Hard work and walleyes

I generally don't think of fishing for walleyes as work. No. 1, I don't get paid; No. 2, it's fun!

Yet, on my journey earlier this week to Lake of the Woods on my annual fall walleye fishing adventure, it seemed as though a high level of exertion was necessary to catch fish.

Or, perhaps, more accurately, some persistence was required. Normally, by this time of year, walleyes are pouring into the Rainy River from the main lake in waves, chasing shiners that migrate there every fall. So, it's a matter of picking a spot in the river, anchoring and tossing a jig and minnow overboard. Often, the wait under optimal conditions is less than a minute for a bite -- and, a very aggressive, swallow-the-jig type of bite.

Not so on this trip. Even though the water temperature was 42 degrees, there weren't streams of walleyes invading the river. Rather, it was more of a trickle. The good news was, there were enough fish for my friend, Pete Wolney, and I to catch plenty for dinner and bring home a limit. The bad news was, we waited much longer than usual for bites, sometimes up to an hour.

But, I am not complaining. After all, I did land a nice, 23-inch walleye, plus we had one flurry on the trip in which we caught eight fish in an hour Tuesday morning. I caught five of those fish, which included back-to-back 18-inchers and a 19-incher, the biggest keeper of the trip. With a protected slot of 19 1/2 to 28 inches, the three nice fish I caught are some of the best eaters an angler could ask for.

Interestingly, during the time of that flurry, I had the unusual problem of ice buildup on my rod guides. That, more than anything, made me wonder if Pete and I were nuts for fishing under these conditions. That morning, the mercury dipped to 18 degrees and only got into the upper 30s. So, we spent much of the day fishing in sub-freezing weather.

Of course, cold doesn't bother me nearly as much when the fish are biting. Unfortunately, they weren't biting at all on the main lake, which is where we decided to try Tuesday morning due to a good report we got before the trip.

Last week, anglers were catching lots of fish out on the lake past a narrow opening in a long island called "the gap." But, strong northwest winds over several days churned up the water and made it dirty, shutting down the lake bite. We didn't get a bite in an hour and a half and heard similar reports from other anglers who also tried it.

Then, we came back into the river and anchored on one of our favorite spots. That's when we had the eight-fish flurry. That was worth the whole trip for me. But, we caught more fish the next morning to replace what we had eaten the night before. This is our sixth or seventh year of going up in the fall, and we have taken home our limit every time.

We worked harder for it this year than other years, but our persistence paid off. So did our previous years of experience on the river. We have several spots stored in our memories that rarely let us down. Plus, we have learned to put our time in when the conditions are tough. We especially target dawn and dusk, when nice flurries often occur. However, this year, our best flurry happened from 11 a.m. to noon.

Sometimes, that happens. I'm just glad we were in the right spot when a good wave of fish went through. Now, it's on to deer hunting, which opens on Saturday. We will face unusually mild temperatures and lots of standing corn. That could make the hunting tough.

But, I'm fresh off of a fishing trip where persistence made the difference. I plan to sit in my stand all day Saturday and I'm encouraging my two sons, Joe and Andy, to do the same. Last year, I got my deer at 12:30. Because the rut is in full swing, deer should move even if it's warm.

That's what I plan to keep telling myself on Saturday.

Davern hill one more time

For the second time, I conquered the Davern hill near my home in St. Paul. I made the four-and-a-half-mile jog one week after I did it for the first time.

This time, I hit the pavement at 5 a.m. The early start time was needed because my friend, Pete Wolney, planned on picking me up at 7 to go on our annual fall fishing trip to Lake of the Woods. We normally go earlier than this, but the walleyes have been late in their annual migration from the main lake into the Rainy River.

In fact, the major run still hasn't happened, so many of the fish are still in the lake. Fortunately, they are biting well and anglers who make the trip out past the gap and into the main basin are being rewarded with limits of walleyes.

Hopefully, the winds won't be too strong and we'll be able to get out there, too. I will have a report from our trip later in the week. Then, after that, it's the deer hunting opener on Saturday!

Walleye in the strangest of places

I got out on one of my favorite bass lakes yesterday -- Cedar Lake in Minneapolis. It's on the chain of lakes that includes Calhoun and Lake of the Isles.

I took my oldest son, Joe, and we were hoping for some good bass action. Two previous trips had been slow, but it was a nice day and we were on a warming trend, which has been rare in the month of July.

We had a tough time getting through the channel going from Lake of the Isles to Cedar because of the low water this year. At one point, Joe got out and pushed the boat through a shallow spot.

Once on Cedar, I went to a small point and made a cast to the weedline. I felt a few taps, then set the hook. After a short battle, the fish came up -- a walleye!

I have been fishing Cedar for several years and never caught a walleye. It was about 13 inches long and I dropped it into the livewell. Walleyes this size always taste good. We continued working our way around the lake pitching plastic worms for bass. The only takers were small bass and one decent-sized northern. The biggest bass of the day was only about 13 inches long.

That's not what I'm used to on this lake. In fact, just three weeks ago, my friend, Dave Altman, and I each landed an 18 1/2-incher. I'm not sure what's going on. Usually, by this time of the summer, the bass are set up on the deep weedlines and willing to bite plastic worms.

Not this  year. The best theory I can come up with is the cold weather we've had this month has thrown them off their summer pattern. In a normal year, temperatures have been in the 80s consistently for several weeks, with a few 90s thrown in. I'm not sure we're going to see that anytime soon -- or at all this summer.

Does this mean the usual summer pattern won't exist this year? I sure hope not. One thing I do know is I probably won't go back to Cedar this year. It's really tough getting through that channel and the results are definitely not worth the struggle. I may try Calhoun in the next few weeks, but I'm not sure things will be any different there. It's a deeper and colder lake than Cedar, so I don't know if there are any fish on the deep weedlines there, either.

Maybe I should switch over to walleyes. All the reports I have heard about walleyes this year have been good. And, I had success on Upper Red Lake with my family last month. I'm planning on fishing a lake in the Brainerd area in early August. It has both walleyes and bass and I think I'll try to target both and see which one is biting.

If it ends up being walleyes, I won't complain. More fish for the frying pan is a good thing!

Time to fire up the frying pan

With lots of fresh-caught walleye in the freezer, I decided it was time for a fish fry. So, yesterday, I invited my parents, Ray and Eunice, over for some pan-fried walleye.

My Dad has been struggling with some health issues the last couple of months, so I thought it would be a good time to serve him one of his favorite dishes. I went over and picked up both Mom and Dad and brought them back over to my house.

It was a splendid affair and it was clear they both enjoyed the meal. My Mom has lots of food allergies and this is one thing she can eat. As we ate the fish, she shared something about Dad that I never knew -- he wouldn't touch walleye or any other fish until about five years after they got married. At that time, Catholics had to go meatless every Friday, so Mom cooked fish on many of those occasions, while Dad ate grilled cheese, even though he had caught a lot of the fish that Mom cooked.

Boy, things have sure changed. Dad loves fish now and said several times last night that he ate too much. That's fine by me. We ended up eating everything I had thawed out, so it was perfect. The good news is, I have lots more walleye left, so there will be many fish fries ahead!

Walleye bonanza!

Every once in a while, a fishing or hunting trip goes as well as I had hoped it would. This week was one of those times.

I took my wife, Julie, and our four kids to Upper Red Lake on Tuesday for three days of walleye fishing. The day before we got there, the protected slot had changed, going from 17-26 inches to 20-26 inches. Three inches may not sound like much of a difference, but it is huge. Anyone who has fished the lake will tell you that there are lots and lots of fish in the 17-20-inch range. And, it can be agonizing to have to release dozens of them in the search for keepers under 17 inches.

We were blessed with the ability to keep four fish each up to 20 inches. For our family of six, that's 24 walleyes! Based on the reports I was getting before we left, bringing home our limit of 24 was a realistic goal.

I'm thrilled to say that is exactly what happened. The fish bit well enough for us to catch a limit to bring home, plus enough for a fish fry while we were there. We reached our limit of 24 by the end of the second day, then had a fish fry that evening in our cabin owned by Bear Paw Guides. Particularly satisfying for me was taking my wife, Julie, out earlier that evening along with my son, Joe.

How's this for perfect timing -- Julie bought her fishing license at 6 p.m. and was catching walleyes within an hour. Then, Julie, Joe and I came in with our three-person limit of 12 by 9 p.m.

One very nice amenity on Upper Red is the fish-cleaning service offered at West Wind Resort by a staff member named Paul. He does a fabulous job and only charges $1 per fish. In my book, it's money well spent. Not only that, he gave us some great advice on where to fish. We followed it and it paid off handsomely.

Basically, he recommended traveling farther away from the public landing at the mouth of the Tamarac River to get away from the crowds. Many people fish within a quarter mile from the mouth of the river. In fact, that area has gotten fished heavily ever since the slot limit changed on Monday. There are estimates of more than 100 boats covering that shoreline on Monday. Among several who offered that number were a DNR game warden and Steve Brasel, owner of Bear Paw Guides.

Looks like a lot of people were paying close attention to the change in the slot. I suspect the lake will continue to get pounded until the fishing slows. The fish are shallow and close to shore now because the water is cooler than normal, but they eventually will move deeper and farther out. They may even move out of the eastern portion of the lake that non-Indians are allowed to fish.

Fortunately, I don't have to worry about that. I have lots of walleye in the freezer that should last for months. I carefully take care of the fillets, vacuum sealing them so they will last much longer in the freezer. I spent quite a while working on that last night and today, but it was well worth the effort.

What really made me smile was seeing such hefty fillets that I'm not used to handling from fish caught on Upper Red. I would say most of the fish we ended up keeping were between 17 and 20 inches. A few went 19 inches or more.

Some people are leery of keeping fish close to the upper limit of keeping size, but I take great care to use the proper measuring tool and the proper technique, so I am very sure of the correct measurment of the fish I catch. When a fish is longer than 19 inches, I am even more careful. In fact, I ended up having to release a beautiful 21-incher that I caught on a crankbait.

At the time, I was a little bummed out, but, in the end, things worked out very well. The third morning of our trip, in particular, was excellent in terms of the size of fish we caught. We needed six fish to replace the ones we had eaten the night before, so I had to take someone with me to get them. My son, Andy, was the only one willing to get up early, so he and I went out at 8 a.m.

Within an hour, we had our six fish and ended up staying a little longer to fish for fun. All six fish were longer than the previous slot of 17 inches and two of them stretched to 19 inches or more. Andy and I were all smiles when we pulled up anchor and headed back in around 9:45.

I thank the state DNR for relaxing the slot and, most importantly, I thank God for providing us with the opportunity to go on this trip and for blessing us with an abundance of walleye!

Time to get out on the water

I recently read that this week is national Boating and Fishing Week. With warmer weather finally arriving to make it feel like June, now's the time to head to your favorite fishing spot.

I'm planning to go to a nearby lake this week to take my boat out for the first time. I want to make sure it's in ship shape for my trip to Upper Red Lake next week with my wife, Julie, and four kids. It ran well last summer after I worked out a few bugs. Then, I winterized it according to the directions provided by Hannay's Marine.

So, I'm optimistic that everything will work smoothly. Still, if I can take the boat out now for some testing, I'll have time to fix anything that might be wrong. There's nothing worse than having a boat that doesn't work when you're at a lake where the fish are biting. And, on Upper Red these days, if you can just get out on the lake, you'll probably catch fish. During the early part of the summer when the walleyes are shallow and hungry, fishing doesn't get much easier.

And, that is precisely why I chose this lake as a place to bring my kids. I'm hoping my 7-year-old daughter, Claire, will catch her first walleye on this trip. But, first, I have to help her overcome her fear of boats. I took her out last year with my wife and the trip ended only about 100 yards from the dock. I opened the livewell to show her and she panicked when she saw water flowing in it. She thought the boat was sinking and there was no convincing her otherwise. So, back to shore we went. I'm hoping she'll do better this time.

Upper Red here we come

I'm eagerly awaiting a unique fishing opportunity that is coming up next week. It will take place on Upper Red Lake, which has become one of the top places to catch walleyes in Minnesota.

Ever since the lake reopened to walleye fishing in 2006, it has been amazingly easy to catch walleyes in May and June. The major problem has been trying to find keeper fish outside of the protected slot of 17-26 inches. Also, there was a two-fish limit to start out with that was changed to three last year and four this year.

Things change next Monday, June 15. Because of the abundant walleye population and the relatively low harvest, the state DNR has decided to relax the slot. Starting on that date, the new slot will be 20-26 inches. So, all of those nice walleyes in the 18- and 19-inch range will become legal for shore lunch.

For days, I've been thinking about going up there next week with my family. And, this morning, I took action. I called Bear Paw Guides in Waskish and booked a cabin that sleeps eight. It just happened to be available next Tuesday and Wednesday. So, I jumped on it. I had stayed there a year-and-a-half ago on an ice fishing trip and had a positive experience, and I felt very comfortable going back for this trip.

I talked to the owner of the resort, Steve Brasel, and he said the fishing has been phenomenal again this year, like it has ever since the lake reopened to walleye fishing. Even better, the cool weather this spring has kept the water temperature down and the fish shallow. So, there are lots of fish in the shallows right now and he expects them to stay there at least through the end of this month, and probably into July.

I can't wait. With my family of six, we will be able to bring home 24 walleyes, not to mention fish we will cook while we're there. In my mind, that's more than worth the price of a fishing license. Two of my sons are old enough to have to buy their own licenses. But, compared to some of the nonresident hunting tags we have purchased in recent years, the price is small -- only $18.

As Steve mentioned, the only factor will be weather, specifically, wind. A strong wind from the north, northwest or west will make the east side of the lake that non-Indians are allowed to travel next to impossible to fish. I'm going to start praying now for calm winds on the days of our trip. Warmer temperatures would help, too. I looked at the weather forecast for the area and the mercury is supposed to climb later this week.

Lookout, walleyes, here we come!

Cold fish

I went up to Lake of the Woods for a couple of days of fishing last week. The complete results of my trip will be disclosed in my upcoming outdoors column for the month of June.

What I can say now is I encountered an unseasonably cold and late spring up on Warroad. While we reached a high temperature of 97 almost two weeks ago, the northern part of the state stayed in the 50s. Seems hard to believe there could be a 40-degree difference between north and south, but it has been like that all spring. Consequently, the lakes up north are a lot colder than their southern counterparts.

When my two fishing companions and I hit the water last Wednesday, the water temperature was 51 degrees. So, the fish were just moving in toward their shallow spawning sites. After struggling to catch fish, we eventually switched to the method I employ in the fall -- anchoring and fishing with a jig and minnow.

Actually, this method works throughout the open-water fishing season, but seems to be much more effective than other methods in early spring and late fall. In a normal year, the walleyes would be moving back out of the shallows after the spawn by now and the smaller males would be biting aggressively. Usually, those fish can be caught trolling with spinners and live bait. We tried that and caught a few fish, but the action was slow overall. That prompted me to switch to the jigging method.

Fish in this cold water are sluggish and require a very slow presentation to get them to bite. It looks like we are having our second consecutive extremely late spring. The good news is, the fishing should be good for a good chunk of the month of June.

Speaking of June, there's something coming up that serious walleye anglers won't want to miss. On Monday, June 15, the protected slot limit for walleyes on Upper Red Lake relaxes. It goes from the current 17-26 inches to 20-26 inches with a four-fish limit. Starting June 15, anglers will now be able to keep all of those beautiful walleyes from 17 to 19 inches that seem to be so abundant in the lake. I'm hoping to get up there once the slot limit changes.

Waiting for walleyes

I just returned from my annual October fishing trip on Lake of the Woods with my friend, Pete Wolney. It was our fifth straight year trying to take advantage of the annual migration of walleyes from the lake into the Rainy River.

We have done well the previous four years, always taking home our limit of walleyes. We were optimistic as we prepared to leave Sunday afternoon to fish all day Monday and Tuesday and then wrap up fishing by about 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday.

But, our hopes were dashed when a wicked cold front blew in on Sunday, with plummeting temperatures and howling winds. The cold and high winds continued on Monday, as we hit the water for our first day of fishing.

Not surprisingly, the fish were not biting. We caught only one small sauger and a keeper walleye of 17 inches. In previous years, we have landed more fish than that in an hour. Needless to say, we were discouraged and even thought about coming home early, like the next day if the slow action continued.

Leaving early is not something we ever had even considered the first four years. But, we did not want to sit out in the cold for hours and catch no fish. We decided to get up early and fish in the river right out in front of Adrian's Resort where we were staying. We had done well there in previous years and were hoping the weather and the fishing would improve.

And, that's exactly what happened. Within an hour, I landed a beautiful 21-inch walleye on a jig and a minnow. It had to be released because it fell within the protected slot of 19 1/2 to 28 inches. But, that didn't matter. We finally started catching fish. The action wasn't fast and the fish were biting light, but we still managed to get a two-man limit of eight walleyes by the end of the day.

We also experienced an amazing thrill in the afternoon, when Pete set the hook on a nice fish that he thought was a big walleye. As it continued to peel line off of his reel, I realized he had something bigger than a walleye. I thought it was a big northern, which are plentiful in this lake.

It turned out to be a monster sturgeon. It came up from the bottom and started coming up to the surface near the boat. Then, it flew out of the water right next to the boat and dove down again. As exciting as it was, Pete didn't want to fight it for 45 minutes to an hour, so he cut the line so he could keep fishing for walleyes.

I will never forget the image of that sturgeon going airborne next to the boat. We kept fishing that spot and caught a few nice walleyes before heading back to the river.

I should say, Pete caught some more walleyes. For some reason, he had the hot hand that day. He caught all but two of the keepers and landed a nice 24-incher that we released. Meanwhile, I was getting lessons in patience and humility that I wasn't all that interested in learning. My attitude soured for a while as I struggled with my lack of fish catching.

Then, strangely, the tables turned on our final morning, as I caught a beautiful 24-inch walleye within the first hour on the river in front of Adrian's. Pete added two 18-inchers, then we headed down river toward Four-Mile Bay and a nice spot where we always seemed to catch fish.

We anchored and I proceeded to catch about eight to 10 nice keepers, while Pete managed only one or two small fish. It was his turn to experience frustration, but he handled it much better than I had the day before. In fact, he said several times that he was really glad I started to catch fish. Maybe, he wanted to avoid a six-hour drive home with a frustrated fisherman.

That's the funny thing about these trips -- often, we take turns getting hot and catching most of the fish. Not sure why that is. We use the same jigs with the same minnows as bait. Perhaps, our jigging styles are just different enough that one will sometimes work better than the other.

The good part is, we always manage to take home our limit of walleyes. That goal was more important this year. I'm planning on taking my fish out west to Great Falls, Montana, where my first wife's parents live. Our whole family is going out over Thanksgiving week to spend time with my mother-in-law (Sharon Guditis) and father-in-law (Bob Guditis). I still call them my in-laws even though my first wife, Jennifer, is no longer living.

We will be going on an elk and mule deer hunt with Grandpa Bob on 150 acres of hunting land he owns about an hour away from Great Falls. Bob and Sharon both enjoy walleye and I'm glad to be able to have a fish fry for them. After all they do for us, it's nice to be able to do something small in return. I know we'll have a great time with them and I'm optimistic that we'll see animals on our hunt.

Boat hibernation

With a touch of sadness, I put my fishing boat in storage on Friday. My co-worker at The Catholic Spirit, Jim Graham, lives out in the country and offered his barn for storage. I quickly agreed and he picked up the boat after he got off of work on Friday.

To ensure proper winterizing, I contacted Hannay's Marine in northeast Minneapolis for some tips. I was glad to find out that the marina offers a tip sheet for winterizing, along with the necessary products. The good news is, I didn't have to spend much to get what I needed.

Here's a summary of the important tips for every boat owner:

1. Batteries. Make sure you fully charge all of your marine batteries and disconnect the wires. As I learned from the company that manufactures the batteries I own, Northern, it's best to store batteries that are fully charged and to keep them outside in the cold. One of the principal people in the company assured me that batteries stored in this manner will be ready to go in the spring and not lose their charge. They also will last longer.

2. Outboard motor. The key here is to put fuel stabilizer (Stabil) in your gas tank and run the motor with this fuel for about 10 minutes. This ensures that the old gas is run out of the engine and is replaced by the stabilized fuel, which won't turn to varnish and corrode or gum up engine parts. Also, near the end, remove the engine casing and spray the carbuerators with a fogging fluid (Engine Stor).

3. Gear lube. The last step is to replace the gear lube, which is located on the lower unit. Hannay's recommends doing this once a year, preferably in the fall. First, you remove both screws and drain out the old fluid. Then, you pump the new fluid in and pump until it comes out of the top screw. You'll put in about 2/3 to 3/4 of a quart. In the process, you'll also flush out any water that got in.

I did all of these things the day before Jim picked up my boat and it only took about an hour. It was time well spent. I now have peace of mind about the condition of my boat for storage. I look forward to another fishing season with the boat next year.

This was a great year and my best ever for bass, in terms of size. I caught the biggest bass of my life, at 5 pounds, 11 ounces. Plus, I caught three others weighing more than 5 pounds and my two oldest boys, Joe and Andy, each caught one over 5. That makes 6 total over 5 pounds. There were two others that went about 4 3/4, and several more in the 4-pound range.

I will carry the memories of these big fish through the winter. But, I'm not done fishing just yet. My friend, Pete Wolney, and I are going up to Lake of the Woods next week for one last fishing trip.

It's an annual event for us and we fish the Rainy River during the annual migration of walleyes from the lake into the river. Shiner minnows come into the river every fall by the thousands and the walleyes follow. It's happening later this year, but both walleyes and shiners have started to come up river. So, next week should be good.

This is a great time to catch walleyes of all sizes, including big ones in the 8- to 10-pound range.
I talked to a guy earlier this summer who lives up there and fishes the lake throughout the year. He says the lake is producing more and more big walleyes and he thinks the slot limit imposed several years ago is making a difference. You have to release all walleyes between 19 1/2 and 28 inches, which, naturally, has led to an increased number of fish in that size range. We noticed that last year and hope it will be true again this year. Also, there are plenty of fish under 19 1/2 inches, which means we should catch plenty of fish for the frying pan. Can't wait for a meal of fresh walleye!

Measuring up

When I was a kid, it would have never occurred to me to measure the length of a fish. Now, it's a routine practice. Part of it is curiosity in wanting to know how big the fish is.

Most of it, however, has to do with the modern-day slot limits imposed on many lakes. Most people have adopted the practice and are willing to release fish that fall inside a lake's protected slot.

Sometimes, that isn't enough. I read a sad case in the pages of a local hunting and fishing newspaper called Outdoor News. A columnist for the paper, Gary Clancy, a widely-known outdoorsman who has written books on hunting and has written newspaper and magazine articles for decades, recounted a recent experience on Upper Red Lake.

He and some friends had a successful day on the water, catching more than 100 walleyes. But, due to a slot limit requiring the release of fish between 17 and 26 inches, they only kept six. So, they came back to the boat landing short of their limit of three fish apiece.

When they got back, a game warden was waiting for them. He measured their two biggest fish and told them they measured 17 1/4 inches, which was in violation of the law. Clancy thought the warden would take those two fish away, give them a warning and leave.

He was wrong. The warden gave them a ticket for the two fish, which carried a fine of $190. Clancy was upset and described his anger in the column. He said he made an honest mistake due to the fact that he and his friends didn't have the best measuring tool with them at the time.

If Clancy's version of the story is true -- and I have no reason to believe otherwise -- I think it's a shame. I feel this is an overzealous move by the game warden. For the most part, I think the DNR does a good job in managing our state's natural resources. But, I think a fine of $190 for two fish measuring just 1/4 inch over the 17-inch line is excessive and unnecessary. Percentage wise, it's the equivalent of getting a ticket for driving 56 mph in a 55 mph zone.

In light of this comparison, I don't know how the DNR can justify such an act. As a taxpayer, I don't feel it's a good use of enforcement resources. I would rather the enforcement officers spend their time looking for the gross violations, like five, 10, 20 or more fish over the limit. Those are the ones that really hurt the resource. And, unfortunately, these types of offenses happen all too often.

I say let's leave people like Clancy alone. I read his column regularly and even have e-mailed him for advice. He always answers and I have profited from his wisdom on several occasions. I don't think he's the type of person the DNR should be punishing. Someone from the DNR once told me that wardens have some leeway in deciding whether or not to issue a citation.

I think wardens like the one who gave Clancy a ticket should do a better job of exercising it.

Walleye heaven?

I just got back from a four-day trip to Lake of the Woods at Adrian's Resort with the winner of this year's Catholic Spirit youth essay contest, Cody Lensing of Shoreview, and his father, Merl. The details of the trip will be featured in an upcoming issue of The Catholic Spirit.

So, I can't give too much away right now. But, I can say this: Although Lake of the Woods has lots of walleyes and is a popular destination for walleye anglers, it is by no means an easy lake to fish.

Its size means the fish have miles and miles of water to roam, and roam they do, especially in the summer months of July and August. It pays to do some serious research about fish location before you head out on the water.

Perhaps a more important factor, especially at this time of year, is the weather. Of particular importance is the wind. The stronger it blows, the more challenging it is to both get to your location and control your boat.

A popular method of fishing on this lake is anchoring and jigging. If you are going to do this, it is crucial to have an anchor that will hold. Two factors to consider are weight of the anchor and style.

I can tell you one thing: Mushroom-style anchors are almost worthless on this lake when it gets rough. Anchors with some type of spike or spikes are effective at digging into the bottom and holding fast. Some anglers like attaching heavy chains to their anchors to add more weight. Finally, don't forget to let lots of rope out when you drop anchor. A good rule of thumb is to let out one-and-a-half to two times the depth of the water you're fishing. For example, at 30 feet (a popular depth at this time of year), you would let out anywhere from 45 to 60 feet of anchor rope.

These are the types of lessons you will learn if you fish this lake. If you do your homework and are prepared, you won't have to learn them the hard way. Of course, another approach to fishing this lake that avoids all of these issues is to hire one of the many charter boats operating out of the resorts.

Even if you bring your own boat, it might not be a bad idea to book a charter the first day of your trip to figure out where the fish are and what presentations work best. Or, you can go on a charter if the water is too rough for your boat. Either way, you will gain valuable knowledge that will help you later on in your trip or on future trips.

Bottom line: This is a lake worth getting to know. The fishing has been great for the last several years and it has a more generous slot than many other lakes, including Upper Red, which isn't quite as far north. On Lake of the Woods, you can keep four walleyes and have to throw back anything between 19 1/2 and 28 inches. On Upper Red, you have to throw back anything between 17 and 26 inches and can keep three fish.

I have fished both lakes and, let me tell you, that extra 2 1/2 inches on Lake of the Woods is huge. Not only does it mean you can keep bigger fish, but more of them. On all of my trips there in the last four years, we have caught fish between 17 and 19 1/2 inches and it is great to be able to drop them into the livewell. Part of the fun is anticipating the fish fry that comes later.

This is precisely what keeps me coming back to Lake of the Woods.

Over the limit

I recently read about a fisherman who was caught with 45 walleyes over the limit on Lake of the Woods. Every time I hear about cases like this, I get angry.

I thought about it on Saturday, when my wife, four kids and I were returning from a two-hour volunteer shift at Feed My Starving Children, an organization that sends food to hungry children in third-world countries. It was against this backdrop that I pondered the case.

On the one hand, taking this many fish from a lake so large doesn't seem like such a big deal. If there's a lake that can handle this kind of harvest, it's Lake of the Woods, which may hold more walleyes than any other lake in Minnesota.

On the other hand, when you consider the thousands of children around the world who are starving and often don't get even one nutritious meal a day, keeping this many fish seems like pure gluttony.

In fact, I believe it is. We live in a time when an ever-increasing number of people are harvesting fish and game from our woods and waters. Therefore, it is crucial to the continued health of our natural resources to follow the laws and exercise self-control when it comes to how much we take home.

Case in point: A recent half-day trip to Upper Red Lake. While on vacation near Bemidji, I took the family to Upper Red Lake to try and catch some walleyes. We caught walleyes all right, but couldn't seem to find any outside the protected slot of 17-26 inches. We caught only a few shorter than 17 inches, but I felt they were too small to keep. So, we left the lake at sunset with no walleyes.

Yes, we were all disappointed. But, I had the satisfaction of knowing that I followed the laws and taught my wife and kids to do the same. That's more important than keeping fish, especially illegal ones. And, if everyone practices this kind of conservation, we will help make sure our children and grandchildren have lots of fish to catch. I, for one, want to leave that kind of outdoors legacy.

An intriguing invitation

Last Friday, I sat in the office of teacher Dick Paul at Totino-Grace High School in Fridley. He is set to retire June 13 after 32 years at the school.

His first year was 1976. The very first day he walked into a classroom at the school, he was announced as my homeroom teacher. I was a sophomore at the time. He also was my geometry teacher that same year. On Friday, I got a chance to tell him that his geometry class was my favorite class in four years at T-G.

But, we spent little time talking about geometry or school. Instead, the talk was mostly about fishing and his upcoming trip to Lake Mille Lacs June 9. He fishes the lake several times each year and invited me along for this one.

I've been wanting to go fishing with him for years, but our schedules never lined up. This outing sounds very intriguing. It's an annual trip on a Mille Lacs fishing launch he makes every year with teachers from both Totino-Grace and Hill-Murray, where his wife, Susan, serves as principal. There is a trophy that goes to the team that catches the biggest fish. The competition is friendly, but can get intense.

"They (Hill-Murray teachers) have possession of the trophy," Dick Paul said. "We lost it in the last 20 minutes of the trip last year."

The trip started about 10 or 11 years ago, Paul said, when Duane Buhl from Totino-Grace and Brad Peterson from Hill-Murray worked to put together a combined trip. Prior to that, each of the schools was going out on a launch on Mille Lacs independently.

"It's nothing but pure fun andd good-natured teasing between the schools," Paul said. "Inevitably, someone pulls a prank on someone else during the night."

One interesting subplot this year will be the switching of teams by Aaron Miller. Last year, he fished on the Totino-Grace team because he was a religion teacher there. Then, he was hired by Hill-Murray as assistant principal, starting at the beginning of this school year. So, this year, he will be fishing for Hill-Murray.

Which brought me to the question: Whose team would I be fishing for? Totino-Grace, based on my status as an alum? What about my journalistic code of being impartial, not to mention my code as an archdiocesan employee to support all Catholic schools?

Paul had a quick answer for all of these questions: "You're fishing impartially for us. You are what you are and proud of it."

Let the competition begin!

A time for nostalgia

I just finished reading an essay in the January edition of In-Fisherman magazine called "50 Years Loving Walleyes" by editor-in-chief Doug Stange. It is an Izaak Walton-type description of a lifetime's worth of memories chasing his favorite fish.

I highly recommend the article for those who love fishing and, especially, for those who have enjoyed fishing throughout both their childhood and adult years. Winter is a great time for warming our souls with memories of great catches and great experiences on the water.

And, don't forget to give thanks to the God who created the water and the fish that swim therein. We are extremely blessed to have an abundance of fish and lakes to enjoy, plus the prosperity to buy boats, tackle and even lakeshore cabins.

Then, there's having the freedom and the time to fish wherever we want. One thing I especially appreciate is the fact that all water in our Land of 10,000 Lakes is public. It belongs to us, which means we have access to almost every lake. There's no having to ask someone's permission to launch our boat, like we hunters have to do to get on private land. I fished about a half dozen lakes this year and I'd like to do so again next year. Thanks be to God I have the ability to do so!

Ice fishing season underway!

The "hard water" season is underway in northern Minnesota. I talked on the phone with Steve Brasel of Bear Paw Guides on Upper Red Lake and he said there is enough ice for people to go fishing, about 4-5 inches. He lives on the lake and his son, Tyler, is a guide who fishes the lake year round.

One of Tyler's specialties is northern pike, which the lake has in abundance. And, they are supersized. According to Steve, Tyler routinely catches pike of 40 inches and longer, which puts them in the 20-pound range. He targets them more earlier in the winter, but they can be caught all winter long. I have caught them in the summer and hope to get one of these 'gators on the end of my line this winter.

In addition to the pike, there are lots of walleyes to be caught, plus huge, 1-pound and bigger crappies. A friend of mine used Bear Paw Guides twice last winter and did very well both times, catching lots of walleyes on the first trip and catching his limit of crappies on the second. Normally, crappies bite better later in the winter.

I am hoping to get out on the ice with Steve and Tyler this winter. Stay tuned! In the meantime, check out Bear Paw Guides' web site at www.bearpawguides.com. Or, call Steve at 218-368-3755 for current ice conditions and fishing reports. He said he's booking his ice houses fast on the weekends, but has plenty of availability on weekdays. I recommend going during the week. I went to Upper Red on weekdays twice last year. There are a lot fewer people and you feel like you have the lake all to yourself.

If you've got a hot spot or an ice fishing story to share, let me know!

Welcome to my blog

It's been a busy fall in the outdoors for me and my family and friends and I'm looking forward to sharing these experiences with you via my monthly outdoors column and here in my new blog. I'm excited to use this way of connecting with people, including Catholics, who love the outdoors, whether it be fishing, hunting, hiking, biking, boating or taking pictures.

And, I want to hear from YOU! Please feel free to respond with your experiences, what you enjoy, where you've gone and how it went, whether it be catching a big fish, watching a spectacular sunrise or just experiencing God's peace and the majesty of His creation. Did you hear Him speak while in the outdoors? Did you feel His presence? Did He work powerfully in your experience? Did He do something dramatic? Answer a prayer?

Let me know. I also hope this can be a forum in which people who enjoy the outdoors can express their opinions and exchange information that can help others. I look forward to hearing from you!

In the meantime, I'll pass along a brief story about my Minnesota deer hunt this fall near Red Wing. It was a lesson in perseverance. I was trying to help my No. 2 son Andy get his first deer. On opening day, we saw one deer and Andy couldn't get a clear shot. On the second day, we split up and neither of us saw one. In the meantime, my friend Bernie Schwab and his son, Dan, went to a different farm opening day and Dan got his first deer, a 10-point buck. They were going to go back the next day, but they hit a deer with their vehicle on the way down and didn't make it.

I hunted this same farm a few days later and shot the buck in the above photo just minutes into legal shooting hours. I was very grateful for the success because it allowed me to visit my dying aunt one last time. As it turned out, it was the last good day for her and she died just a few days later. I am grateful that God helped things unfold as they did. I look forward to lots of meals of venison this winter.

Now, it's your turn. Please tell me about your outdoor adventures this fall!