rock looked like an underwater ballroom. The reef was full of smaller smallmouth bass and we caught a number of them on tubes including the 17 incher above. Leaving the reef we once again headed for the deep to endlessly pull the lures exactly 150 feet back of the boat. We did land 2 more walleyes then settled down to bobber fish while getting ready to watch the Garrison 4th of July fireworks. What seemed forever waiting for both a bite and the show to start it was decided that we had enough. Back to the landing and on to Hardee's, we called it a night. Certainly the fishing could have been better but the company was as good as it always is.

Bernie Konter's Fall Fest Pickles (and fishing of course)

Eleva Wisconsin and Independence Wisconsin are only 18 miles apart however they are as opposite as lefse and sour kraut. Eleva is a small Norwegian/Lutheran community while Independence is mostly Polish/Catholic. All Wisconsin small towns had something in common at the time, 1 tavern for every 100 residents and Independence was no exception. It was actually the place to go on a weekend with Midway, Travers Valley, Elk Creek, and E & J's bar hosting all of the area's young people looking for a good time. The drinking age was 18 and the times were definitely different. My wife is from Independence and through her and her brother I had the opportunity to meet many new friends. The Catholic Church in Independence is a tribute to the Polish tradition. Stop by if you ever go through there as you will not be disappointed. Every year on the first weekend in August the church has their annual fund raiser called the Fall Fest. I will never forget my surprise to see beer served on the church grounds. Moose Halama was the local Pabst distributor and it was everywhere! My conservative Lutheran upbringing made it awkward, however I quickly got past my initial reservations and decided these people aren't nearly as bad as my Grandmother had made them out to be. One thing that always impressed me was the fact that they always had fresh "Fall Fest" pickles that various people would bring around in 5 qt ice cream pails for you to grab a few and enjoy. They were always made from the first cucumber harvest, were excellent, and Bernie Konter made the best. Bernie Konter is quite the individual, maybe even a modern day legend. Now retired he would work 5 days away from home buiding state of the art bridges and come back on weekends to his family and a way of life that I envy. He is in every sense the the well rounded sportsman. His expertise ranges from trapping turtles, participating in the annual after deer hunting carp roundup on the Trempealeau River, to making venision bologna, canning any thing that moves, and "fall fest" pickles. For some reason he took to this young Norwegian although I would not doubt that a number of people could say the same. Years ago I gave him my business card and said to call me if he ever is in Minnesota and I would gladly take him fishing. I got that call 3 weeks ago. He was coming up with his wife, 2 daughters, their husbands and grandkids for they rented a house on Mille Lacs for the weekend. I decided to come up on Friday night to hit that magic hour bobber bite. With plenty of boats I drove up without the parachute hooked to the back of my burb. As I arrived in Isle the western sky was the color of midnight. Arriving at the house we decided a couple of beers would make the rain disappear a little faster. A quick dinner and it looked clear enough to hit the landing. Once on the water we hit a small squall that dampened our clothes but not our spirits until we were finally anchored on the Banana Reef in 12 feet of water. The bite was tough as evident by the movement of the launches every 15 minutes. My first bite got my hopes up until the fiesty rock bass appeared at the end of my line. We move twice anchoring in 20 feet of water which produced a 23 incher. The last stop of the night was in 15 feet and we added 2 smaller walleyes to the livewell. Although not the best night, it was fun to finally fish with Bernie and his son-in-law Jamie. And those Fall Fest Pickles, here is Bernie's recipe or at least how I make them (about 20 gallons a year). Cut fresh cucumbers lengthwise and layer them in a 5 quart ice cream pail alternating with raw sweet onions and plenty of fresh dill. Make a brine using 1/2 cup of canning salt, 1 cup of white vinegar, teaspoon of chopped garlic, a good tablespoon of pickling spices, and 8 quarts of distilled water. Mix well and pour over the pickles. Add a couple of wild grape leaves for that special flavor then cover them and put them into the fridge for a couple of weeks. Voila, enjoy what the rest of us have for years. I look really forward to fishing with Bernie again, maybe on the river next time.

Cheesehead's Chasing the 'Eyes

Last Sunday I left home around 6:00 needing to meet my two clients at the baitshop before 8:00AM. I knew that they were a father/son combo (Bob/John) and Bob was looking forward to his 83rd birthday. John was looking for a unique experience on Mille Lacs for his dad yet wanted to make sure he was taken care of and was comfortable. I get really excited about these opportunties as anyone who wants to fish Mille Lacs at 82 deserves to be the star of the show. It did not take long before I learned that my guests where from Neilsville Wi, 40 miles from my home town of Eleva. Fellow Cheeseheads, the trip had started out perfect! The wind was pushing out of the Northwest so I decided to launch at the old Cashes Landing, north of the casino. It would offer better protection against the growing rollers. After John donned his Packer hat we headed for the first small flat off to the right. I rigged Bob with a crawler and John with a leech. I tie my own crawler rigs using TruTurn baitholder hooks. These hooks have the unique ability to do exactly what they advertise and the cam action really works. I find that especially with nightcrawlers, the hooks practically set themselves giving Bob the advantage. Well, 20 minutes and Bob was fighting his first fish. I could tell it was a big fish however the hook didn't have the bite it needed and the rod when straight. Still it was a good sign. Another drift and we decided to move to the next flat. The NW wind was tolerable and allowed us to drift the edges of the next 2 flats before we put our first walleye in the net. Those TruTurns came through. Another drift convinced us to bring out the planer boards and head to the next easterly flat. I am not a big fan of trolling across the waves but it gave us a nice needed rest. Running parallel to the edge of the next flat I really started marking fish, enough to say, pull in the boards. Just as I gave the word one of the boards started doing the dance. We landed a 25 incher and my mind went nuts. Continue trolling or rig through the marks on the screen. Well, I had to pull up the other line anyway so once in, I would make the decision. This line seemed to be wrapped around the trolling motor as it was coming in awfully odd. The line counter showed 10 feet left but it was really stuck now. I looked behind the motor and to my surprise, a 27 inch walleye was dangling on the end of the rainbow trout reef runner. My decision made we trolled another hour and picked up 2 more fish. Looking for a rest we decided to drift the marks. We ended with 2 more before heading back closer to the landing. Trying bobbers at our first stop and Bob caught this fish. The wind and the sun took it's toll and we headed back to the car with a total of 8 very nice fish released with the senior cheesehead pulling in 5 . Bob was 100% small town Wisconsin. A WWII vet, he entertained us with stories of his adventures, coming back home to eventually start a business and raise a family. He loves fishing and still has that sparkle in his eye when the fish finally hits the net. Bob could have easily been any one of the people that influenced my life as a young child in a small town. Unfortunately the Bob's of the world are fewer and further between. I hope that he enjoyed his trip as much as I did. Happy Birthday Bob.

Father's Day Fishing

My part time job is doing the occasional guide trip for my good friend Bill Lundeen (http://www.lundeens.com/) at Lundeen's Tackle Castle. I usually help on the weekends when Bill is working hard in the shop. On Sunday I had the great pleasure to fish with Jeff and Annie. It was a short trip and with the cold front that just arrived the night before, we had little time to get some fish. We had a nice NW wind blowing, not hard enough to be uncomfortable yet good enough for a perfect drift. We first tried a favorite spot of mine offshore from Eddies. 3 drifts later Jeff hooked a nice 26 inch fish. We got it in and it was pretty beat up, missing an eye and had a ugly looking sore on it's tail. One more drift and we moved to Sherman's flat. Again with the wind, we could drift along an edge and we hit another nice fish. We did another drift but come up empty. I headed for my killer spot (in years past, at least) but it is very rocky and it wasn't exactly easy to fish. After donating 3 rigs to the rock Gods, I decided to move. We headed south to Roland's flat and drifted the outside edge. This time dad allowed his daughter to reel this fish in, another 26 incher. It was complete, I did my job as best I can, we ended up with 3 very nice fish despite a noticeable cold front. Dad and his daughter were happy. As I dropped them off on the dock I reflected on the wonderful relationship this father and daughter have. I bet everyday is Father's Day for them.

Smallies, Smallies Everywhere

Being extremely busy because of the late spring, I have been doing the 5 in the afternoon to 9:30 shift on Mille Lacs these days. So on Saturday night I was fishing with a my good friend Tom, who after working in Brainerd all day met me at the landing just north of the casino. He was on time, as usual! Tom is a brilliant electronic engineer who designed a maximizer for trolling motors 3 years before they came out. I usually do well on the deeper rock reefs this time of year so I rigged a leech on Tom's line and threw a crawler on mine. I could not have gone more than 20 feet when something slammed the crawler. It caught me by surprise as I was not ready for such an aggressive hit. That is a great way to say, I missed it! Of course this had to be an omen of things to come, also famous last words. After an hour of making squiggly lines on My GPS I finally got this 22 incher. After another half hour we moved. We tried an inshore flat then went to the first offshore flat and no fish. It was 8:00 and time to start pulling Raps. The reef was pretty full but for some reason most of the guys were fishing the down side of the reef giving us the room to troll the other side. I got a hit right away but it wasn't the typical headshake of a walleye, rather the rantings of a 3 pound smallie. We continued our route and on the other end hit another smallie. The next half hour produced 3 more smallies, a respectable rock bass, and a half a million bugs. The wind came up just enough to make the ride back to the landing bearable. The water temp was still 55 and with rain forecasted in the coming week, it could still be a while before we get in the 60's. Oh well, good for the tulibees.

2008, Year of the Cousin's

In 2000 my brother Steve and I decided to take my dad to Alaska for his 70th birthday. It was a trip of a lifetime for him and we have never have never looked back. We learned a lot from our first trip and both Steve and I have have returned every 2 years to take advantage of the terrific salmon fishing. My Uncle Jerry was one of the my early fishing mentors. Living in Idaho, it was often years between our visits. When I was young he gave me an old tackle box full of baits (boy I wish I had them today!). This sealed my love for fishing and Uncle Jerry. Over the years my time with Jerry was usually short and intense. In planning our trip for 2006 we decided it was time to get him to Alaska. His son Mark had just moved to Anchorage, he had retired, and just turned 70, just like dad did 6 years earlier. We finally got a commitment for what turned out to be the trip of a lifetime for all of us.

This is a picture of him holding a very nice Humpback (pink) Salmon on the Kenai River. My good friend Jeff King (http://www.jeffkingfishing.com/) made our trip memorable by helping us with our fishing needs. The reason I am writing about Uncle Jerry is that I was just putting the final touches on our 2008 trip. Although I wish Jerry was coming with us again, he will be in our hearts and if we are really lucky we'll send some fish back for him (I know we can ship Humpy's to him!). This year trip is the Year of the Cousin's, with myself, brother Steve, cousin Mark, Greg, and Paul. My uncles are really excited to see us guys, in our 50's still sticking together as though we were 12 again. It makes them feel young as well. I have some great pictures and memories and look forward to sharing them in the future. Just remember what they say ............................................Alaska, before you die.

Leave The Driving to Mark

Saturday night I deviated from my usual MO and drove to Mille Lacs without my boat. My host was a friend of mine who has a place at Anglers Paradise, the old Dickies Portside(www.dickiesportside.com/). Big storms were moving through and he called to warn me of the pending downpour. Looking at the radar on the internet it appeared that by the time I got there the majority of the storm would have blown by. My strategy work perfectly and I arrived just as the rain stopped. A couple of smoked chops, fresh aspargas on the grill, and a glass of cognac hit the spot. We got out about 7:00 and fished till 9:45. We caught 2 keeper walleyes on bobbers in 7 feet as well as this picture of a typical Mille Lacs sunset. Sometimes it is nice simply to leave the fishing to someone else for once. Thanks Mark, it was a perfect compliment to the weekend.

Big Dave's Lookin' For Some Recognition!

This is my good friend Big Dave Pedersen from Eleva. He pulled up the blog and his only comment was..........."What about me!". So out of my love for my good friends, here's his story. This fish was caught on September 9th, 2003. Big Dave was working in Minneapolis at the time and was in a difficult situation. It was a full moon, I had been doing well on the pond casting rogues, so I asked if he wanted to run up for the evening bite. The witching hour started about 1/2 hour before sunset and lasted as long as we wanted to stay. Dave caught this walleye (28+")that I believe is still his best ever. We caught a number of nice fish over 25 that night as well as a decent 36" northern. I don't get to fish with Big Dave as often as I would like so this trip was a very special and memorable one. One of the pictures from that night ended up being published in the Mille Lacs Messenger newspaper. His head got pretty big about that time! I hope he reads this and feels guilty.

Memorable Memorial Day Walleyes

Memorial Day Weekend on Mille Lacs turned out to be a real interesting outing. I went with my neighbor Tom, who is always a pleasure to fish with. We started fishing a deeper rock reef that always puts out early in the year. The wind was wild so we drifted across the reef, starting at 30 feet up to 16 feet, and back to 25. Usually I can mark fish on this spot however the Genetron only marked 2 fish. After 4 drifts and nary a nibble we moved. The next spot proved as worthless as the first. We moved up on a shallow reef, anchored in 8 feet and threw a leech on. The water was cold and the strategy was to try bobbering. Tom wanted to cast a Tail Dancer and I encouraged it. After a 22 and a 21 inch walleye I knew it was time to troll. Tom left the TD on while I put on a #7 Shad Rap. After the first snag I moved down to a #5. With in the next hour and a half we got 9 more walleyes and a surprising 3 smallies. Ended the night with 11 walleyes and one in the boat. It really got ridiculous about 9:15 when you could literally not go more than 50 without another fish. The picture (and the one on my profile) is a 29 inch walleye, biggest I have caught in years. It was a night to remember for sure.

Minnesota Opener at Leech Lake

Since 1990 I have been fishing the Minnesota Opener at Leech Lake with my friends from Team Walleye (www.teamwalleye.net). This year Team Walleye celebrated it's 35th anniversary at Leech. The majority of those years have been at Brindley's Harbor Resort (www.brindleysharbor.com). Conditions on Leech have ranged from 80 degrees and bluebird skies to substantial ice on the lake, which was the case this year. Fishing has been somewhat slow the last couple of years however the average size has been impressive. 2008 turned out to be the most memorable in the 35 years of opening on Leech. 6 boats/16 guys caught a total of 178 walleyes for the weekend, the most ever. What was even more impressive was the overall size. We shattered all past catch history with the top 3 fish measuring 27, 27.25, and 27.50 inches. These fish were heavy, eclipsing the previous big fish award by over 2 1/2 lbs. My team did well with a total of 54 walleyes caught, top individual points award, and 2nd place in the big fish contest.

The picture is me with a 27.25" pig. Shiners were the bait of choice, the bigger the better. Water temps were 37 to 39 degrees and I believe that the big females had not yet spawned as evidence by the walleye eggs found in the boat. On the last day we finally figured out the need for a trailer hook on our jigs and our hooking success increased substantially.

Getting started

Well I have to start somewhere so I am reaching back to January 13th, 2008. This was a nice mess of crappies I caught in a small lake west of town. The largest was about 12 inches. I caught them on both minnows and waxies, switching as the bite slowed down on each. This was in about 12 feet of water and they started hitting right about sunset.