Fishing Opener 2009...

Happy Fishing Opener to all of you that made it out!  I hope you shared many laughs and caught whoppers on your opening fishing excursions!  Friday night marked a tradition for my crew.  Mike, Sean and I got together and grilled burgers and brauts before it all kicked off at Midnight.  Also to join us, and new to the group was Mitch Petrie - a first timer when it comes to the midnight opening start.  We rolled into our hopeful spot at about 11:00 and played the waiting game.  We were surprised at how comfortable it was on the water.  There was no wind or rain, and it was pretty warm.  Well, that was until about 11:30 when mother nature dropped the classic opening fishing cold front.  Brrr!  It instantly dropped several degrees, and the wind came up so strong that it almost knocked us out of the boat.  All a guy can do is laugh, because that's what happens every single year on the opener.  The forecast called for it, and we got it! 

Our Midnight opener was a tough one to say the least.  When we packed it in around 3:00AM we only had one walleye to show for our efforts.  Lucky enough, it was the new guy that hauled it in.  Mitch bagged himself his first ever midnight walleye - and a nice 21 incher  to boot!  From the reports, he might have been the only lucky guy to catch one that night.  Nice job Mitch!

While the tough conditions slowed the bite down, it certainly didn't slow down our efforts.  We dropped off Mitch, and picked up Doug for the next part.  We were quickly on our way to lake Minnetonka for the day.  Back on the water before the sun rose greeted us with a stiff north wind and tough conditions.  We accepted that this was how it was going to be for the day, and got down to business.  Since a guy can't pre-fish for the opener, it took us a little bit to find them.  About an hour into our morning I finally got on the board.  Mike followed me up minutes later, and quickly we had two in the jar.  I followed him up with one more dandy 24 incher as the sun rose, and that was it.  The light switch had shut off on that spot and we had to move.  The next spot was much the same.  We found the fish and caught a few, but they were sure being difficult.  We could physically see them in the clear water, but they would hardly touch a thing.  The ones we did catch however were really nice, averaging about 23- 25 inches.  Breakfast and a nap were in order, so we did just that.

After our break we again moved to a new lake to try our luck.  Lake number 3 greeted us with yet another new bite.  This time it was a crankbait bite instead of live bait.  I just love getting them on crankbaits whenever possible.  We didn't slam 'em, but had enough action to keep us busy for a bit.  We added a couple more to the livewell before we headed out.  Our fish fry was growing in size, and our success level kept rising.  To fish three different lakes in one day is pretty darn cool.  To catch walleyes on them in the toughest of conditions is even cooler.  Our minds were made up that we were going to fish the big school that we found earlier that day, so we headed back to our spot on Lake Minnetonka with high hopes.  The fish were still there, but not all that active.  We moved on and caught a few from a couple of different spots.  Our evening ended there as we accepted our need for sleep.

Before it was all said and done, we fished three lakes with success.  A pretty rare thing to do on opening day, but it was fun.  We never sat still for very long, and mixed up our techniques.  We caught our walleyes on everything from Jig and minnow, slip bobber, crankbaits and lastly but most importantly, the infamous T-rig.  We managed enough for our opening day walleye fry, and threw back several that were too large for our liking.  The largest for the weekend topped out at just over 28 inches, and was caught by yours truly.  While the weather was cold again this year, we made the most of it, and I am considering it another great opener.  To hear everything from our opening weekend excursions as well as a few others around the state, tune in tonight at 8:00PM on WCCO 830.  Mike Max and I will be in studio talking about the fishing opener and how it all went down in Minnesota.  Until then, Keep on Livin' the Dream!

Nice Wiskers!

Who the heck needs the fishing opener?  Ok, that's a bit of an exxageration, because I more than anybody cannot wait for the opener tonight, but there's other options.  To cure my itch to catch the biggest fish possible I have been hard at it again.  The more I fish the many rivers we have, the more I love it, and realize that I never have to stop catching big fish.  The season literally never closes any more, and there is always big fish to be caught somewhere.

Last weekend Mike and I enjoyed the Wisconsin opener on the St. Croix River.  A new experience for both of us, but we had goals to conquer another body of water.  To shorten the story up (read mikes journal), we were happy with our afternoon and filled the jar up for our fish fry on Sunday.  To hit up a new river for the first time and succeed is a big deal for me, and just opens up another can of worms for the future.  One more opportunity for the always growing list.  Just a few weeks before that we were hauling in giant Sturgeon on the Rainy River, and the mighty Mississippi gave us some pretty decent walleye action again this year. 

With so many opportunities, I had to add another one to the list.  This week we hit up the Minnesota River for a battle of the beasts.  A beast of another kind that just rocks your world when you hook up.  Word on the street was that we were about a month too early to start fishing for flathead catfish, but for Matt, Sean and myself, it didn't matter.  "We can't catch 'em on the couch," was the phrase that inspired us, so with that in mind, we were off to conquer the river.  Our experience is limited with this creature, but we are learning with every trip.  Like in Muskie fishing, we don't expect to catch one every time out, but so far this year we are 3 for 3, or 100%, which we feel really good about.  Matt is the guide in this excursion.  I cannot say I'm comfortable taking the Ranger on these shallow waters, so he drives his new fangled catfish rig.  From there it's a team sport as we study the bottom, find the sunken logs and structure and choose our spots precisely.  We have found this to be the most important piece to the puzzle.

With all the preparation and high hopes we settled into our first spot for the year.  Matt had scored his first cat a few days earlier, but for the records, we were calling it "our" first trip of the year.  Just as the sun started to fade on the first evening chaos broke out.  Bails was hooked up!  It wasn't a giant, but it had some dandy wiskers and 15+ pounds of pure strength in its shoulders.  A perfect way to start out our year.  In need of sleep we left shortly after that battle.  Fast forward to the next night and much of the same results, only this time it was my turn, and the wiskers were bigger!  Shortly after dark and our second spot of the night, came a throttle that almost pulled me out of the boat.  I'm not exxaggerating when I say the strike will almost rip your arm off.  The beast and I went into heated battle.  With logs and trees surrounding us, it was intense and power against power.  I gave everything I had to keep him out of the cover for fear of loosing him.  It was intense and awesome!  Shortly after, I was hoisting the beast for the photo gallery.  I don't know the exact weight on her, but frankly I don't care.  She was big, strong and beautiful!  And, she had some nice wiskers!  This addiction is almost as strong as the muskie curse that I have, so I plan on having many more pics on here this year.

Here's to a great opener filled with whatever bites your bait!  The reports are going to start flowing with regularity now, so check back often and feel free to join in on the action.  I am excited for all that this year brings.  If the first few weeks of spring are any indication, it is going to be a blast!  From the muddy banks of the Minnesota River, Keep on Livin' the dream!

The Future Stars...

Every once in a great while a guy gets a chance to give back.  When I was growing up I just loved fishing, go figure right?  My neighbor Scott Grabow would take me fishing every Saturday morning.  Sometimes we would even get out on a weeknight evening or two.  I look at all of those times as one of the reasons that I have made fishing such a big part of my life.  There is nothing more enjoyable than getting the chance to return the favor.

The other day I was able to get my neighbor and his son out on the water.  Much the same situation as Scott and I, but this time the rolls were reversed.  This is my favorite time of the year to get young kids into the sport of fishing.  The panfish are going crazy, and they are easy to catch.  Action is key when you are young, and the crappies and sunnies didn't dissapoint us.  Tanner is the name of the young fishing star on that night, and his father Tory joined us as well.  Tanner was so excited the entire time on the water, and loved every fish that came in the boat.  He would yell "It's a keeper!" with each catch.  He said "hi" to all the fisherman around us, and gave them a play-by-play of the events we were having.  "Got a bite!" he would yell to them, followed with "It's a big one!" He would let them know if we landed it, lost it, or if it was a keeper.  The entire crowd of boats enjoyed the experience as much as we did, but I think Tanner might have had the most fun.  The smile on his face the entire evening said it all, a great time with a future star of fishing!

That great trip was followed up with some more action.  Mitch Petrie and his three sons Theo, Aaron and William came out to try their luck at the chomping crappies and sunnies.  I don't think that anybody left the boat dissapointed that day.  The action was fast and furious and the three boys between 5 and 9 years old were having a ball.  This crew of fishing phenoms were in the boat last year, and as Mitch and I talked about, you can progressively see them getting better.  In fact, the few tangles that we had came from the older gentlemen in the boat named Mike Ernst.  The boys were impressive to say the least, and looked like touring pros.  The livewell didn't stand a chance, and dinner was caught in a very short time.  A perfect way to spend time on the water and share the excitement with the future of fishing.  I strongly recommend you give it a try.  You just might Love it!

Mississippi Walleyes...

So what the heck happened to the big walleye push?  That's a good question, and many people have asked me that lately.  Well, the answer isn't exactly an easy one to nail down.  First of all, we had an incredible amount of water that came gushing downstream.  As always, this was timed perfectly with the spring spawn of the walleyes.  The time of the year that can be so great if you like huge walleyes.  The water rose several feet and had dangerously fast current.  The areas that we had been fishing came to a close for safety reasons.  Heck, one of the launches I like to use was under water!

This whole process took a while to unfold, and unfortunately it all occured exactly during the prime walleye spawn.  Our first couple of trips gave us some nice fish, but the water was just a couple degrees to cold for them to really start biting.  The unpredictability of the river changed things over night, literally, and we were left stranded when the walleyes were doing their thing.  I tried a few times to get down there, and kept tabs on the water levels, temps and current speed.  The internet is incredible when it comes to the amount of knowleadge one can find.  As soon as it was safe and feasible, I went back out there.  Last week I made two trips to the river.  Each trip resulted in nice fish, but no giants.  The water temperature had warmed in a hurry, and apparently we missed the big ones by a few days.  Such is life when you are dealing with something as unpredictable as a River in Minnesota, but it adds to the drama of it all. 

Last Wednesday we hoped to find a few of the giants at the tail end of the spawn, but my group of four never broke the 4 pound mark.  We had a great time, and caught some really nice fish, but couldn't land the big one.  We were treated with several laughs throughout the day, and one of the most incredible shore lunches I have ever experienced.  Erik works at the Horse and Hunt Club, and had some fresh chucker all cooked up.  He made a crazy mixture with the meat, and we stuffed it into a croissant.  Not only can the guy cook, but he never is left short of words.  Erik kept myself, his brother Phillip, and friend Geno on our toes all day.  Unfortunately, many of his large fish for the day came unhooked.  He lost out on the big fish bet, and had to stomach the loss of being beaten by his brother and fishing buddy.  A loss that almost didn't happen until the hook pulled out of a dandy fish.  Regardless, we shared fun on the water that day, and experienced a good bite considering the conditions.  Maybe next time we'll get the big ones guys! 

That's the most recent report from the Mississippi, and it appears that the main spawn is now complete.  However, it does not mean that the fishing is over.  That river is so plump full of big walleyes and other creatures that the fishing never ends.  I would say that the next few weeks will be a great time to be out there, and I might even be planning a few jaunts that way this summer ins search of a few prehistoric looking flathead cats.  I guess we'll see how it all shakes out.  Until next time, Keep on Livin' the Dream!

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!