With the threat of winter looming just around the corner, there’s still time to do a little fishing (I just can’t quite let go). This past Wednesday I suppose we were all waiting, shovels in hand, for that big snowfall. Don’t get me wrong, I know the weathermen are always right. But with all that sun we had on Wednesday, I found it pretty hard to spot a snowflake anywhere. I have to say that I was not disappointed at all.

The deer hunting opener is pretty much a wrap with only the archery and muzzle loader seasons remaining. The high winds we experienced on the first weekend had to make it hard to hunt. It seems the deer usually lay low when it’s windy because there is no way for them to pick up a scent. I did hear a report of an Albert Lea man who shot a 12 point buck in the Bricelyn area. Now that’s one nice deer.

With late fall weather like this, I think back to my youth when a warm sunny day in the late fall meant a game of backyard football. As a kid I attended Hammer School which was a little 2-room schoolhouse that sat where Hammer Field is now. I can remember daydreaming about heading home and trying to get a backyard football game together after school. Sometimes there would only be four or five of us, but we still had fun

It seemed like we made up a different set of rules almost every time. There didn’t seem to be all that many nice days this late in the late fall back then, but whenever there was, we took advantage of it. I actually think that it didn’t really matter what the weather was; we always managed to find plenty of things to do in the outdoors.

There is always something that seems a little sad about this time of the year, especially on a cold cloudy day. This seems to signal the end to another season, like reading the final chapter in the book of summer. It’s kind of funny how many things in nature change with the seasons. 

Take late fall fishing. You won’t always find fish in the same areas that you did in summer. In the summer, fish are usually pretty predictable. But in fall after the lakes turn over, you can pretty much find them anywhere.

I was watching an In-Fisherman show a few years ago when Al Linder was fishing a lake in the Brainerd area. It was the first part of November. He broke through a thin layer of ice with his boat to get to his fishing spot. Dressed in a snowmobile suit, he fished in about 20-ft. of water jigging a 5-inch sucker minnow. He managed to haul in a few walleye in the 8-lb. plus range. As I was watching the show I thought to myself, “you really gotta love to fish to be out there in that weather”.

I’ve fished pretty late into the fall before, but I have never have given any thought to turning my boat into an “icebreaker.” I usually don’t watch fishing shows in the summer or fall because I think they have a definite purpose for me. And that is to help ease the symptoms of cabin fever. Late January and most all of February are the times when I start looking for fishing shows to help get me through until spring.

The late fall fishing reports that I’ve seen are pretty good for the whole state. The walleye bite seems to have been pretty good the last couple of weeks. From most of the reports that I’ve seen, a jig and minnow combination seems to be working the best. Any time you are into the late fall and are still able to fish open water, minnows are the best bet. It is always the rule of thumb (somebody’s) that live bait works best when fish are actively looking to bulk up for winter.

A few of the area lakes where fishing has been the best are Mille Lacs, Rainy, Lake of the Woods, Winnie and Leech. All of these report success using jig and minnow combinations. Here are some of the other areas reporting good fishing:

BRAINERD/NISSWA - Not much has changed this week with good walleye action coming off North Long Lake, Gull Lake, and Pelican Lake in 15 to 40 feet with minnows. There hasn't been many people fishing them, but crappies can be had over 20 to 35 feet at Upper Gull Lake, Round Lake, and North Long.

BEMIDJI - Walleye action has been pretty consistent with minnows in 15 to 20 feet at Lake Plantagenet, Lake Bemidji, and Lake Andrusia. Panfish action has been minimal, but muskie action remains strong with large sucker minnows on the Cass Lake Chain and Plantagenet.

FARIBAULT - Minnows are producing walleyes at French Lake in 10 to 20 feet. Anglers fishing from shore at Cannon Lake are catching plenty of perch, although you'll have to sort through numbers of small fish, and Shields Lake is kicking out northern pike in 10 to 12 feet.

RED WING - Anglers working hair jigs and minnows are catching more saugers than walleyes below the dam on the Mississippi River in 16 to 24 feet. You'll hit more walleyes in the rip/rap areas towards Lake Pepin on crankbaits. Panfish also continue to hit at a good pace on most wing dam locations of the river. Archery hunters are starting to see and take some bigger bucks.

Until next time, hunt safe and enjoy the outdoors before the weather turns harsh.

Please remember to keep our troops in your thoughts and prayers during the coming year. They are the reason we are able to enjoy all the freedoms that we have today.

Here we are, moving further and further into fall. Before we know it, we will be shoveling the white stuff once again. As I get ready to embrace the winter season, I have to wonder if the leaves will ever stop fluttering to the ground from the maples in my backyard. If I didn’t know that it was against natures plan, I’d swear that those trees are growing more leaves each and every day. The phrase “the gift that keeps on giving” — well this is the tree that keeps on giving.

This is the time of year when the hunters take to the woods and fields in search of deer. This year, the DNR predicted a very high deer population which should be good for those folks that hunt them. I have never been a deer hunter for whatever reason. But, I can definitely see why there are so many that do. For some, it’s about a trophy buck. For others, it’s all about the meat. Truthfully, I think the majority of the deer hunters hunt for tradition.

Deer hunting is a big part of our outdoor heritage in Minnesota. For many families, it has become a tradition that has been passed down for generations. I have witnessed first hand the camaraderie that exists among hunters in a deer camp. I don’t really think that there is another sport that bonds a group of sportsmen together like deer hunting.

A few years ago, I was lucky enough to go on the first Governor’s Deer Hunting opener and witness this first hand. Although I didn’t hunt, I rode along with some folks from the DNR when they checked deer camps to find out how hunters were faring. After talking to hunters of all ages, I came away with a new respect for these folks and what they enjoy about the sport. 

One 15-year old girl was walking out of the woods when we stopped to talk to her. She was pretty tired from walking, but was so proud that her family had brought her to her first ever deer camp.

There was another group of four hunters that had bagged three deer that day. They were in the process of dragging them out of the woods. They said that it was quite a thrill for the oldest member of the party, as he was the father of the three other hunters and had shot all three deer that day. They said that in past years, they had all shot deer, but their Dad had never gotten one while hunting with them. They seemed happier for him than if they’d gotten them themselves.

Another sight that I witnessed was a young father with his two small sons walking a trail on the edge of a woods, hoping for a deer to be scared out into the open. He was indeed in the process of starting his own family tradition.

Whether you hunt, fish or just enjoy spending time in the outdoors, sharing the experience with our youth is important to the preservation of the future of our outdoors. Preserving our Minnesota heritage through wildlife management and creating more habitat is important to the future generations. We need to get our youth interested in the outdoors now because they are the future of our outdoors.

I am glad that my grandsons have a real interest in the outdoors, whether it be hunting or fishing. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the smile on each of their faces when they caught their first fish.

One of the most positive things that we as citizens of this state have done to help preserve our outdoors heritage is voting for the Lessard-Sams bill. This has done much to help assure that there will be public land for us to enjoy for years to come.

With good news comes some bad news. There are always some folks out there that feel it is their “right” to take game out of season or take more than their limit. 

This past summer, I was fishing on a lake and noticed two guys casting which is not unusual, but I also noticed that they had bobbers floating not too far from their boat. I went close enough to them to make them feel uncomfortable. They soon laid their casting poles down in the boat. I’m sure only long enough for me to go past them and out of sight.

There are seemingly more and more people getting fined for fishing without a license. Is this just a slap on the hand or are they denied fishing privileges for a period of time? Then there are the over the limit guys or the taking game out of season guys that get fined and lose privileges for a time. All this is good when they are caught, but it doesn’t replace the game that they have taken. I would like to think that the money collected would be used for restocking or go to creating habitat. 

The following news release from the Minnesota DNR is just one story of hunting infractions that occur in our state.

Three cited for illegal hunting

Three individuals face multiple charges for allegedly illegally taking deer, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

A DNR conservation officer (CO) and an 1854 Tribal Band game warden were contacted shortly after two men and a woman registered a deer at a convenience store in Virginia Oct. 12. The caller noticed a large amount of blood in the back of a vehicle owned by one of the suspects. One of the individuals was overheard bragging about shooting the deer from the truck with a crossbow.

“The caller thought that the amount of blood in the truck’s box could not have possibly come from one deer, so we started our investigation,” said CO Matt Frericks of Virginia.

The investigation uncovered illegal party hunting, lending/borrowing licenses, failure to register big game animals, and illegal taking of three deer. Fine and restitution amount total nearly $2,800 with other charges possible.

Formal charges will be filed against the three suspects shortly with the St. Louis County Attorney’s Office. The woman is an 1854 Tribal Band member who will face charges through the Band’s legal system.

Anyone witnessing wildlife or fishing law violations is encouraged to contact the nearest conservation officer or law enforcement agency, or call the toll-free Turn-In-Poachers (TIP) hotline at 800-652-9093. Also, #TIP is available to most cell phone users in Minnesota.

Last week, I spent a few days up north closing up the cabin and spending time with Brian, my oldest son and his three boys Trevor, Taylor and Grant. This is a favorite time of the year for them because they love to hunt. They get to spend a lot of time on our little lake hunting waterfowl.

Each morning, Brian and the boys awoke before sunrise and took the boat across the lake to set out decoys and find cover to hunt from. As they were getting into their blinds, they had an unexpected visitor, the resident beaver that was going across the lake with a tree branch in tow. When the beaver spotted them, it dropped the branch and immediately headed towards them. As he approached, he started chattering and began slapping his tail on the water in what I can only imagine was a scolding for being in his area.

That same morning, Trevor had shot the first duck of the trip which dropped into the middle of the lake. As they were getting into the boat to head back and pick up the duck, an eagle swooped down out of the trees as if it were going to pick it up. It soon turned away and headed back into the trees along the shore. This had to be quite a sight to behold. Seeing wildlife in its natural environment is something we are just fortunate enough to experience quite often.

The next afternoon, the boys went down to the shore to put out some decoys and sit and watch for ducks to land in front of our dock. While they were sitting there, Brian and I had walked down the driveway and were looking at some dead trees that we felt needed to be taken down. On the way back up the driveway, we heard some ruckus in the woods near us.

Just then, two deer came out of the woods, jumped over a fire pit we had put in and ran right in front of us into the woods on the other side of the driveway. It was a big doe and a yearling. They were definitely close to us when they crossed the driveway. A short time later, Taylor came running up the hill and asked if we had seen those two deer. 

He quickly told us that he and Trevor were by the lake when he looked up and the two deer were standing right behind them watching them. He said they stood there for a few seconds staring at each other and then the deer took off up the hill. For those of us that love the outdoors, it just kept getting better.

The last two afternoons that we spent at the cabin, I took Brian and Trevor a couple of miles south of our place and dropped them off at one of the many trails that wind through the national forest land. They worked their way back in search of grouse. Trevor did manage to bag one on the first day. He actually ended up getting it right on the edge of our property. The second day was not as good because they discovered that another group of hunters had walked the same trail just before them.

There were a lot of grouse hunters in the area that week and from some of the reports I’ve heard, the hunting was pretty good. There are so many forest service trails that can be walked by the general public, which make an excellent area to hunt for grouse.

On our last full day, we decided to drive to a few different lakes that we’d never visited before, which were pretty far off the beaten path. This is something that Brian and I both enjoy doing whenever we are up there. I usually reserve this time for days that are windy or rainy, but this day was sunny, a little breezy and just a beautiful day to explore new territories. 

We always throw our ultra lights in the truck just to see if there are any fish willing to bite a hook cast from shore. Most of the lakes we visited had forest service campsites and hunting trails that we could walk. We scared up some grouse at one such site and of course Trevor had his gun along to see if he could get a shot. This was a special time that I really enjoyed spending with Brian and the boys.

The last morning, the hunters once again ventured across the lake to try their luck. This the first time that they went duckless, but they did get visited by our resident beaver once again. Brian said that he didn’t think the beaver had spotted them this time, as he swam so close to where Trevor was sitting that he could have probably jumped on its back.

Although I didn’t get in much fishing, the time spent at the cabin with the family was priceless. Experiencing all that wildlife in those few short days was indeed something to write about. This to me is what spending time in the north woods is all about. As we were driving back from one of the many lakes we visited that last day, I told Brian how hard it is to visualize how much wilderness actually exists in this part of our great state.

We put feed in the feeders on the first day and with the season winding down, birds began appearing right away. Usually it takes about a day before they discover there is “FREE” food just there for the taking. There were chickadees and juncos, a pair of downy woodpeckers and occasionally a pair of blue jays would pay a visit. I sure enjoy watching the birds come to the feeders. It’s always fun to see how many different species there are.

You don’t have to be a hunter or a fisherman or have a lot of money to enjoy the natural wonders that exist in our state. Just taking a drive in the country in our area is an experience that always warms me inside and makes me feel that life is indeed pretty darned good. When I was in the service I would from time to time look out across the landscape and see something that would peak my interest. I always wondered what was there or what it would be like to be there. This made me appreciate the freedoms that we enjoy in this country to go where we want when we want, just to see what’s beyond the next horizon.

Please remember to keep our troops in your thoughts and prayers during the coming year. They are the reason we are able to enjoy all the freedoms that we have today.

As we inch our way farther into the fall season, the weather has now turned more seasonal and the leaves are fast disappearing from the trees. One good thing that has happened is the recent rainfall, which lowered the fire danger and caused the burning ban to be lifted.

Area fisherman report that the run of “jumbo” perch on Geneva Lake is not over, and there are also some fairly nice sized northern being caught. This is an encouraging sign and also should be a good indicator of what we have to look forward to on Pickerel Lake in a couple of more years. It’s always good to see a lake reclamation project be successful.

Any time that I see a lake with a tree-filled shoreline, I get that old feeling that I used to get as a youth. It is hard to describe, but when I am privileged enough to take in such a sight, I immediately think fishing and wonder what species I’d find lurking just below the surface.

I will be spending the rest of the week in the north woods once again. But as all good things do, I’m afraid the weather will have changed from the last time I was there. I am hoping to get in a little last of the season open water fishing on one of the many lakes in the area. I really can’t remember the last time I spent any time on a lake when the temperature was hovering around the freezing mark.

As I grow older, I seem to be getting a little more selective on when I spend time in a boat in cold weather. There have been quite a few openers where the weather has been less than ideal, but I’ve managed to survive those with only faint memories of the cold. I will, however, never forget the many times I’ve tried to bait a hook only to look at my hands and wonder why they weren’t listening to my brain tell them what to do. If you’ve ever been in that situation, you might relate to what it feels like. I sometimes think it feels like I stuffed two frozen turkey legs into my gloves and tried to bait my hook with them.

I will try to fish at least one lake and possibly two depending what the weather does. I am always up for heading to Spider Lake and trying to entice a musky to hit my favorite bucktail. I still haven’t been able to bring myself to pay the price that they charge for the latest “killer baits.” 

My old standbys that seemed to work in the past will have to do for now. I am going to try fishing with a large spoon this time up. I don’t think that the fish really know whether or not a lure is fashionable. I did have some pretty good luck with nice sized pike in late summer using a big spoon, so I will once again give that a try if I get the chance.

When I first started fishing Spider back in the ‘70s, there were a couple of different fellows that I met who always fished late fall for musky. The one guy in particular always fascinated me by his technique. He would rent a 14-ft. boat from the resort and put a lawn chair in the back where he’d sit and run the motor. 

He spent hours trolling the shoreline and by shoreline, I mean right next to shore. His dad, whom I met a couple of years later, said he trolled so close to shore that he could almost reach out and touch the rocks. This particular guy always fished a big Red-Eyed Wiggler, and I witnessed first hand, more than one time, the luck he had with that technique.

Muskie fishing takes a lot of time and can sometimes be frustrating, but when you tie into one, it makes all that seem worth it. Fall is a great time for personal trophies, not only for musky but for other species as well. 

I don’t remember when it was, but it had to be in the ‘80s when I was watching Al Linder fish walleye on a northern Minnesota lake in November wearing a snowmobile suit and cutting through the thin layer of lake ice with his boat. He was vertical jigging for them with 5-inch suckers on a jig. He pulled in at least three in the 9 lb. plus range (I don’t think it was the same fish). Watching this made me want to brave the cold and give this a try. I have never actually tried November fishing in northern Minnesota, but it sure looked good at the time.

This is what fishing shows are meant to do – get you pumped up for the next outdoors fishing adventure. It usually works on me, especially in about late February when open water has become something that I can only faintly remember.

We still have open water for now, so the next time you’re out duck hunting, take along the old rod and reel and you might be surprised at what happens.

Rare whooping cranes sighted in Rice and LeSueur counties:

Whooping cranes, one of America’s most endangered birds, have recently been sighted in Rice and Le Sueur counties in south central Minnesota.

“These are exciting reports since so few whooping cranes exist in the wild,” according to Lisa Gelvin-Innvaer, regional nongame wildlife specialist for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR). “However, it is vital to give the birds the respect and distance they need.”

Gelvin-Innvaer said that the whooping crane is a critically imperiled North American species with fewer than 250 birds in a single wild population. In 1940, there were only 16 whooping cranes left in the world. The Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP) started a new flock at Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in central Wisconsin and trained them to migrate along their normal route between Wisconsin and coastal Florida. The pair recently sighted could be part of that flock.

“When you’re lucky enough to spot a whooping crane, please do not approach it,” Gelvin-Innvaer said. The WCEP suggests that anyone viewing a whooping crane not approach within 600 feet, even in a vehicle. If not in a vehicle, stay concealed and do not speak loudly enough so that birds can hear you. “The whooping cranes’ natural fear of humans is an important survival mechanism. One of the greatest perils that whooping cranes face is desensitizing them to human presence,” Gelvin-Innvaer said. “Each exposure puts them at a greater risk from vehicle collisions, predation and illegal shooting.”

Hunters also are asked to be especially watchful this fall, so that they do not mistake a whooping crane for other migratory waterfowl.

Please remember to keep our troops in your thoughts and prayers during the coming year. They are the reason we are able to enjoy all the freedoms that we have today.