Kids Fish For Free!

How is this for thought?  Lets get those kids out fishing this summer.  I have always been greatful to the mentors that I had growing up.  They introduced me to the sports that I now love, and they took me early and often.  I feel I now have a great chance to do that for others.  This season, I am offering a special to anybody that wants to take advantage of it.  If you are booking a guided trip with me and want your son or daughter to experience the thrill, I will allow them to join at no extra charge.  I get no better enjoyment than watching a kid catch a whopper, and will do my best to make it happen.  Who knows, if this is a success, possibly more will follow this path.  Until next time, keep on livin the dream!

It's Been A While...Still Livin The Dream!

Before I get to the stories, I have to apologize for the longest story drought in Trophy Encounters history.  While I haven't been sharing stories lately, there definitely hasn't been a lack of them.  Stay tuned for the latest and greatest in my quest to live the dream.  I have much to share of my recent events, and I will capture some images to go with the stories as I usually do. 

I'll start by filling you in with a first time Trophy Encounter that I had yesterday. 

Jacob is a young boy that I have taken on the role of being a mentor for.  While we have shared quite a few great outdoor memories since we have been hanging out, yesterdays ranks very high on the cool meter.  I took him out to some land that I hunt close to, and we got permission to do a little meandering through the property to see what we could find.  Our main goal was to see the wildlife that runs crazy on the land, which we did (about 50 deer).  Secondly, we wanted to find some deer sheds as well.  Being Jacobs first time walking in the woods, he found all kinds of cool things, and yep, we also found that deer shed from last fall.  Though it wasn't a giant buck, it was his first deer antler which was super cool.  I know this wasn't a fish tale, or a whopper in the boat, but we enjoyed every minute of the walk through the woods.  Just a thought on another way to get kids into the outdoors if you are waiting for the ice to melt.  Stay tuned with this kid, because I have a every intention of getting some whopper fish on his line.  I'm pumped to see that first muskie in his hands!

I have also done some scrolling through a few of the pictures on my camera since I last updated, and found a goofy one of Nels that I wanted to share.  The day we took this picture it was like 35 degrees outside and Dusty had the boat full-throttle.  The bite must have been tough, otherwise I'm thinking that I would have had some Walleye pics from that day.  On a different trip, Wags landed a huge surprise in the giant smallie.  This has been a pleasant surprise for us all spring on the river, and just adds one more reason to trailer the boat to the river once the weather starts cooperating again.

As for the current report...Well, I recently picked up a new sweetheart, and this girl is definitely a keeper.  Nope, it isn't a warm-bodied human, this girl is what I will be driving across the lakes this season.  Yep, thats right, the new boat has arrived!  I also have a few other events to share in my quest to live the dream, so I will update that very soon.  Until next time y'all, you know what to do...Live it!

Still Catchin The Big Ones...

Haha!  I just love it.  Last night when a couple of buddies called me to see what I was up to I told them "I'm fishin, what else would I be doing!"  They laughed, and said "no...really...what are you doing?"  I laughed and said " honestly, I'm Fishin, I just caught a 47" muskie!" 

What a blast it was!  Not being very big into the video games, last night was the first time that I had played the Rapala fishing game for Wii.  I figured there is no better way for me to keep up on my fishing skills during the off-season.  The best part about the whole game was that I was able to fish on Lake Minnetonka and cast for the elusive muskies.  Technology is really incredible.  I'm sure many of you are familiar with this game, but it was my first time.  It was extremely realistic, and I had to physically cast the bait out and use the remote as my fishing pole reeling and twitching the bait back to the boat.  Trust me, the muskies are still the hardest fish to catch on this game, and it took me many tries and lost fish before I was able to land my first one.  Before the night was finished I managed a few muskies with a 47" being the largest, Several nice bass, and walleyes topping out around 10 pounds.  Not only was the game extremely realistic, but the audience I had watching me made it even better.  You can see from the pic that Mikey really got into the game as well.  Many times I thought he was going to fall out of his seat as he was screaming "SET THE HOOK!"  I know there is nothing better than the real experience of landing that giant out on the water, but since we aren't able to do that this time of the year, this is the next best thing.  Hahaha!  What a ball!  Just another way to keep on Livin' The Dream! 

Tearin' It Up...

Sometimes Livin' the dream doesn't always have to revolve around landing a 30 pound muskie or 10 pound walleye.  There are so many resources and activities that are at our fingertips daily that we sometimes forget to take advantage of them.  Yesterday evening Dusty and I took advantage of a "hot tip" that we received, and this time it wasn't a fishing related honey hole.  We loaded up the 4-wheelers for one of the most intense and exciting rides of our lives.  I never would have thought about such an activity if it weren't for a few local guys that do this with regularity.  We trailered our wheelers to a bridge, and drove out onto the river.  Yep, that's right, the river.  Now normally I would say this is ridiculous, but the river that we drove on is almost like a creek.  It is very shallow, very narrow, and doesn't have a lot of current, therefore it pretty much freezes to the bottom with no worries about falling through.  The winding corners and the fallen timber makes this one of the sweetest obstacle courses you could ever imagine on 4 wheels.  We probably put on 40 miles cruising every which direction with the stream, and every corner gave us a new obstacle.  If you haven't done something like this with your rides, I strongly recommend it.  What a blast!  And to think, this has been in my backyard for years without me ever taking advantage of it.  Just another activity to add to the list that just keeps on growing.  What a ride!  And that's how I like to "Live the Dream!"

A Bid Farewell To Ol' Marble Eye's...

As they say... All good things must come to an end.  Yesterday was the official close to our walleye season across the state, and while I felt like sheding a tear or two as we pulled some houses home, I was able to look back and reminisce to myself with a smile.  We really had another epic year on the ice, and I mean that in many ways.  The laugh meter kept itself at a very high level all season which makes every night a blast.  This season we had times of both quality and quantity with the eyes that we were catching, with the highlight being the 9, 11, & 12 pounders three nights in a row.  We had many first timers in the houses this year, and many nights of filling the jar with eaters.  As always, I was able to report about the "ones that got away," and the laughs associated with the tangles and messes.  We put many hours in those houses and even more hours learning the lake and its structure.  We shared many games of dice and cards, and for living on the ice, the food was pretty spectacular too.  I want to take this time to thank everbody personally for all the memories, however the list is too darn long.  You all know who you are, and I thank you all for memories and the Trophy Encounters!

While this season just came to a close, there are still so many opportunities for us as outdoors people.  This time of year still offers us walleye fishing at its finest, however we just have to travel a little further.  I know it sounds hard to believe, but I plan to be fishing open water very soon as the rivers start flowing.  Boy am I excited to be back in a boat again!  If you have never experienced the fantastic river fishing we have, I highly recommend that you make it a priority this season.  If you would like to learn more about it I would love to have you with on a trip. 

Not only do we have the rivers, but the panfish bite kicks into full stride as the ice fades off the lakes.  This can be the most exciting bite of the year for those big "bull" gills, "Slab" crappies, and Big Bellied Jumbo Perch.  So while the stories from the walleyes in the shanties have come to an end, the Trophy Encounters updates will continue at their normal pace.  If you would still like to hit the ice, we have plenty of it and it can be very exciting for you and a group of people.  Thanks again Everybody, and stay tuned for what is next on the list for us guys that like to Live The Dream!!!