Walleyedan Media Archives

Walleyedan

Brainerd Daily Dispatch
March 25, 2010
With the ice on area lakes deteriorating, it’s now or next December. I was last out on the ice Monday on North Long and things were o.k.. I walked out from the access with Chad from Green Bay, Wisconsin in hopes of catching a meal or two of crappies and or sunnies. We walked the short plank out onto the ice (10-12 inches at the time) and hoofed our way out to the spot. There were a few other fishermen out and plenty of holes to be worked. Chad and I laid on the ice most of the evening watching the underwater world. This time of year it’s fun to watch all of the fish roam the shallows, I spotted perch, sunnies (bluegills), 1 rock bass, 1 largemouth, about 5 crappies, 1 walleye, 1 northern (pike) that I had to pull my bait away from quickly and I think that was about it. We could have caught a lot of sunnies, but when you watch them you are able to select the nice ones and pull away from the little buggers. The nice ones were pretty fussy and by the end of the night we left the lake with about the same weight in the buckets as we had when we walked out. By the way, thank you Jeff for cleaning up the mess from the “slobs”. I am still hoping to make one last trip out onto the ice before it’s time to fire up the Merc! P.s. Mark April 17th on the calendars and come out to Mills Ford for “Let’s Go Fishing Day”, you won’t want to miss it.

Walleyedan  

Brainerd Daily Dispatch
February 25, 2010
February 2010 is almost history. The walleye season is closing for a couple of months, fish houses have to be off the lakes, March is going to come in like a lamb and leave like a lamb and hopefully before we know it the Twins will be playing ball the way it was meant to be played..on grass. Or how about honing up the calling skills for the upcoming turkey season? How about a golf lesson, I have been seeing Chris Foley doing just that through the glass from highway 371 and that guy knows his stuff. I see Fleet Farm is advertising garden seeds, I’m not the only one that is wanting to say goodbye to the winter. I haven’t been so excited to wet an open water line in a long time. Normally I am iced-out by now and I’m looking for a little break in the fishing action. But this year is different, I am going to have my boat ready to “rock and rig” come open water time! For now it’s time to keep living each day out to its’ fullest and see if I can get this body in shape to roam the countryside this spring. Warriors, did you beat Roseau? I sure hope so, I think it’s state tournament time for Brainerd High School Hockey, keep up the hard work and don’t be cross checking after the whistle (or before it).

Walleyedan  

Brainerd Daily Dispatch
February 11, 2010
Good morning! Just returned from a stop at the Stonehouse Coffee shop up in Nisswa and I am still jumpin’, so bear with me. I am excited because as I was there visiting when a business idea was spawned. I hope the idea has gills and will eventually swim (very fast). Time will tell and eventually you the readers will get a chance to participate in this new idea (product). This time of year can be a drag sometimes but after I left Stonehouse I was caffeinated and very excited about the possibilities of a new venture. And then when I got home I had some more good news from KFAN radio, they are coming back up to do their promo from the fish house and I was asked to participate once again. Sounds like one of the Vikes will be here. I am feeling good at this point but I do want to being up a few other subjects, of which one is sad. My uncle Marlin (longtime Foleyite), my dad’s brother passed away from a massive heart attack last week at the age of 70. The reason I bring this up is because of what he was, a good and faithful servant and much more. He had taken care of his wife Sharon for many, many years as she dealt with M.S.. You just never know what turn of events might be coming your way or mine. This was a shocker. The day before uncle Marlin passed, he had speared a 14 pound northern. He was a hunting and fishing machine and an awesome person. On another note, I need to clarify something from last week’s “turkey talk”. I said under 17 but meant to say the those 17 and under are eligible to purchase and over the counter turkey license for any zone in the state that offers 25 or more permits per season. You can also find the finer details at your local Mills Fleet Farm or on the DNR website. The days are getting longer and the sun is getting warmer, I love it! P.s. Go Warriors!

Walleyedan

The new year is here. And looking back, I would have to say 2009 was just fine. The “state of the economy” was the talk throughout the year and our business was affected by the “slow down” but not too drastically. Normally we hire a number of fill-in guides to do trips that our regular guides can’t take when they are booked, this year the regular guides stayed busy but the fill-in’s weren’t called upon too much. We have 5 regular guides. 2010 will probably be about the same I would guess. Fishing in general started slow in our area but finished fairly strong. Leech lake was good, and it offered up a nice change for us. Thankfully fuel prices were a bit lower this past summer and on leech we saved some dollars on bait as well (didn’t need red tail chubs). I started the open water season with a new (used) boat once again. I ran a new 2007 Triton with a 150 h.p. Mercury tiller. It took me a while to get back in the “tiller groove” but I ended up liking it a lot, thank you Myron. Our family vacation up to “Woody’s” on Rainy Lake was a great time and I think we will have to go back! If you can recall, the weather was pretty “iffy” all year but our timing was perfect for the Rainy Lake trip (90’s and sunny), thank you God. The remainder of the year was scattered with a lot of different things such as work, knee surgery (thanks Dr. Rud), a few different “shows” (SEMA, Shot Show and the ICAST Show), a turkey hunt or two, a bite in the butt by a tick, A phenomenal trip to Lake Winnipeg in March (big walleyes through the ice!), Lymes Disease (heard of it? You should probably learn about it), a nice Veterans Day buck with bow and arrow (thanks Ingrid), a business move, Minnesota Teen Challenge fishing event, kids events and trying to keep them occupied, Camp Confidence fishing classic, Twins baseball, Walleye Alliance fishing tournament, Camp Ripley archery hunt, some filming, some Lunkers baseball games, a missed moose hunt, quite a bit of guiding, a little website updating (thanks Midwest Captions), some writing (Brainerd Dispatch, Northland Press, Lakes Area Advertiser), helping out with the 3 and 4 year olds at church, a little sleep here and there…and a week with William! Thank You God, thank you Shelley, thank you Mills Family, thank you Pfaffs, thank you Terry K., thank you guides (Tim Hanske, Toby Kvalevog, Bruce Meinz, Jeff Anderson, and all of you other guides that helped us out) and thanks to the rest of you for all you have done to make 2009 just fine! 2010 is going to be awesome, hang on for the ride!

Walleyedan

Wow, what a busy time. Christmas, fishing, snow storm, more fishing, pulling houses off to beat the storm, Hubert (the hamster) for the week, 2 year old nephew William for the week while mom and dad are in St. Lucia. It’s the way it is and I am getting better at handling all the “stuff” these days. I think my little road trip to Upper Red Lake may have put me behind just a touch, but how can you resist an invitation (thanks Patrick and Mike) for a sleep over up on Red Lake. We got to watch the “Pack” get beat and unfortunately the “Vikes” too. As for the fishing, we should have been there the day or two before. We did end up with 7 walleyes between the 4 of us and thanks to Lonnie Serfling at Northbound Fishing (northboundfishing.com) we had a house that was built for king with all the comforts of home. It was pretty sweet, sitting down eating a porterhouse steak and potato, watching football on satellite television and trying to jig up a walleye. Yesterday it was my turn to entertain (guide). I had a family of seven from Dallas Texas out on the ice. Nice family and a pretty nice night on the ice. We fished for 4 hours and caught a couple walleyes, 1 pike and a couple of perch, I think they had fun. Now it’s off to the races again, we need to get a couple of house pulled before they are covered with snow (and water). You have a nice weekend and I hope 2010 is a “10”!

Walleyedan

p.s. The walleyes are biting on small jigging spoons tipped with a minnow head, 12-18 feet of water.

Merry Christmas to you. Isn’t Christmas great? Of course this depends on how you see Christmas. I don’t know that I am a huge fan of all the gifts we think we need to get for the kids, but I guess we have made Christmas that way. This year we have made a change in our approach and it is because of an article that my wife Shelleye had read in “Her Voice”, a publication put out by the Brainerd Dispatch. Thanks Mary Aalgaard for writing. We are using the idea for our kids this Christmas when it comes to the gift giving. They can pick three gifts (representing what the wise men took to the Christ child), one will be their gold gift, one their frankincense and one their myrrh. It really brought to light how spoiled they are. O.K., now to finish with an outdoorsy note. We have ice, and good ice. It will vary in thickness from lake to lake and spot to spot, but we are off to a great start and the fishing has been good. My story of the week is of a couple that was up here on their honeymoon and staying at the Whitefish Lodge. They wanted to spear, so I chipped a spear hole for them and plopped my Eskimo Quickfish 3 over the hole and let them have at it. I think it was a great way to spend 4 hours of their honeymoon (as long as they were here in Minnesota). They speared a 4 pound northern and missed a pout! Now that is a marriage that will last.

Walleyedan

Oh Minnesota, what a state you are. As I write, I have the hose running outside as I am trying to make the kids a sheet of ice so they can skate. It’s 13 below zero and supposedly winter is not scheduled to arrive for another week or 10 days. We sure do get to see a change of season here, a drastic change at times. I remember about 10 years ago being out on Gull Lake looking for walleyes in my boat on December 13th, this year on that same date we might have 8 inches or more of ice on areas of Gull Lake. Looks like we are still on that every other month pattern (ugly August, sensational September, atrocious October a nice November and so far a very raw December), I am looking forward to a January thaw. The ice is what we needed and I am thankful that the snow storm earlier in the week did not hit home, that would not have been good for the ice conditions. I was down in St. Paul last weekend at the Ice Show for a couple of hours and after talking with a number of different company representatives it sounded like the number of attendees were up and so were the sales. Maybe it will be the ice fishing industry that brings this world back to its feel. I better go move the hose, be right back! “We’re making ice”! Today (12/10) it’s up to Fargo to Mills fleet Farm to talk about fishing and hopefully tomorrow or the next day I will be out doing it. To those of you that are venturing out, I wish you the best. Be safe, be smart and be ready to change your presentation and or your location.

Walleyedan

“Ice, ice, maybe”. We depend on the ice and the snow to make things “go” up in these parts and without it things can get pretty tricky for the businesses that depend upon the tourism. We live by Faith and it is our belief that our path will be directed down the road we are meant to go (so snow or no snow) so I guess we will keep on taking it a blink at a time. The ice is just starting to form and in the ideal world we will get a foot or two and then a good dumping of powder, but then what about the septic systems? Well then I guess the steamers will make some hay. So maybe 6 inches of powder followed by some serious ice making temperatures and then snow on top, maybe that is a better plan. But since we don’t direct the Plan, I guess we will “wait and see”. As we wait for “good ice”, maybe it’s time to get the Christmas list checked off. If you are shopping for the sportsman/woman here are some things they might like to see in their stocking or under the tree: A ticket for the Brainerd Jaycees Ice Fishing Extravaganza (January 23rd), some Hank’s Beef Jerky, hand warmers, toe warmers, a trail camera, some Salmo Chubby Darters, a gift certificate to their favorite store or guide service, some turkey calls, a remote car starter, a pair of choppers, tickets to the super bowl (vikes vs. colts), tickets to a Twins game at the new field, a headlamp or some cartridges and a Weatherby.

Be safe,
Walleyedan

Here I sit, knee up (just got out of surgery a few hours ago), and it’s as peaceful as can be (wife is napping, dog is napping, kids are at school, phone is not ringing right now). It’s awesome! It is similar to last night in the woods except that the blowers, chain saws and vehicles were kind of annoying. I think a Boundary Waters hunt might be in the cards someday where the only sounds would be that of nature. I was hunting last night with my management tag because I did shoot a buck last Wednesday (after I had submitted my last column to the Dispatch). I shot a nice 11 pointer near my home thanks to my friend Ingrid who tipped me off. The deer was not a record booker but I feel that any deer that is shot with a bow and arrow is a record booker (for the personal record). I was on the ground, made a nice shot and he only went about 75 yards before expiring. So back to last night, it was a beauty. Silent and cool with a slight southerly movement of air. I figured it might be my last hunt for a while so I had better take advantage of it. I grabbed my hybrid bow (combination recurve/long bow) and 1 arrow and headed out. I was limping into the wind very slowly and quietly, watching very intently and listening as much as I can with my ears that are starting to fail a bit. I didn’t get more than 100 yards down the trail before I saw movement, I saw white and then brown and sure enough it’s a deer. I hunkered down and the deer worked my way (wind was in my favor), as it got closer I noticed it was a buck but a small one. I can’t legally shoot a buck because I have already tagged a buck so I watched him as he worked his way through the woods. He was within about 35 yards at one point and it was just neat to see him walk. He got down wind of me and smelled something peculiar (had to have been my breath) and then made a detour off his course. So that was that, a very enjoyable evening in the woods. I love it! I love the woods, I love quiet and I love nature. Next week I think I will talk about the “big box” stands, meaning the enclosed, heated, windowed variety that seem to be gaining popularity and visability throughout the state. I know my thoughts on these “big boxes” but I would like to know some of yours. Please email me your thoughts about these tree houses and I will tell you what I think next week. For the record, we are on the road again (the busy one). We moved our shop out to 371 north into the Fibertech building (just south of Kurilla Real Estate).

Have a nice week,

Walleyedan

Dear deer hunter, Are you ready? If you are a bow hunter, I would have to say that you are “loving it” because we are right smack in the chasing stage of the rut. This is when you want to be on stand and ready. If you are a gun hunter, you have a little time on your hands to prepare and dream. I am a bow hunter but I think my oldest daughter just decided she wants to gun hunt so I guess it’s time to be ready on both fronts. I have been out in the woods a total of 6 times so far and I really haven’t seen too much activity. That will all change one of these days and hopefully it involves a mature whitetail buck. I know where he roams and I know that I will not shoot him if I am not out there. Here are some things I like to practice as I hunt. I like to be as scent-free as possible, I like to hunt with the wind in my favor (not blowing into the piece of “structure” I expect him to come from). I usually hunt on the way to my stands, this means that I will walk slowly and silently until I get up on stand. I will use scent, I will use calls and I will use a decoy on the right occasion. Last year I had a great opportunity at a nice buck that I rattled in but I blew it. When I am on stand I like to look without moving my big melon a whole lot, I move my eyes more than my head. One thing that is very important but is something I don’t practice as much as I should is trimming out my tree and shooting lanes, this is why I blew it last year. As far as clothing, make sure you don’t overdress for your walk to stand. Bring a back pack along with your extra layers and put them on once your body temperature is back down to normal. Other things you might have with you on your hunt might include: a knife, rubber gloves, a headlamp or flashlight, a little piece of small zip tie or piece of wire or string to affix your tag to your deer, hand warmers, camera, binoculars, toilet paper (although I encourage to try and get it done before the hunt), a string to pull up your weapon, your license, range finder, GPS or compass, cell phone (on vibrate or silent), scent, calls and whatever else you may think you may need. Last but not least, say a prayer for yourself and the other hunters that are in the woods. So as you prepare for your next hunt, just try to do as much as you can to “be ready”.

Deerdan

September has been a beauty and now that fish are finally getting fired up, things are really good. The first full day of fall was the 23rd and so far the weather has been a little more like the summer we never experienced. Now that we are nearing the end of September, it’s time to slowly shift the gears and give the hunting a little more focus. This fall I will be hunting turkey, whitetail, maybe some roosters, maybe some ducks and definitely some walleyes. Hard to say maybe even a musky or a bass, kind of depends how things play out. I was pretty pumped the other day when we saw 2 long beards and another big flock of just down the road near Ski Gull. Now that would be my choice of a roosting site if I were a big Tom, overlooking Gull Lake on one side and the awesome view to the west on the other. As long as I am talking about this area on the west side of Gull Lake, I will mention my trap shooting experience a couple of weeks ago at the Lake Shore Conservation Club. I had a blast! My dad, my son Mac and I went over to shoot some pigeons (clay) and I am so glad we did. My son is only 7, so he couldn’t shoot with his new Mossberg that he just one at the Ducks Unlimited banquet up in Cross Lake but he wanted me to shoot it to see what it could do. Nothing like getting up on the blocks with 4 other shooters and letting it rip without any practice and with a gun I had never shot before. I guess it was kind of like riding a bike, missed a few but shot pretty well with the new Mossberg. I had never shot trap with voice activated throwers, that was pretty sweet but just make sure to keep your mouth shut so you’re not throwing them for everyone else. And better yet it’s just down the road from the house. You might want to visit the Conservation club, there are some awesome gun minds that work down there and you might just find a new hobby while you are at it. Steve Weagel was very helpful and boy does he know his guns! Dale Walz works there as well and I think between the two of them you will get any of your firearm questions answered. Go check it out!

WD

Northland Press
February 11, 2010
Hi. The sun is shining (today) and this makes me happy. It also makes me think of warmer things such as laying on the ice watching the crappies and sunnies inhale my bait or a little further down the line yet, the thoughts of a gobbler letting it rip from atop the ridge. I am thinking spring despite the snow and cold that has gripped us for a while now. The walleye season closes shop on the 28th of February, the same day your houses should be off the lake if you are from around these parts. We have been catching some walleyes on the north end of Gull Lake and my last couple of fish came off of a Northland Macho Minnow tipped with a minnow head in 32 feet of water. Another hobby that I get into is shed hunting (looking for deer antlers). This is prime time for that and they have actually been hanging on to them a little longer that normal. Maybe it was the awesome acorn crop last fall, hard to say. But none the less, if you are looking for some fun exercise and some good post season scouting get out and start walking the trails. Are you heading to Pout? Have fun and make sure to stop by the Chase on the Lake and see their set-up! I almost forgot, Let’s Go Fishing is coming to Brainerd! If you have not heard about it, you soon will. It’s free fishing for seniors! We will be having a kick-off celebration on April 17th on one of the Mills properties, mark your calendar.

Walleyedan

Dear deer hunter, Are you ready? If you are a bow hunter, I would have to say that you are “loving it” because we are right smack in the chasing stage of the rut. This is when you want to be on stand and ready. If you are a gun hunter, you have a little time on your hands to prepare and dream. I am a bow hunter but I think my oldest daughter just decided she wants to gun hunt so I guess it’s time to be ready on both fronts. I have been out in the woods a total of 6 times so far and I really haven’t seen too much activity. That will all change one of these days and hopefully it involves a mature whitetail buck. I know where he roams and I know that I will not shoot him if I am not out there. Here are some things I like to practice as I hunt. I like to be as scent-free as possible, I like to hunt with the wind in my favor (not blowing into the piece of “structure” I expect him to come from). I usually hunt on the way to my stands, this means that I will walk slowly and silently until I get up on stand. I will use scent, I will use calls and I will use a decoy on the right occasion. Last year I had a great opportunity at a nice buck that I rattled in but I blew it. When I am on stand I like to look without moving my big melon a whole lot, I move my eyes more than my head. One thing that is very important but is something I don’t practice as much as I should is trimming out my tree and shooting lanes, this is why I blew it last year. As far as clothing, make sure you don’t overdress for your walk to stand. Bring a back pack along with your extra layers and put them on once your body temperature is back down to normal. Other things you might have with you on your hunt might include: a knife, rubber gloves, a headlamp or flashlight, a little piece of small zip tie or piece of wire or string to affix your tag to your deer, hand warmers, camera, binoculars, toilet paper (although I encourage to try and get it done before the hunt), a string to pull up your weapon, your license, range finder, GPS or compass, cell phone (on vibrate or silent), scent, calls and whatever else you may think you may need. Last but not least, say a prayer for yourself and the other hunters that are in the woods. So as you prepare for your next hunt, just try to do as much as you can to “be ready”.

Deerdan

I just got off the water moments ago and in fact my hands are still coming around, the weather was frightful. I was out for 3 hours on Gull with Matt Debol and Brad Nelson, two tough guys. The fishing wasn’t as good as it has been, but we also were quite limited because of the wind (rain and cold too). We ended up with 5 walleyes and a chilling to the bone. The walleye action on Gull has been going quite well, the fish we are catching are coming from 24-34 feet and we are catching them on Lindy Rigs or jigs (Northland Fireballs) tipped with either rainbow chubs or red tail chubs. I am still waiting on the big mommas to start biting and I think it’s going to happen really soon. This time of year is exciting because that next bite might be the biggest walleye of the season, year or lifetime! I like to use the big minnows and work them slow along the steep, windswept shorelines or mid-lake structure. When you do get a bite, give them a 10 count and reel up and set the hook. If you like to jig, hop the jig along the bottom and as you give it the lift and feel weight don’t hesitate, set the hook! The reason I like to use the Northland Fireball is because of the stinger eye. 1/4 ounce or 3/8 ounce should do the trick and I like the perch, parrot or firetiger colors. If you are interested in getting out after some walleyes in the next few weeks, we would be happy to put you on them. We won’t quit until the ramps are frozen shut. I know a lot of you have winterized your boats and engines, but I can recall about 8 years ago when I was open water fishing on Gull on December 13th.

Walleyedan

It’s deer season! We will still bring you out on the water if you are interested in a guided trip, but right now deer are dancing through my head. Here are some things to keep in mind when you enter the woods to hunt. I like to use some type of scent eliminator such as Primos Silver XP or Scent Killer by Wildlife Research. Rubber boots are also a wise choice because rubber reduces scent and as you are walking to your stand it’s a good feeling to know that you aren’t going to be scented by Mr. Buck. Make sure you don’t sweat before you get to stand, obviously you might stink but you will also get chilled as you sit for a period of time. They do make some good scent-free deodorants, I use the Wildlife Research pit stick. Bring a string to pull up your weapon and make sure it is long enough. I like to pull my quiver off my bow once I get on stand, I feel a little more stealthy this way. Don’t be afraid to grunt or use a doe bleat (“The Can” by Primos is the one I use). I also will rattle if all things are right and last year it worked but I couldn’t make the shot because I didn’t limb out my tree very well. So there is another good point, make sure you have multiple shooting lanes. Use a safety vest! When you pull up your gun or draw your bow make sure he or she is not looking in your direction, wait for them to put their head down. Good luck in the woods and be safe.

Walleyedan