Frabill Fish On!

Technology is constantly changing the ice fishing world.  Yesterday, I had a chance to experience one of the biggest changes, which I also classify as a, "Duh, why didn't I think of that ten years ago kinda thing..." Fishing buddies Brian "Bro" Brosdahl, Paul Hansen and I took out Frabill's new, R2-Tec to test the latest portable shelter technology.  The R2-Tec is lined with a quilted, insulated material which uses Thinsulate.  It's called Norpac. We wanted to know just how warm one of these shelters is compared to canvas-covered shelters.  Keep in mind, the R2-Tec is several hundred bucks more expensive.  I figure we wanted to know if the added price is worth the technology.  In very unscientific terms,  we took turns zipping ourselves in and warming up the shelter with a Buddy heater.  Guess what? We had to shed layers.  Almost uncomfortably warm at times.  An absolutely amazing difference, in my opinion.  Now, in very scientific terms, 3M and Canvas Craft (which produces the Norpac material) tested the R2-Tec n a refrigerated, ice cream truck.  They dropped the temp to -10 below zero and tested the heat-holding properties of R2-Tec next to a standard canvas shelter.  Side-by-side, the R2-Tec averaged +40 degrees warmer than the canvas shelter.  In all honesty, I was absolutely blown away by the R2-Tech.  Here's actually infared video from the test. 

Video #1 shows the heat leakage from the R2-Tec.  You'll notice almost not heat loss.  The video of conventional canvas shows a bright red glow coming from the center of the shelter.  Major, major heat loss.  Using the R2-Tec, I don't know I'll ever be able to go back to a canvas shelter.   Be sure to watch for the story on this new technology in an upcoming episode of Due North Outdoors.  It's pretty cool to see how 3M tests this stuff.  Meantime, Bro, Paul and I had great fishing yesterday afternoon.  The tip-ups weren't very active, but when they popped, we had something on the end of the line.  I love tip-up fishing for pike.  A big tip Bro handed me last season, use circle hooks on your tip-ups.  They essentially set themselves and you'll find you rarely deep-hook your fish. I can't say enough about them. Anyway, right about 4:15 yesterday, we watched wave after wave of sunnies and crappies start to zip under our Frabill Shelter. Bro figures the fish were moving from near shore, out into the main body of the lake. They were also on the move chasing blood worms. The good news? We were using Bro Gill-Getters and Bloodworms (both new from Northland) and they were deadly. Makes for a darn, fun afternoon! I'm not a sales pitch kinda guy, buy you really should check out Frabill's insulated shelters. They will change the way you fish. See you on the ice!

Ice Survival

Here are three videos sent my way that will absolutely change the way you think every time you walk onto the ice. These were produced by a Canadian hypothermia expert, Gordon Giesbrecht, from the University of Manitoba to help you survive should you go through unsafe ice.  Watch, then pass this link on to your friends...

Another trip in the books

Jackpot!  My wife is a  saint.  Katie allowed me to sneak out of the house for three hours Saturday afternoon before the "big storm" hit.  Low pressure, a full moon, good fishing conditions in my play book.  First time out for me since Brady's birth.   I met up with fishing buddy Wayne Smith just west of the Twin Cities on Pelican Lake.  We found 8 inches of very good ice.  Even so, I was a bit miffed that folks were already driving a couple of trucks on the ice.  We found zero spots to park. Every spot at every public access spot was packed to the gills.  We finally found an open spot on the East end of the lake.  We picked one of Wayne's favorite spots away from the crowds and set up the new Frabill R2-Tec in seven feet of water.  In a word,  wow.  What an incredible shelter.  Not only is it easy to pull, the design is awsome, the set up easy, the seats absolutely cushy and the defense against the weather, amazing.  See, the new Frabill is lined with a hi-tech fabric called Norpac R.  It's got Thinsulate in it, so the shelter stays very, very comfy, even in brutally cold weather.  We had the temp inside at 55 degrees, even with a stiff breeze blowing outside.  You need to try one of these shelters!  Okay, enough for the free plug...This is a fishing blog.  Wayne and I set up two tip-ups and then got to the jiggin' in the shelter. We were tickled to see wave after wave of crappies and sunnies cruising by below us.   Wayne used jigging spoons and I stuck to jigs.  Seems the wax worms the ticket, compared to the crappie minnows and Eurolarve.  Wayne zapped a really nice sunnie, just before sunset.  Otherwise, the crappies kept us busy.  The honkers were busy all afternoon, buzzing over in waves.  Most were headed straight north. I figure they were headed to open water on the Mississippi River just a few miles away.  After a great (but short) afternoon of fishing, we walked off the lake just after 6 p.m., sad to go.  Heck, the fish were still out there biting somewhere...

Rubbin' It In....Thanks!

Well, with young man Brady now in my life, I've been taking a break from the fishing and hunting scenes. It's nice to take a break, actually.   However, I'm feeling the sting of my two week hiatus.   Seems all my fishing buddies are starting to "rub it in".  These two shots popped up in my email a couple days ago.  My fishing buddy, Wayne Smith, has been out on early ice around the Twin Cities and seems he's found the fish.  These guys came on small jigging spoons and tip-ups.  'Tis the early season, as long as you can find safe ice.  The key there?   4 inches or more of good ice.  I'd be wearing Arctic Armor too.  That gear is a lifesaver if you happen to find bad ice. A few more pictures popped up in my inbox this morning.  My good friend Steve Hemkens over at Orvis just returned with a bit of a suntan and chip on his shoulder...for good reason too.  Being the eternal bachelor, he accepted a short-notice trip down to the Bayou to wander the Biloxi Marsh, not far from the city of New Orleans. With Redfish on the brain, Steve found himself  under warm, sunny skies, wandering glass-calm flats, sight fishing Reds.  Turns out he hooked a couple of monster fish.  Bulls. Geez, the biggest must have been  25 lbs. Steve says they were biting on essentially any fly Steve would throw their way.  That's the way we like fishing.  Meantime, I'm back to baby Brady and the bottle feeding.   I hope to be on the ice two or three days from now.  Please cross your fingers for me.  I'm tired of folks rubbin' it in.

The Boy About The Woods

Okay, it's time to put down the fishing poles, the shotguns, the rifles, all that stuff for ten minutes. I've got a story to tell you.  And it starts with me.....crying.  Call this Man About The Woods sentimental.  I've been pretty teary-eyes that last 72 hours.  Why?  Well, consider this a story of close calls.  Let me explain.  Thanksgiving Day, Katie and I headed to Grandpa and Grandma's house for Thankgsiving dinner.   Katie, for those of you who don't know, is 9 months pregnant.  We took a few family photos and called it an evening.   Next morning, Katie was having a few stomach pains, what we figured were contractions.  That was about 7 a.m.  About 10:30, the contractions were a little closer together (about 8-15 minutes apart) and we figured baby Sherck was on his/her way.  For those who aren't familiar with this kinda stuff, the doctors tell Dad to drive Mom to hospital only after Mom's contractions are about five minutes apart, lasting one minute apiece.  Oh, and that's gotta go on for an hour.  Anyway, I digress.  About 11 a.m., I called the hospital to ask them about Katie's contractions.  "This is your first, take your time at home. Wait for the contractions to get closer. It's going to be a long day, etc" That's the answer we got from the hospital. I wasn't convinced, so I called our doctor's office.  Got the same answer.   Katie was hurting a bit, so I made the call, packed everyone into the Jeep and headed for North Memorial Hospital.  Okay, the timeline becomes a little important here. We left at 11:31 a.m.  Drive time to the hospital? Right at 30 minutes (we timed it out a couple on a couple of drives).   As we zipped along, Katie's contractions suddenly got closer and closer together.  Ten minutes out from the hospital, they were coming about two minutes apart....Then one minute apart.  Of course, we got stuck behind some old guy on the side streets headed to the hospital.  We pulled up to the hospital and I walked Katie in.  She was hunched over and hurting.  We couldn't find anyone to help us, so she leaned up against a counter, pretty much yelling, while I tracked down a volunteer and a wheelchair.  I then wheeled Katie to an elevator and up to the third floor.  Funny to watch the two old guys in the elevator as Katie's sitting there yelling and screaming.  The one guy stepped out on the wrong floor. When his buddy told him it was the wrong floor, he gestured like he couldn't take what was going on in the elevator.  Funny.   Finally on the third floor,  the nurses got Katie into a room. It was strange to see Katie in such pain, yet the nurse took her time, getting chatty with us, "Oh, hello folks,  how was your Thanksgiving?" "Oh, is this your first baby."  SHUT UP AND HELP!  She checked Katie and quickly changed her pace as she realized the baby was already headed out!  One quick room change with a dozen scrambling doctors and nurses and Brady Michael Sherck came into the world about two minutes later.  Birth time? 12:08.  Yep, 37 minutes after we left the house.  Holy smokes. Had we not left the very moment  we did, Brady would have been born in the Jeep.   No thanks..   We're all home now, getting no sleep, trying to figure out some sort of routine, but Mom's doing well, baby's doing well and Dad's just sitting around crying a little bit.     Can't blame me.  I have a son...

PS:  Work, I won't be in for at least a week. 

More pictures at: http://shercks.blogspot.com/