Life and Times in the Great Outdoors

Bowstring Slow

2012-01-28T18:19:00.000-06:00

Jesse Clusiau and his dad, Nick, (my brother) pose with a nice bunch of Big Bowstring fish before heading home. It was pretty tough sledding out there today. I think I'll go trout fishing tomorrow for a change of pace. Also, I was surprised to see Nick out on the lake but am glad he showed up. He's always upbeat and fun to be with. Hope we can do it again sometime!

2012-01-28T18:15:00.000-06:00

Blake and I caught the majority of the crappies today. The hot bait was, once again, an Impulse "Mini Smelt" minnow, stuck on the end of a "Mud Bug" jig.

2012-01-28T18:13:00.000-06:00

Blake caught the first walleye of the day. Nice one!

2012-01-28T18:11:00.000-06:00

"Otter Colony". The fish weren't moving much so we had to practically fish right on top of one another. Love these shelters. Are they cool looking or what?

2012-01-28T18:09:00.000-06:00

Jesse with a nice Bowstring slab. It was indeed tough fishing today but between the five of us, we ended up with a pretty darn good catch of a dozen crappies, two walleyes, and a handful of jumbo perch.

2012-01-28T18:06:00.000-06:00

Tim Ranta, sad and dejected, after a fruitless day of fishing. Ha ha. Tim puts on a sad face for the camera. Great! He's fun to fish with and is always good for a laugh or two (or more). "That's okay little buddy. Thing's will get better. You'll see. Just hang in there until the next trip."

Cars Through the Ice on Bald Eagle Lake

2012-01-26T17:10:00.000-06:00

Crews are getting the first of two vehicles out from under the ice on Bald Eagle Lake. (KARE 11 News)

.

Redneck Fishfinder

2012-01-25T16:04:00.000-06:00

Fishing Hole

2012-01-24T16:24:00.000-06:00

And this is exactly why you can't go around blabbing about your favorite little fishing hole. LOL

Crappie Master

2012-01-23T18:51:00.000-06:00

Young Timmy Ranta, age 5, outfished dad 10 to 1 last weekend and what nice fish they were! All Tim Sr. had to do was bait the hook and Timmy did the rest. How nice! (Must take after momma) :)

Big Bowstring Always Fun to Fish

2012-01-22T18:40:00.000-06:00

I made it to Big Bowstring and gave the crappies a whirl, while waiting for my "fishing partner for the day" Jason Green. Well, as luck would have it, they disappeared on me by the time Jason came rolling in so we went "perch jerkin", which wasn't a bad call.

2012-01-22T18:36:00.001-06:00

Northland Tackle's Impulse "Mini Smelt" continues to catch crappies. What a great bait! This one is on the business end of a "Hexi Fly", another proven winner.

2012-01-22T18:31:00.000-06:00

Jason Green poses with the biggest perch of the day. Now that's a true "JUMBO".

2012-01-22T18:29:00.000-06:00

I've been doing good out there with Northland's "Moxie Minnow" tipped with a waxworm or minnow pieces.

2012-01-22T18:23:00.000-06:00

I was busy working on my tackle when I glanced up to see this critter running across the lake. No, it couldn't be.....

2012-01-22T18:20:00.002-06:00

As I suspected, it was a muskrat but what in the world was it doing running on top of the ice in the middle of the lake? It froze when I finally got close enough for this photo, either scared or ready to attack or both I'm sure. As soon as I started walking away, it continued on toward the east shore, which was about 3 miles away? * Click on pic for a nice close-up. Click here for the song "Muskrat Love" Muskrat Love

"Moxie Minnow" Does the Trick!

2012-01-21T17:51:00.000-06:00

Northland Tackle's "Moxie Minnow" helped me put several dozen nice jumbo perch on the ice today. The fish, which averaged 10-11", would hit it as fast as I could get it down to them. I was really surprised, coming off a cold front, coupled with gale force winds. I found them extremely shallow, in 5-6' of water.

2012-01-21T17:46:00.000-06:00

Here's the first eight that I kept. I added two more nice fish to make an even half-limit of ten jumbo perch. What fabulous fishing it was today and here I was, all alone, with nobody to share it with. Well, tomorrow that will change, as Jason Green plans on joining me for some video fun.

Just Joking 2

2012-01-17T20:01:00.000-06:00

Just Joking :)

2012-01-17T05:03:00.000-06:00

Sorry, I couldn't resist posting this one. Ha ha.

Why Hunt, Fish, & Trap by Ted Nugent

2012-01-16T16:13:00.001-06:00

Ted may be a little over the top but he really hits the nail right on the head. Check out this short video of why we hunt, fish, and trap. Why Hunt, Fish, & Trap

First Time Spearing Northern Pike

2012-01-15T20:12:00.000-06:00

Young Timmy Ranta, age 5, enjoyed his first-ever pike spearing outing with his dad, Tim Ranta Sr., today. There were high-fives all around after this 8 1/2 pounder was speared and brought to the surface. Nice going "guys!"

Long Time Looking on "The String"

2012-01-15T19:34:00.000-06:00

Blake Liend (pictured), Travis Sorokie, and I fished Big Bowstring today and it seemed to take forever to get on fish. Checking a dozen proven spots, we picked up one fish here and one fish there, until the sun lowered itself in the late-afternoon. This is when they put on the feedbag and by then Travis was on his way back home to Sauk Rapids. Too bad because it was all-of-a-sudden good fishing!

2012-01-15T19:28:00.001-06:00

Yes, I caught a few myself. This one was taken on an Impulse "Mini Smelt" minnow. Also, my favorite rod of the new hard-water season is a Jason Mitchell Series 20" "Meat Stick." I've done very well with it, especially on tough bites.

2012-01-15T19:24:00.000-06:00

The Impulse "Mini Smelt" minnow continues to fool panfish, something it's been doing all winter long. What amazes me is the fact that it out-performs live bait and even when the bite is tough, like it was today, the fish will take a 1" "Mini Smelt" before a itty-bitty little waxworm or minnow head. Incredible bait!

2012-01-15T19:21:00.000-06:00

It was very windy, all day long, which is terrible when you're on a larger lake. This pic was from one of the dozen spots we fished today. Ha ha. I can laugh because I've been there waaay too many times myself.

Rue the La Rue, from Trout to Panfish

2012-01-15T08:03:00.000-06:00

We started out on Nashwauk's La Rue Pit for stream trout and ended up on Bass Lake for bluegills because of lousy trout fishing. This is pretty much the sane scenario that we dealt with on last year's trout opener. We started on the La Rue and ended up going across the highway to Blue Lake for panfish, which turned out to be a good move. This year, however, the struggles continued but we did catch a few fish. The key word here is "few."

Jeremy Taschuk (pictured) drove down from Ft. Frances to join us. He's done this a couple other times and it always baffles me why a guy from Ontario would cross the border and head south for trout fishing?? Oh well. I guess the guy just loves to fish.

Also fishing with us were Jeremy's son, Bren, Mark Case, and Travis Sorokie of Sauk Rapids. Not a short trip for him either. As I write this report on a Sunday morning the phone has been ringing for today's plan, which is to go to Big Bowstring Lake. I haven't been there all season but it's going to happen today. My last couple outings there were poor so I'm a little apprehensive but we'll see.

2012-01-15T07:48:00.000-06:00

One of the better gills that were caught throughout the afternoon. Fish up to 9" or better were iced.

2012-01-15T07:40:00.000-06:00

Blake caught a handful of bass, while seeking panfish. I guess the old adage "if there's panfish, there's bass" or visa-versa, still holds true). He caught a larger one, shortly after this pic was taken, but my hands were too cold to dig out the camera again.

2012-01-15T07:36:00.000-06:00

My only bass was a nice one. All fish (sunnies, perch, & bass) were released.

2012-01-15T07:33:00.000-06:00

A few nice perch, along with several small ones, were caught throughout the day. Never-the-less, it was still a very tough fishing day for us all.

2012-01-15T07:30:00.002-06:00

The "Hexi Flys" did it again for most of the day.

Minnesota Inland Trout Opener

2012-01-14T05:44:00.000-06:00

It's getting close to "go time" here on the Iron Range, as the Minnesota Inland Trout Season will get underway as soon as the sun comes up. I will be fishing for stream trout (rainbows & browns) in Nashwauk's La Rue Pit. The limit is five fish with no more than three being over 16". If I got a limit like that today I'd be ecstatic! The La Rue Pit is not a designated trout lake so live minnows can be used, as well as two lines. Perfect. I'll usually jig one and have a tip-up somewhere nearby.

Joining me are friends from all over the North Country. To name a few: regular fishing partners Blake Liend, Mark Case, Tim Ranta & son Timmy, and Travis Sorokie of Sauk Rapids, and Jeremy Taschuk and son, Bren, coming all the way from Ft. Frances, Ontario. (What's the matter with this guy?) There's pretty darn good fishing up north but he like the Minnesota "experience." A full report will follow the day's endeavor.

Open Spring Hole on Blue Lake!

2012-01-08T20:00:00.001-06:00

From a post on the Fishing Minnesota website:
"The old notion that no ice is safe ice rang true for us today while fishing Blue Lake in Nashwauk. Decided to venture to the back side of the lake to get away from the community holes and try to find some structure with deep enough water that the panfish would be gathering. I was driving slowly and looking at shore lines and thinking where to set up when my girlfriend screams "OPEN WATER!". I look up just in time to see it just ahead of me. I still have no idea how i reacted so darn fast but somewhere in that short blink of a split second my head processed the fact that there is little to no snow on the lake and hitting the brakes would only slide us into the hole, so I cranked the wheel to the left and punched the gas. We hit the other side rather hard and we both came up out of our seats mirror knocked off and everything got thrown around. Luckily though only the passenger side front tire went into the hole and I had enough momentum to slam up the other side. My initial thought was that someone has left a spearing hole open and i was flaming mad. After i got out and inspected the Jeep for damage i walked back to the hole to check it out and snapped the following picture. Turns out it was an underwater spring that popped a hole in the ice. There were constant air bubbles coming up and in the center of the hole the water almost seem to be bubbling it was coming up so fast. All in all we were extremely lucky today! (And even ended up going home with some fish to eat!)"

Sumo Perch & Bull Gills

2012-01-08T19:32:00.000-06:00

Blake and I put in a half-day stint for some great panfish action. Blake was off by himself, pounding big perch, while I was on the other side of the lake catching BIG bluegills. Blake used his new favorite bait, a Northland Tackle "Mud Bug" tipped with the new Impulse "Mini Smelt" minnow. What a deadly combiation this has become.

2012-01-08T19:29:00.000-06:00

We caught a bunch of nice bluegills too. This one, my largest of the new hardwater season, went 10" and was released. It was caught on Northland's new tungsten "Mooska" jig, tipped with a waxworm.

Lake of the Woods Walleye & Sauger

2012-01-08T09:18:00.006-06:00

Mark Case (pictured), Blake Liend, and I made a day-trip to Lake of the Woods yesterday and encountered slow fishing. Original thoughts had us fishing on Upper Red Lake but poor reports forced us to travel even further north.
We ended up fishing for most of a day and bunched it around 4:00 pm, nothing was happening (where we were at). You know darn well that they were biting "somewhere." We just happened to be in the wrong spot, along with hundreds of other hopeful anglers.
Our total catch was 15-16 fish, half saugers - half walleye. All walleyes were too small to keep and one was too big (Mark's 23"er). He won "Big Fish" honors on this day and took $5 each from Blake and I but I guess that's okay, as he drove his truck. LOL

We fished in 31' of water and ended up taking home 5 saugers and all fish were caught on Northland Tackle's "Macho Minnow."

"Up North" After Work

2012-01-05T04:58:00.000-06:00

I made a quick trip up north, after work, even though I was a little tired out. Just had to go, as the unseasonably temps were in the mid-30's. Driving up to Big Balsam Lake, I spotted these posing whitetails and an eagle.

Fishing was poor (only caught 2 crappies) but I was able to drive right out to the spot on 14" of ice. Still "spooky" looking though, for January.

2012-01-05T04:52:00.000-06:00

Another eagle shot. I never get tired of taking their pictures.

Pre - Fishing Fun?

2012-01-01T15:24:00.002-06:00

Blake and I headed out early this morning, to do a little pre-fishing for tomorrow's planned outing with local writer Mary Finch. We wanted to find a lake that was "drivable" (no snowmobiles required) and one that had fish willing to bite. We found it but the weather forced us to pack it in after only four crappies hit the ice. It was absolutely brutal out there. The wind was blowing so hard that shelters couldn't be left alone or they would tip over and begin a journey across the lake. Therefore, we fished outside, with no shelters at all. I certainly hope it's much better weather tomorrow morning. Mary is an Arkansas transplant and has never ice fished. Wow. What a way to start! UPDATE - We postponed until better weather.

2012-01-01T15:16:00.000-06:00

Colder than hell and back to the wind.

2012-01-01T15:14:00.000-06:00

And fish were caught.....

Gills Galore!

2011-12-31T18:11:00.001-06:00

Blake and I hit two lakes today, with the first one being the best, as it was full of nice bluegills. Then, we left (we get bored at times) for another "possible" bite, which didn't happen. Blake did lose a big walleye though on a Northland Impulse "Mini Smelt" Minnow. Would have been a great picture fish. Darn! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!

2011-12-31T18:02:00.000-06:00

Our best bait today was a Northland "Hexi Fly" tipped with a waxworm.

2011-12-31T18:00:00.000-06:00

I just love the colors of pumpkinseeds. We caught a few of them today and the colors are always spectacular!

Gillage!

2011-12-30T20:08:00.001-06:00

Loren Keizer, Detroit Lakes, drove up and fished bluegills with me for a day. We caught plenty of fish, once we found them. I had the best "luck" by using a small Northland Tackle "Hexi Fly" tipped with a waxworm. Notice the rod, a 20" Jason Mitchell "Meat Stick". This sensitive, little rod helped put a lot of fish on the ice. The super-sensitive tip acts just like a spring bobber. Sweet!

2011-12-30T20:03:00.002-06:00

Loren Keizer with a nice gill. He caught quite a few fish, using a Custom Jigs & Spins "Diamond Jig" tipped with a waxworm. We tried maggots too but the fish preferred waxies on this day.

2011-12-30T20:01:00.001-06:00

We caught several perch, as well, but this was the only 'jumbo." All fish were released.

Local Crappie Lakes Firming Up

2011-12-30T19:58:00.001-06:00

I think I might have been one of the first to drive a vehicle on a local lake, north of Nashwauk, where I met up with John Kukkonen and his son, Dylan. They played it safe and drove a wheeler. They also caught a good bunch of crappie, like this one. I did okay too. Ice was measured at 12 to 13".

Walleye Fishing on Lake of the Woods, Sportsman's Lodge

2011-12-27T08:26:00.002-06:00

We did a "day trip" yesterday to Lake of the Woods for some walleye action and it didn't disappoint. Although it's a 3 hour ride, one way from Grand Rapids, it was worth it, as we had great weather, great fishing, and great friends. Most resorts aren't allowing vehicle traffic just yet so we were shuttled out onto the lake by Sportsman's Lodge and used one of their rental shelters. It's on'y a 15 minute ride and if you've never done this before, you owe it to yourself to do so. For more info, go to http://www.sportsmanslodges.com/
To watch a short video of our fun day on the ice, go to Winter Walleyes at Sportsman's Lodge

2011-12-27T08:19:00.001-06:00

A quick pic of the "crew" (Jason Green, Ryan Green, and Blake Liend) before heading back to the lodge. It was truly "good fishing" yesterday.

2011-12-27T08:12:00.001-06:00

What in the world has happened here? Oh, we all have tangles and malfunctions from time-to-time. :)

2011-12-27T08:08:00.000-06:00

We did a lot of "unhooking". Make sure to bring "hook-outs" with you because you're going to need them.

2011-12-27T08:06:00.000-06:00

Happy to be here!

2011-12-27T08:04:00.001-06:00

Jason tries to catch another fish, while Ryan catches some sleep. That's what can happen, when it's real comfortable.

2011-12-27T08:00:00.000-06:00

Ryan finally woke up and began catching fish again. He caught quite a few.

2011-12-27T07:58:00.000-06:00

Just in case you don't have enough rods, the shelters have extras that can be used, along with an ice scoop and gaff.

2011-12-27T07:55:00.002-06:00

Our "lucky" house was positioned in 26' of water on this day. Sportsman's has 40 of these shelters! (I don't know what Blake is doing? A BIG "thumbs up?")

2011-12-27T07:53:00.000-06:00

Isn't this a beautiful sight? We very well could have filled 2 or 3 buckets, catching around 100 fish or so. Only twenty were brought home. Oh, by the way, they were cleaned and packaged at Sportsman's while we were having dinner. How sweet is that?

2011-12-27T07:42:00.001-06:00

Blake with another nice one. We did well by using the "Macho Minnow" tipped with a minnow head or tail. I also caught s few fish on the new "Live Forage Rippin' Shad."

2011-12-27T07:37:00.000-06:00

Ryan clowning around. Hey, let's share those "fritters!"

2011-12-27T07:31:00.001-06:00

Even though we had superb weather, a propane heater always keeps it nice and toasty inside the rental shelters.

2011-12-27T07:25:00.000-06:00

A front moving in at day's end. We enjoyed great weather, along with great fishing.

2011-12-27T07:21:00.001-06:00

One of the shuttles is pictured, picking up anglers at the end of the day. It's a neat little ride (about 15 minutes) in that heated wagon and a new experience for me. We went from out on the ice, catching fish, to inside Sportsman's Lodge, where a nice supper was had before heading home.

2011-12-27T07:02:00.001-06:00

SPORTSMAN'S LODGE, I'll be back! For more info, click on http://www.sportsmanslodges.com/

Two Lake Jake

2011-12-25T18:51:00.000-06:00

That's what they should call me, "Two Lake Jake." Ha ha, as I've been hitting two lakes a day for the last few outings. Usually, the first lake is somewhat of a bust and I remedy that by going to a lake that I can count on, which happened again today. I started out on Sucker Lake, by Nashwauk, and caught 10 crappies as fast as I could get a line down but they were all small so I left after fishing for only 20 minutes or so. The next lake produced some nice fish (pictured) but they weren't as plentiful. No matter. I was happy with that and why not, it's Christmas! Merry Christmas everybody.

2011-12-25T18:45:00.000-06:00

How about this neat, old fireplace and chimney? Sitting alongside the lake, it's a clue to where I was fishing toward the end of the day.

2011-12-25T18:43:00.001-06:00

Some of my favorite playthings. I'm really surprised at how clean everything stays because of the salt shield. Should've bought one many years ago. Well, I better got off the internet, as I have my weekly column to write (it's almost 7 pm) and have to pack for tomorrow's trip to Lake of the Woods. We're leaving Keewatin at 3:30 am. Yikes!

Walleyes & Crappies

2011-12-25T07:14:00.000-06:00

I started out yesterday morning by doing a little exploring, for a good walleye spot, on Trout Lake. To get real serious, in catching Trout Lake walleyes, it's preferred that you get out there in the dark and take advantage of the "low-light bite", which I didn't. I slept in and got to the lake around 9 am. and really surprised myself, when this 17" plus walleye came up and inhaled a "Macho Minnow" tipped with a minnow head. It was my only walleye that was caught along with a bunch of small perch. After several holes were punched, along a favorite summer "big fish" weedline, I now know exactly where to go, when heading out there in the dark. Also, another reason for doing the exploring, was to make sure of ice conditions, which are good for snowmobiles and atvs and measured at 9-11".

2011-12-25T07:08:00.000-06:00

I ended the afternoon by taking the snowmobile out on Crooked Lake, where 9" of ice was found. I did, however, see three trucks out there. That's really pushing it folks. What's the matter with people? These crappies were downright fussy and were caught bu using a "Mud Bug", tipped with three red maggots, "dead-sticked". Using that super-sensitive 20" Jason Mitchell "Meat Stick", the bait was positioned right on the fish and waited out until one bit. Slow, finesse fishing but I did go home with a limit of 10-10's (ten ten-inchers).
I should mention that the first ten fish caught were kept, as they came out of 39' of water.

Upper Red Lake - Bear Paw Guide Service

2011-12-24T06:26:00.000-06:00

Blake Liend, Mark Case, and I did a day-trip to Upper Red Lake yesterday. They fish were really snapping but on the way up, we encountered a mini snowstorm and I think that may have shut the fish down a bit. Never-the-less, we all caught fish but Blake (pictured) had the hot hand. We all used Northland Tackle's "Macho Minnow" tipped with a minnow head or tail. Some larger perch were caught as well. A BIG thanks to Bear Paw Guide service for putting us on "the spot".

2011-12-24T06:20:00.000-06:00

We all use the Otter "Cottage", which is the smallest one they make. These are great shelters. Classy looking too, don't ya think?

2011-12-24T06:18:00.000-06:00

The inside of my "thermal" Otter. This baby is WARM. Love it!

2011-12-24T06:17:00.001-06:00

Mark Case poses with a fish that was "just touching" the 17" mark. It had to be released. We drove out several miles and had 18" of ice. One still has to use caution and play it safe.

Exploring on Blue Lake

2011-12-20T19:05:00.001-06:00

Blake and I fished Blue Lake Saturday and Sunday. Saturday was just "so far" with the truck, where we found too thin of ice, 9 1/2". Sunday was with the snowmobiles, when we covered the entire lake, from end-to-end. We were surprised, when we traveled south, to the "road bed" area and found a couple young guys fishing. They had driven their car that far and set up for the night, where only 5 crappies were caught, which measured from 12-14". Sure, there's big fish there, early on, but it's not worth driving a vehicle on that thin of ice. Wow.

Blake continued to catch a bunch of fish with the new Northland Impulse "Mini Smelt" Minnow. He's just hammering the fish, bluegills and crappies alike. No live bait at all! I just got in the door from L&M in Hibbing and they have them there, for those that are interested.

I am looking forward to the Christmas Break, where I will have 11 days off, starting this Friday, Decemeber 23. Plans are to fish nearly every day so please check back often and see how I do. I've got some interesting "stuff" coming up.

Ice Caution

2011-12-18T08:47:00.000-06:00

D A N G E R !
Blake and I fished Blue Lake yesterday and found thin ice. We drove the truck out to the first "community hole" and found 9 1/2" of ice. Last Sunday, when using snowmobiles, we found 9" of ice. Looking at the well-worn "truck trail" and a week's time, I assumed there would be 12" or more but that's not the case. We are using snowmobiles again today.
P L E A S E B E C A R E F U L !

Filming with Bill Sherck "Due North Outdoors"

2011-12-14T19:15:00.001-06:00

After fishing six different waters, Blake and I finally came up with a game plan for our tv show with Bill Sherck of "Due North Outdoors" and "Minnesota Bound". The filming actually started at the N-K High School, where I work. They wanted to know the wheres, whys, and hows of Greg Clusiau. Who is this guy? Ha. Hope I didn't disappoint! Bill was a joy to fish with and I could see him fitting right in with Blake and I. Good times!

2011-12-14T19:10:00.000-06:00

"Team BB", Bill & Blake do it up right!

2011-12-14T19:09:00.000-06:00

We took time for a quick pose at day's end. What a fun trip this was.

2011-12-14T19:08:00.000-06:00

Blake doing his thing. Nice job Buddy! Proud of ya.

2011-12-14T19:06:00.000-06:00

Videographer Lorri Burchett even found a little time to fish, before we called it a day, and what a successful day it was!

2011-12-14T19:05:00.000-06:00

Lorri Burchett, patiently waiting for us to do something for the camera. After looking over that monster tripod, I said "why didn't you get the big one?" Ha ha.

2011-12-14T19:03:00.000-06:00

Lorri Burchett hard at "work." Nice job Lorri. Thank you and thank you Mr. Sherck. It was fun. Maybe again sometime.

Sunday's Search for a Good Bite

2011-12-14T18:58:00.000-06:00

Blake and I headed "up north" to a little lake, off the beaten path and found a terrible bite taking place. Blake did manage a couple decent crappies, 11", and I only an 8" perch. We, along with these other local anglers, decided to go to a different lake.

2011-12-14T18:55:00.000-06:00

I started things off on the second lake by catching this nice gill. They were really smacking it out there, with a few crappies mixed in.

2011-12-14T18:53:00.000-06:00

Brett Massingill was out there, giving the panfish a try, when this little largemouth bass decided to play games on him. Looks like Brett won! It was Brett who clued us in on the hot bite taking place out there. Thanks buddy!

2011-12-14T18:50:00.000-06:00

Even though there was only 9" of ice out there (I measured), These guys used full size pickup trucks to tow their wheel-houses to a favorite "community hole." Crazy!

Saturday's Search for a Good Bite

2011-12-14T18:34:00.001-06:00

Blake Liend drove his snowmobile, pulling an Otter "Cottage", down to my house on Saturday morning, last week, where we loaded up and went fishing. Ha ha, only in "small town America". We were in search of a good bite for the up and coming television show with none other than Bill Sherck of "Due North Outdoors" and "Minnesota Bound".

2011-12-14T18:30:00.001-06:00

Blake had the hot hand on this day but did allow me to catch a few fish. Again, the hot bait of the new season has been Northland Tackle's new Impulse "Mini Smelt", hands down. It's even out-fishing live bait. How cool is that? This pic was on the first lake we tried. We had found fish but would it be enough for a good show? We went in search of more!

2011-12-14T18:25:00.001-06:00

I scored this nice one on the second lake. Hmm, maybe we've got something here? We'll see what tomorrow brings.

"Out on a Limb" European Mounts by the Koprevics

2011-12-06T17:40:00.001-06:00

I stopped in for a visit the other day, at the "Out on a Limb" shop, owned by Marc and Birdie Koprevic. Marc and his wife produce some of the nicest, most creative European mounts in the area. Pictured above is a "nubbin" buck and doe. This just goes to show you that even though you never bagged that monster buck, a deer of any size can be tastefully put on display.

This is a great idea for those youngsters that have shot their first deer and it isn't a trophy buck with a big rack. In the youngster's eyes, and the parents, it's a trophy none-the-less. How about that old rack, hanging in the garage or up at the cabin? They can clean it up and place it on a plaque that's more than fitting to be on display in your living room. The Koprevics do a wide variety of animals, big and small.

The following photos display just a small bit of their creative style. They can be contacted at (218) 778-6437 or (218) 966-6437.

2011-12-06T17:29:00.000-06:00

Side view

2011-12-06T17:28:00.000-06:00

A sample of some of their work. You can have anything written on your plaques, along with the exact cartridge used, date, picture, etc.

2011-12-06T17:26:00.000-06:00

Coyote

2011-12-06T17:25:00.000-06:00

Bobcat. How about those fangs?

2011-12-06T17:24:00.000-06:00

Antelope

2011-12-06T17:23:00.000-06:00

Grouse

2011-12-06T17:22:00.000-06:00

Weasel. Big or small, they do them all. The Koprevic's have done European mounts of some of the largest animals too, like elk, caribou, moose, and bison.

2011-12-06T17:20:00.000-06:00

Beaver. They have to keep on chewing, to keep their teeth down, otherwise they'll get too long and the beaver will die.

2011-12-06T17:18:00.000-06:00

Nice, old rack, adorned with feathers and barbed-wire. Marc and Birdie are extremely creative.