Blog Feed: Journal of a Minnesota Angler

With ice out having already occurred on many nearby lakes, you’d think I’d be out on the water tickling my angler itch. Unfortunately, life gets in the way. But to keep at least one or two of the 3 or so regular readers I have left, I want to try to keep posting regularly, even [...] > read more

A Record Spring

Published on 2012-03-21 07:39:54

Just to show how crazy this Spring has been, the National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office posted the records we have broken (so far) since March 10. In the last 11 days, we’ve broken 8 record highs and 6 maximum lows. And technically, it was still winter as today is the first day of Spring. [...] > read more

Ice Out Watch 2012

Published on 2012-03-18 09:50:00

It’s that time of year again. The DMZ of fishing seasons, if you will. You can’t be on the ice to ice fish and you can’t be on the lakes because there isn’t enough open water. This year is a little more unusual than previous years. We’ve broken 6 record highs in the [...] > read more

Ice Fishing Get-Together

Published on 2012-03-01 20:22:20

Guess what? You won’t believe it. I actually went fishing this weekend! I attended the 4th Annual Meister’s Ice Fishing Get-Together on Saturday that went from 10am-2pm. Meister’s is a local bar and grill. It was the same get-together I attended last year with my neighbors. This year was vastly different [...] > read more

Minnesota Non-Winter

Published on 2012-02-19 10:38:20

It’s been a crazy winter, or non-winter as the case may be, in Minnesota this year. Unlike last year when we had storm after storm and subzero temps, this year has been mild beyond belief with virtually no snow. Here is how the Minnesota DNR Climatology Office ranks this year’s Twin Cities’ meteorological winter (December-February): Warmest Avg. [...] > read more

Help with Blog Contest

Published on 2012-01-10 21:16:57

I read on the Outdoor Blogger Network that 5.11 Tactical is holding an adventure contest. Yes, the page says the deadline was Jan 9, but OBN assures me I have until Friday morning, Jan 13. The main rule says, “We want to hear about your outdoor adventures – this can be anything related to your [...] > read more

Minnesota BassProShops? Not.

Published on 2012-01-05 22:17:25

Last May, I wrote an open letter to BassProShops asking them to open a store in Minnesota. In my idyllic mind, I saw my post collecting thousands of signatures (i.e. comments) to start a grass roots effort that ultimately brought BassProShops to Minnesota. Well, that didn’t happen. Frankly, I was surprised there wasn’t more interest. [...] > read more

Goals for 2012

Published on 2012-01-01 19:48:12

Happy New Year! I haven’t had all that much time to think about what I want to accomplish this year fishing-wise. The Lego League season and holiday season has kept my mind too occupied. So I’m going to cheat a little. Because I did so poorly in my goals from 2011, I’m going [...] > read more

Year in Review : 2011

Published on 2011-12-31 11:52:30

If you were to judge my year simply on the goals at the beginning of the year, you would say that it was a dismal failure. I accomplished none of my fishing goals, only one of my blogging goals–barely (doubled blog traffic, accomplished yesterday), and only one of my online presence goals (1000 Twitter [...] > read more

Wind Fishing

Published on 2011-12-30 21:43:22

Surprise! I’m writing a post! Better yet. I went fishing! Yes, after four months of not touching a rod (except to put them away for the winter), I actually got out and baited a hook. Vince was in town for Christmas and we hit the ice the day after the holiday. It was [...] > read more

Fall Fishing in Colorado

Published on 2011-11-03 08:50:22

The title of this post might lead you regular readers to think that I made it back to Boulder to fish with my brother. No such luck. As you know, I’ve been a bit preoccupied as of late. So in order to save you from another exciting post about Lego League, my [...] > read more

LEGO Fishing

Published on 2011-10-31 09:11:15

Whoa. I almost let the entire month of October pass without a post. Two weeks ago, I thought I needed to get a post out because a week had passed since my last post. To my shock, when I checked, three weeks had passed. I blinked, and two more weeks went [...] > read more

Confessions of an Absent Angler

Published on 2011-09-25 10:12:35

Forgive me, bloggers, for I have sinned. It’s been nearly three weeks since my last blog entry. I have no excuse, really. Life has just gotten in the way of… well, life. I’ve only fished a half hour since doing my fly fisherman impersonation in Oregon. I have a bunch of posts [...] > read more

MNFlyAngler

Published on 2011-09-05 19:04:36

After failing miserably as a spin casting river trout fisherman, I decided it was time to try being a full-fledged river trout fisherman. That would mean picking up fly rod. Brenda and my cousin left our reunion to meet up with some friends on the East coast, so on this outing it was me, Vince, [...] > read more

Troutminimus

Published on 2011-08-31 23:27:38

I spent last week in Sunriver, OR attending a family reunion. Vince (my brother) attended as well and we, of course, had to do some fishing. The problem was, I’m a bass fisherman. And a lake bass fisherman at that. And the only thing around us was rivers. So I had to [...] > read more

Plastic Worms are the Ticket

Published on 2011-06-30 09:38:44

Last Friday was my last day at a job I held for nearly 11 years. I found a new improved gig and took a week off before diving into new challenges. Monday was my first day of freedom. It was the third straight day I didn’t have to go to work > read more

More Worm Action

Published on 2011-06-29 21:22:36

Sunday morning I once again got up a little after 6am to be on the lake on my float tube by 6:30. This time I followed the Northern shore toward the channel only until the shore turned. The curve of the shore hid water beyond the curve from the morni > read more

Father-Son Fishing

Published on 2011-06-28 21:41:41

After a somewhat productive Saturday morning, my 6 year old son wanted to join me in fishing. Up until now he only play-fished by casting off the dock with a casting plug that came with his Spiderman rod and reel set. I thought it was time for him to > read more

Early Fish Strikes the Worm

Published on 2011-06-27 23:48:48

I went to my dad’s cabin in Northwest Wisconsin this weekend and started off the weekend early. I got up at 6:15 Saturday morning to get my float tube in the water by 6:30. Apparently it was too early because when I sat down in my float tube, I > read more

Happy Bloggaversary to Me

Published on 2011-06-24 10:18:28

Today my blog turns 2. I’ve mentioned many times before how I am in disbelief in how my blabberings have been received. Just this week, my traffic this year has matched all of last year, so I’m on track to meet my goal of doubling last ye > read more

Father’s Day Outing

Published on 2011-06-20 23:18:50

I got a chance to go out on my tube on Father’s Day. I was going to go panfishing with my kids, but they were engrossed in their activities for the afternoon, so it was an opportunity for me to explore a new local lake. The lake I had in mind i > read more

Action Shot

Published on 2011-06-16 23:10:18

The Outdoor Blogger Network had another great photo prompt that I had a good answer for: Show Us Some Action. Last fall, my brother finally got me out on the float tube that he bought for me several Christmases ago. At the same time, he introduced me > read more

Lightning Doesn’t Strike Twice

Published on 2011-06-15 23:21:52

Monday night, I went back to Gervais Lake where I tied my personal best largemouth last weekend. I was hoping the magic would strike again. I threw a couple of different jigs with trailers, bubble gum super fluke, and super craw, but the power worm w > read more

An Unusual Spoon for Northern Pike

Published on 2011-06-10 23:46:14

Last weekend, when I went fishing with my father-in-law (Ken), brother-in-law (George), and his friend (Greg), we all told our own fish stories. This one was particularly entertaining: Greg owns a cabin outside the Twin Cities metro area. He has a ne > read more

First Bass of the Year is a Doozie

Published on 2011-06-05 23:16:03

My brother-in-law, George, was in town for a wedding and he invited me out fishing with one of his friends. It happened to be a day where my son had his Cub Scout model rocket launch, so I told him I couldn’t make it at his scheduled time of 8a > read more

Third Time is Not the Charm

Published on 2011-06-02 22:09:13

On day 2 of Memorial Weekend, I opted to go to a lake I’ve been told has a lot of large bass. My friend’s grandmother was the sole resident on the lake for many years. I’ve fished it twice before and have yet to catch a fish on it. > read more

Bass Opener Bust

Published on 2011-05-31 23:03:05

The hardest part of Spring in Minnesota for a bass fisherman is waiting for bass opener to come around. It finally arrived this past weekend. I was supposed to go up to my father-in-law’s cabin on the Gunflint, but my wife scheduled her garage > read more

Minnesota Bass Opener

Published on 2011-05-24 20:28:07

The day is almost upon us. Minnesota Bass Opener is this weekend and I can’t wait. I had plans to go up to my father-in-law’s place on the Gunflint Trail, but my wife is planning a ginormous garage sale next week and I have to help get th > read more

Minnesota Fishing Opener

Published on 2011-05-14 00:44:32

It’s about 12:30am on May 14, 2011. The crazies truly dedicated are already on lakes across the state drowning worms, leeches, and minnows pursuing the ever elusive walleye. Others will be on the lake by 4 or 5am. Traditionally, this day has al > read more

Open Letter to BassProShops

Published on 2011-05-08 21:12:59

Dear BassProShops, Last fall, I visited one of your stores when visiting my brother in Colorado. If all your other stores are like the one near Boulder, you have amazing stores. The store was clean, well organized, and had an amazing selection of pro > read more

The MNRiverdageous Lunkerdooress Winner

Published on 2011-05-03 06:00:19

The blogosphere never ceases to amaze me. The MNRiverdageous Lunkerdooress Hydra had a lot of fun getting together our scavenger hunt. But it was much better received than I expected. We got a lot of comments about how fun it was. We’re glad yo > read more

Spring Crappie and a Few Bonuses

Published on 2011-04-26 20:52:35

On Easter Sunday, I got a call from Mark wanting to go fishing. My wife had wanted me to do some things around the house, but she (like I) was a bit exhausted from a couple of late nights. So since she wanted to lay down for a while, I got the go ahe > read more

The MNRiverdageous Lunkerdooress Scavenger Hunt

Published on 2011-04-21 06:00:22

When I started blogging almost 2 years ago, I thought I would be writing in a silo. I knew other bloggers were out there, but I did not expect to interact with them. Nor did I expect that they would welcome me to their community so openly. Because of > read more

How to Steam a Fish Whole

Published on 2011-04-18 23:24:15

In my last post, I gave instructions on How to Clean a Fish Whole. Now I’ll show you how to cook it. These days, it’s very simple and easy to steam a fish. Back in the day, before there was electricity, my mom had to steam fish in a Pyrex > read more

How to Clean Fish Whole

Published on 2011-04-14 23:00:58

When I was a kid, I rarely ever ate fish fillets. The fish I ate were always cleaned and cooked whole. And they were rarely dipped in batter and fried. My mom would fry up smaller panfish in a frying pan, but most of the fish were steamed. Below is a > read more

Yosemite Frazil Ice

Published on 2011-04-12 22:43:16

The average temp in Minnesota this time of year is around 55 degrees. But this last weekend, it hit 70 degrees F and ice out happened overday (as opposed to overnight) for many local lakes. So in keeping with the warming/melting theme, I wanted to sh > read more

Review : SentrySafe Pistol Safe

Published on 2011-04-11 22:31:34

During the SHOT show in January, SentrySafe gave away 40 pistol safes to Twitter followers that tweeted their contest. While I don’t own a pistol, the safe looked like it could be used for much more than firearms, so I entered. To my surprise, > read more

Review : River Cottage

Published on 2011-04-06 22:42:42

A few months ago, a friend of mine, who is originally from the UK, introduced me to a series called River Cottage. It stars Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (herein referred to as HFW for brevity) who was a chef by trade and decided to leave the comforts > read more

Animals Died so that We May Live

Published on 2011-04-04 23:06:03

A few months ago, a friend and neighbor introduced me to the UK series River Cottage. It’s a series about a man who left London to live in the country and raise his own food, both vegetables and animals. After watching the series, I wanted to d > read more

Ice Fishing 2010-2011 In Review

Published on 2011-04-02 00:13:55

I saw my first open water near the shore of one the bigger lakes yesterday. The ice lost its grip on shallow ponds almost a week ago. I’ve been seeing a lot of ducks hanging out on those ponds. So with ice fishing season over, it’s time o > read more

Review : Replica Toy Fish

Published on 2011-03-29 22:07:21

Earlier this month, I was contacted by Simeon Chambers of the Replica Toy Fish company. He said he had a product that kids love and parents really appreciate. Not sure of his claim, I checked out his web site. His story was very interesting. One summ > read more

MN DNR CWD-Tested Culled Deer

Published on 2011-03-27 20:45:11

[This post contains several place holder images that hide images of dead deer. Please do not click on the place holders below if you do not want to see them.] Back in early February, I happened to notice some tweets by Jim Braaten giving information > read more

Ice Out Watch 2011

Published on 2011-03-23 22:35:09

A year and a week ago, I saw my first open water of 2010 and hence began my wait for open water season. Given the winter we had this year, it’s no surprise that open water has yet to appear on any local lake, especially after we got 3-4 inches > read more

Most Un-trophy Trophy

Published on 2011-03-22 19:59:47

The Outdoor Blogger Network posted a photo prompt today that could not be ignored: Most Un-Frame Worthy Outdoor Photo, otherwise known as, “Smallest Fish” or “Most Un-trophy Trophy”. Mine was this one: Can you even see it??? I > read more

The World Loses 101 Year-Old Angler

Published on 2011-03-16 21:01:50

A couple of months ago, I reported on a story of a gentleman who went ice fishing on his 101st birthday. He caught two very nice bass. After my post, his granddaughter contacted me saying he would get a bigger kick out of being on a Minnesota fishing > read more

An Early Morning Panfish Adventure

Published on 2011-03-14 22:46:17

Mark, Rob, and I decided to try Bluegill Bill‘s lake to see if we could catch some of the slab panfish that has been reported to be in that lake. In our three hours out there, we managed less than 10 fish total. I caught two crappie, Mark caugh > read more

Ice Fishing 301 : Enticing Ice Crappie with the Help of Electronics

Published on 2011-03-12 18:13:36

In my last ice fishing report, I talked about a technique Mark used to catch more than 20 crappie in less than 2 hours. As promised, I am going to describe his technique now after delaying my initial commitment due to a special post. I thought about > read more

Thank you, Mrs. MNAngler

Published on 2011-03-10 07:16:06

Too often we forget to express our feelings to the people that matter most in our lives. We also forget to thank them for everything they do for us. Not just in the obvious big events, but also in the little things that get lost in our daily lives. S > read more

Grand Master of Ice Crappie

Published on 2011-03-08 20:55:40

A few weeks ago, I dubbed my brother the Master of Ice Crappie because he had caught 13 crappie in just a few hours of ice fishing. That was an impressive feat considering the conditions. We essentially drilled some random holes near some other ice f > read more

The Legendary Bluegill Bill

Published on 2011-03-06 10:11:07

I was at a neighborhood gathering tonight where the guys were in the living room talking fishing and the ladies were in the kitchen playing Yahtzee. I was definitely in the right room. During our conversation, one of the guys mentioned that one of hi > read more

The Wait Begins

Published on 2011-03-01 23:13:45

Today is the first day of the 2011 fishing season in Minnesota. You can buy your 2011 fishing license starting today even though 2010 licenses are good to the end of April. This year I get to pick up my first free license. I’m excited about wha > read more

Success at an Ice Fishing Get-Together

Published on 2011-02-27 22:44:17

I had opportunity to participate in an Ice Fishing Get-together sponsored by a local bar on Saturday. It wasn’t called a tournament because of the legalities of such a moniker, but it had all the makings of one: an entry fee, prizes for the big > read more

Ice Fishing in a Blizzard

Published on 2011-02-20 22:09:56

The local weathermen were all in a tizzy the past few days because they were predicting a storm to rival the one that hit us last Dec 11. By 1:30pm, the snow was supposed to be coming down in full force, but it wasn’t snowing that heavily. It w > read more

Review : Frabill Pro-Thermal Tip-up Combo

Published on 2011-02-18 21:46:22

Every week, the Outdoor Blogger Network holds a contest and gives away some gear to its members. The catch is that you have to review any product that you win. Back in December, they gave away some really cool ice fishing equipment and I was picked a > read more

Master of Ice Crappie

Published on 2011-02-13 13:45:14

I was finally able to do some ice fishing last Friday afternoon with my brother, Vince, and a friend of his. Vince was in town to surprise my dad for his milestone birthday. Vince and I spent some time with family (my aunt flew in for the surprise as > read more

Ice Fishing for a Good Cause

Published on 2011-02-08 23:34:15

This past weekend, I had an opportunity to fish two different ice fishing tournaments. The problem was, they were at the same time. So I had to make a choice. I opted for the closer tournament that looked like it might have fewer people. Not to menti > read more

Happy Chinese New Year

Published on 2011-02-03 07:50:40

From my family to yours, I would like to wish you a prosperous and bountiful (fish or otherwise) Year of the Rabbit. [ The picture above makes me want to get my pellet gun. I haven't seen many bunnies in my yard this winter, but their tracks keep sho > read more

MNAngler World Headquarters

Published on 2011-01-31 22:30:56

One of the great ideas that came out of the Outdoor Blogger Network is their writing prompts. Every week, they suggest a topic for us outdoor bloggery types to write about. I’ve opted out of most of them mainly because, like Troutrageous, I don > read more

Million Dollar Lure

Published on 2011-01-24 20:00:59

Muskie lures are among the most expensive lures around, but this one is hook, line, and sinker craziness. Assuming a muskie would go after this thing. The size of it would suggest a killer whale might be a more likely target. Maybe one of my saltwate > read more

Bag O’Gear

Published on 2011-01-20 22:59:02

Not too long ago, my colleague and fishing buddy, Dan, walked into the office with a bag that his dad had given him. It was originally owned by Dan’s Great Uncle, a Benedictine monk and avid fisherman. His name was Angelo Zankle (isn’t th > read more

I’m Still Here

Published on 2011-01-18 22:34:28

So I blinked and somehow 9 days passed since my last post. I haven’t done that since getting ready for the Lego League regional tournament. Granted, we are now getting ready for the state tournament that takes place a week from Saturday, but my > read more

Mr. Ice Fishing

Published on 2011-01-09 20:57:44

When you mention the word “technology,” computers and electronics generally come to mind. But each field has technology that advances its industry to make things easier and more efficient. Ice fishing is no different. When you talk about > read more

60″ Muskie Caught on Lake Vermillion

Published on 2011-01-05 19:46:02

Check out this 60-inch muskie that was caught by Kevin Walsh of Ellendale, MN. He caught it fishing with his buddy on Lake Vermillion in Northern Minnesota on October 16, 2010. This is another story I didn’t get around to posting this fall. It > read more

60″ Muskie Caught on Lake Vermillion

Published on 2011-01-05 19:46:02

13 Year Old Girl Catches Record Striped Bass

Published on 2011-01-04 22:22:52

Last March, I did a post about a 14 year old girl catching a Kentucky state record muskie. That was impressive, but this past fall, she was outdone by someone younger. I heard about this about the time the story came out, but never got around to post > read more

13 Year Old Girl Catches Record Striped Bass

Published on 2011-01-04 22:22:52

Goals for 2011

Published on 2011-01-01 01:01:19

Welcome to 2011! As I mentioned last year, I prefer to do goals rather than resolutions. And this year, it happens to fall right into the Writing Prompt that the Outdoor Blogger Network posted earlier this week. Last year, most of my goals focused on > read more

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