Sturgeon Fest - Rainy River, 2009

Where, oh where do I start...  I guess I'll just take it from the top.  Sturgeon Fest is the name - Rainy River is the destination - and crazy is the word that I choose to best describe it!  Jump aboard on this wild ride...

Thursday our crew of 11 men with freshly shaven mustaches gathered for the big trek north.  Why the stache's you ask?  Simple.  Pauly and Tim have had their mustaches since they were like 3 years old.  Since we have been giving them grief for as long as we have known them, we decided to grow stache's in honor of them.  If you are reading this and you have a stache, I mean no harm in it, but we had a great time with it.  Not only that, but it made for constant laughter, and we made the two older gentlemen feel right at home.  heehee!

Back to the fishing.  We landed at Wheeler's Point Resort late in the evening and got settled in.  After a long drive, we were pretty spent and ready for the next day.  Our crew consisted of four returning fisherman from last year, and 7 newbies.  Needless to say, they were sick of hearing our stories and wanted to get the war started.  Friday morning greeted us with less than favorable weather, but we didn't care, we were jazzed.  The Little and Big Fork Rivers had opened up, and the reports were that we should have been here last week.  Again, we didn't care, we were jazzed.

It took a little while to figure out the whole pattern and what we were up against.  Our 3 ounce weights from last year did nothing for us.  After a little negotiating in the current and moving a few times, we found areas that were better, and 11 ounces finally kept us on the bottom.  A crazy amount of weight I know, but you gotta do what you gotta do.  I was honored to have my father with on this trip, and he was the first to play tug-of-war.  A solid 53 incher got the game rolling, and he was blown away by the sheer power of the fish.  All I could do was laugh at the butt whooping he was receiving.  Sean and Dusty were also in my boat, and soon found out that all the chatter from last year was not a hoax.  The power of that fish is beyond words.  The rest of the day we spent moving around picking one up here and there, and searching for the best bite.  We landed some whoppers, and joked around with the boys in the other two boats.

Pauly, Timmy and newbie Montie found slightly less action, and heard grief from us all.  That's part of a fishing trip, and we weren't about to let them slide by without a tongue lashing of words.  Mike was fishing in Scottie's boat with Wags and Dougy Fresh (Mike's Dad), and got their boat positioned on a perfect current edge.  We watched and laughed as Dougy fought giant after giant in the raging waters.  The entire time he heard chatter from the peanut gallery as it took him about 2.5 years to land each one.  Well it wasn't actually that long, but sure seemed like it, and we cheered him the entire way.  It was almost as much fun to watch the battle as it was to be doing the battling.  This scenario never got old, and occured many, many, many times before we were all through.  Day one was a learning experience, but we managed some real monsters with Wags taking bragging rights with a solid 60 incher.  With tired arms we trugded back to the cabins for a BBQ and stories.

Our second day gave us even worse conditions.  While it was warm back home, we were blessed with snow and bitter cold winds on the flowing waters of the Rainy.  We moved several times again, and caught fish with each move.  Some of us found better luck than others, but we all managed some nice fish.  Pauly's boat didn't get the memo on our final move of the day (sorry guys), but we made up for their lack of success.  We waved Scottie's boat into an area that was hot, and they joined us for an afternoon of battle.  Our good spot turned out to be mediocre once they put their glob of crawlers in the drink.  For the next 3 hours we watched one of the greatest displays of fishing that I have ever seen.  Scottie finally got his first hook-up after a day and a half, and it was a good one.  A mid 50 incher that was soon to be beaten.  Dougy Fresh once again hooked into king kong, and put the entire crowd to shame with a monster that probably weighed over 65 pounds.  Instantly Wags followed him up with one just a hair smaller.  They were getting cheers from all the boats around, and soon our fishing party of 8 guys turned into a fun-filled chatter box of 10 plus boats.  It was nothing short of spectacular! 

On the way back to shore, our day took a turn as we narrowly escaped tragedy.  Upon pulling up to the dock in the raging waters, my dad slipped and landed short of the dock and went under.  Instant shock overtook us.  It was one of those freak accidents that nobody ever plans on.  In the gushing waters he came back to the surface and Dusty somehow grabbed his hand.  Dusty held on as I was able to drive the boat back up to a point that Sean and I could help lift him back up on the dock.  Let me tell you that this was extremely scary.  The weight of the water required 3 of us to help pull him to safety.  We got him out and no harm was done, but it just goes to show how freak accidents can happen in the blink of an eye.  We were extremely lucky in this case, but that River is nothing to joke around with.  After a warm dinner and a few jokes we were able to laugh about it all, but is something that can never be forgotten.  Not only that, but we will never let my dad live down the fact that he thought he could fly that night, and lets just say that he now has a new nickname, and will wait for the boat to get closer to the dock next time.

Our final morning gave us the best action of all.  Our two previous days of research put us on a spot with several fish.  Just two of the boats made the short stint out that morning, but we put the smack down on 'em.  We landed close to 40 fish in the final 4 hours of fishing.  Most of the fish were smaller ones (or Joey's as we referred to them as), but we battled some giants as well.  A good way to finish off Sturgeon/Mustache Fest 2009!  When it was all said and done, we landed close to 90 sturgeon, a handful of Burbout, 20 suckers and 1 walleye.  A great trip that has 11 guys looking ahead to next year.  The only question that remains is when do we start growing out the mustache's again?  Look for more pics and video to follow soon, as well as recent walleye and panfish outings.  What a great time of the year!  Until next time, Keep on Livin' the Dream!

TE Facelift...

Onward and Upward - a wise man once told me.  Well, he wasn't that wise, but he was a man, and I liked the words.  Like so many times, I have decided to give this site a new facelift.  Change some colors, change a few pictures, add a couple of graphics, etc.  It helps for future projects, plus, I never sit down and attempt these things without learning something new.  Just like a day on the water.  Anyways, I will be working on making a few switches in the coming days.  Bear with me on this.  You will notice that I have added a TE Newsletter.  This newsletter was created to keep you all informed on what is about to happen, instead of reading it on this website - after the fact!  You will know of the hot bites in advance, and can decide if that might peak your interest, or wait for another trip.  If you are not looking to book a trip, you can always subscribe, and be prepared for action on to come.  Along with the newsletter comes the Corporate Fishing Event.  I have partnered with Ranger Boats on this matter for this massive event that you can check out in a couple of days.  Stay tuned, and please feel free to criticize something if you don't like it, or if you do - that is even better.  Thanks for reading!

Minnesota Bound Inside Edition...

So here's the story and the show for anybody that wants to watch it.  It all started last year when I took the job working for Ron.  The same week that I started my dream job, just happened to be the same week the huge walleyes were smacking on the Mississippi River.  My first and second day on the job, I came in to work each morning telling Ron of my fishing success the evenings prior.  Walleyes over 10 pounds, and several of them seemed to get his attention.  Knowing this was a short window to get these big fish on camera, we had to get out there ASAP.  The weather called for a snow storm that day, but it was the only day we could do it, plus it made for interesting scenery.  So, on day three of my new employment, I found myself on a mission to impress the new boss in conditions not too favorable for anything other than sitting on the couch.  A major problem was the cold, snow, and the slippery ramp.  What happened behind the camera was a struggle to get the boat in the water, and the truck back up the hill.  It was tough as heck, but we managed. 

Once we approached the area that we wanted to fish, there were a few boats in the area that said the bite had turned off completely.  Instead of turning back, we decided to fish, but I felt the pressure, big time!  Things weren't looking good at all until I worked my way to a small little spot that produced the previous couple of days.  Instantly it was on.  Ron missed a smallie, and followed it up with a nice Sauger.  A few minutes later he landed a chunky 3 to 4 pounder then another a little bigger.  I followed his nice fish with a couple of my own.  My first walleye came in at about 6 pounds.  Even in the cold, Ron was all smiles.  For a bite that had shut down completely, we were catching some very nice fish.  At that point, we had everything we needed for our show. 

Ron and I looked at each other with smiles, and a very cold camera man.  Yep, you guessed it, we both agreed we should make just one more pass through the honey hole.  After all, we had only been there for half an hour.  Needless to say, it was a good move.  Mother Giant latched on to my jig and made a tv appearance.  What a fish indeed!  "Ok, now we'll call it a day," we both laughed.  God must have really been shining down on me that day, because I believe we boated the only walleyes in sight.  Other than one carp from a distant boat, the action was only in that one teeny tiny spot.  I was blessed to have found that spot I guess, and Ron was all smiles on the way back to the access.  For the third day on the job, it doesn't get much better than that!  I don't think I will ever forget that day.  Thanks for watching.  Until next time, keep on livin' the dream...

Minnesota Bound...

Last spring, the bite on the Mississippi River caught attention from more than just a few lucky anglers.  My boss, Mr. Schara heard about the success we were having, and wanted in on the action.  Aaron Achtenberg, a photojournalist at our company hopped in the boat with us.  Our goal was to shoot a quality fishing story with a twist.  It was one heck of a snowy day, bitterly cold, and absolutely perfect!  I won't spoil the surprise of what we were able to accomplish that day, but I do hope that you tune in to find out.  This Sunday at 10:35 on Kare 11, you can catch all the action on Minnesota Bound.  Let's just say that on this day, the big one didn't get away...Until next time, I'm gonna keep livin' the dream!

Let the Water Flow and the Big Fish Bite...

And it begins!  The 2009 open water season was upon us.  The sound of flowing water slapping against the side of the boat set me at ease.  This sound and the experience that goes with it is my addiction in life.  Every time I hear it and feel it, everything else in life just goes away.  I guess you could say that open water fishing is my drug of choice.  Any problems or issues of this economic world were left at the landing, and for a few hours this past weekend, I was able to sit in a chair and take in the rays of sunshine.  Life is good, which must be why I quote it as living the dream.

I joined my fishing partner and fellow guide Mike Ernst for what would be his first trip in his brand new boat.  He was as excited as a 5th grader on the last day of school.  Matt and Sean also joined us for this epic launching of the new rig.  The location was the Mississippi river.  One of the few options in Minnesota for open water this time of the year, and one of the only places that a guy can legally target walleyes.  The chance to get a jump start on the season sends us there each spring, and the rewards can be tremendous.  Walleyes over 10 pounds are a reality, and the multi-specie aspect of the river just adds to the excitement.

We were eager to break the ice with the first fish in his new boat, but nobody expected what was about to happen.  After a few hours of frutless searching, I set the hook into what felt like the bottom of the river.  Two pumps on the rod was all the I needed to reassure me that I wasn't snagged.  I spent the next 15 to 20 minutes following this beast up and down stream.  Our thoughts were comfirmed when the giant broke the surface.  I had accidentally snagged a wintering Flathead Catfish.  Measuring in at 41 inches, my jig somehow managed to slide under his fin while jigging across the bottom.  An accident that I will admit was 100% by mistake, but made for one heck of a first fish in the new boat!

Fresh off of the big catch, I proceeded to land a walleye, a sauger and one more channel catfish before we all engaged in the action.  From a position of the back seat, I couldn't have enjoyed the experience any more.  Mike was the guide, and I was the guided.  I joked about it all as I put my feat up in relaxation mode.  Aside from the gusting winds, it was a blessing to be out there.  We found a mixture of walleyes and sauger with a few more rough fish mixed in.  The enormous walleyes that we were after weren't ready to bite just yet.  A water temp reading explained that we were a couple of days early for the big push.  A push that will top the charts as one of the best walleye fishing opportunities of the year.  The weather reports show that the next few days will trigger that bite, which I look forward to all year.  The 2009 open water season is here, are you ready for the action?  Until next time, keep on livin' the dream!