Ice Ice Baby...
Travis Frank
Turning the page from one season to the next is always exciting. For me, it's the opportunity to chase different creatures under different circumstances. For the next few months, this will happen under a layer of ice. I'm cool with that, just like many of you. But, before I get caught up in what's about to happen (tomorrow morning to be exact), I want to look back at what has already gone down. I realize that it's been months since I've journaled. To date, this has been my longest dry spell ever. I'm sorry for that, and I appreciate your continued support in following and waiting.
To say that my life has been crazy would be an understatement. When I say crazy, I mean crazy in a good way. I am blessed beyond my wildest dreams. Much of what has occured over the last few months is hard to wrap my head around in one journal entry. I'll sum it up the best I know how - with photo's and stories.
As many of you know, my world is ever evolving. While I am still a fishing guide, it's only one piece to my puzzle. My career in television production has grown and taken me places far and wide. I'm sure I'll look back on it some day and have a better grasp of it all, but for now it is almost a blur. I take my camera with me in hopes of capturing epic moments. The rest is available for you to view on the Outdoor Channel in the coming months.
I spent a stint in West Virginia filming for one of our shows called, Destination Polaris. We rode ATV's through the mountains and clouds - literally. I took a white water rapid plunge and conquered one of the top 5 rapids in the world. They score it a 5+ on a scale of 1 to 5. Lets just say that taking a 15 foot waterfall is something everyone should experience. Because I was feeling tough, I jumped out and took one of the rapids laying on my back - sorry mom. I also let go of my fear of heights on that trip and took a zip line down a mountain. Wearing a camera, all of this was recorded for your viewing pleasure (see my helmet above).
South Dakota is the obvious pheasant mecca. I left civilization for 5 days and experienced my best pheasant shoot to date. Not much needs to be said except for these 3 things. Great friends, great hunting, and great time.
When I think of Cape Cod, hunting is the last thing that comes to mind. Well, until a few weeks ago. Now when I think of this place, I think of coyotes and a funny fella by the name of Brian Downs. He's pictured on the far right, and he's the guy that almost washed our truck away. This hunt will be tough to forget. Here's the jist - deflate your tires and drive the beach. Carrying an Ipad logged in to Google Earth, we stop when the screen shows an opening in the sand dunes. Get out, climb a sand dune and try to call coyotes out of the brush and into the rolling sand hills. All the while the waves crash the shore behind you. Then, go back to the truck and repeat these steps over and again until a coyote comes running or mother nature raises the tide and threatens to wash you away. Both of these things happened.
Over the course of 3 months, I've spent time in 11 different states. Some for periods longer than I would have liked, and others not long enough. I will conclude this by saying that Midwest folk are normal. Period.
Muskies and Mille Lacs are two things that consume my November every year. I'd love to buy a place up there in November and spend every day fishing it. This year I hit the big lake only 4 times. It was time well spent, but not because of the muskies. I caught my largest snot rocket to date, and blanked on the lunge. Good weather, good friends and a few monster fish made it all worth the while. Even when Roseanne grabbed my heart and with her fat belly she crushed it.
In between all the fun I have managed to bag 3 deer. One with my bow and 2 with the gun. In the process, I experienced an evening of bow hunting that Michael Waddell would be envious of. Even though I didn't let the string fly, I'll never forget the moment of having 8 bucks in view, and two 160 class monsters within 20 yards at the same time. To walk out of that field that night with a doe in hand seems odd, but the full story would require an entire journal entry.
I'll conclude with a season of Thanks. The day before Thanksgiving I spent on the water with the president of Rapala and their marketing wiz Jack. To catch a muskie is one thing, to catch it on a Rapala lure with the president of such company - incredible. That was only the beginning. Shortly after that fish swam away I became an uncle. While the fish is a great memory, it has nothing on Kingston James Petersen. He's special in more ways than I know how to describe. It's now my goal to make him the youngest man to catch a 50 inch muskie.
I realize that I am a very blessed man. I've known this for quite some time. The best part is that now I can share it with another. Yep, that's right, I found a girl. And, I'll be man enough to admit that she holds a very large spot in my heart. Truth be told, I don't want it any other way. I'm excited for the future and all that it holds. But for now, I can't wait to see what bites under the ice in the morning. Until next time, keep on livin' your dream!