Big Smallies!

It's funny, but my year always seems to blast by in chapters.  You know how it goes.  April is turkey month.  May is walleye opener.  June is trout.  July equals largemouth...August is my month of river fishing.  For good reason too, I think.  I just had friends (and darn competitive brothers) Walt and Dave Larsen out in the Sporting Life driftboat for a day of smallie fishing on the Ole Miss'.  Walt is a bit of a fly angling junkie and Dave's no slouch with an eight weight either.  

Topwater Flies

We fished a few of my favorite topwater poppers and a sub-surface pattern that's always been hot on the river.  It's called a Wiggle Minnow.

 Turns out, Walt sorta put on a show, right Dave?  Ha! It happened to be one of those days where Walt had all the luck, and it was all good.  No matter his fly choice, the fish seemed to bite.

Another Walt Fish

 His biggest fish rang in right at 19 inches, which puts it near 5 lbs.  Nice fish Walt!   Dave managed to catch this nice fish in just a few inches of water on the Wiggle Minnow.

Dave's First Fish

  With all the rain we've had, the river has been up running, on average, about 6,000 feet-per-second.  That means the smallmouth can push up onto the gravel flats and feed. It also means they often tuck right into shore, which makes for some fun casting.  I'll be back on the river tomorrow with a father and son duo.  I'll keep you posted on our success!

Win A $100 Gift Certificate!

Well, this will be kinda fun!  Our good friends at Rapid Sport Marine have a fun contest going.  If you happen to see the Due North Outdoors boat out and about, snap a quick picture and post it on Rapid Sport Marine's website. http://www.rapidmarineboats.com/photo_gallery.asp      You'll have a shot at a $100 gift certificate.  That's kinda cool!

Summertime Fishing...

Well,  I'm getting ready to head up to the lake this weekend for a couple days of rest.   Might get out and do a little bass fishing, although bass have been my focus the last week or so.   Last Wednesday I spent much of the day pre-fishing for the Minnesota Bound Invitational.  The tournament is slowly becoming Minnesota's premier two-day event.  Anytime you get the Lindners, Mark Fischer, the Petersons (of Northland Tackle fame), Rich Boggs, Ron Schara, etc, etc, together for a tournament it's bound to be a good time.  Wednesday I found fish in a couple of my regular spots and left them be for the Friday and Saturday tournament.  In the afternoon I crank baited the weeds in the wind.  Just about 2, I felt quite the tick.  For a few moments I figured I had a five to six pound largemouth.  When I got the fish closer to the boat, I realized I was fishing for the wrong tournament!  A 25 inch walleye in 8 ft weeds on a hot, sunny summer afternoon.   Figures.  

 A Nice Catch and Release Fish

 On Friday and Saturday I fished against many of Minnesota's best bass anglers.  It's so, so cool to head out first thing in the morning, surrounded by all those boats and so many good souls...

 Blast Off!

 By the time the final weigh in finished up,  Rich Boggs had won the tournament for the second time in two years.  His bag was right at 29 lbs.   A big pile of bass for Gull Lake!   I finished with just under 23 lbs.  Respectable, but not quite in the money!

The Due North Boat at Weigh-In

   Proceeds, last year, went to the Minnesota Fishing Hall of Fame.  This year, the money goes to Minnesota's Fishing Museum.  Should be a nice boost for that organization.  You can find out more about that destination at: http://www.mnfishingmuseum.com/

What a Run.....Fishing

Sorry for the delay getting a new update online.  Truth be told, I've been on the road four weeks now.  The good news?  I've spent much of that time fishing and shooting fishing stories.   My run started with the annual trip to Kabeelo Lodge up in Canada with Dad.  This year, along with the Zielinskis, my brother-in-law and cousin came along for the adventure.  Our trip started with a bang, so to speak.

The Blown Trailer Tire!

We blew a trailer tire just north of Brainerd.  What a way to start a fishing trip. Once we had the flat taken care of, we proceeded north all the way to Kabeelo. Next morning, we flew out to a quiet cabin on Perrigo Lake where we caught stringers of fat walleyes and even a few big pike.

Another Bill Sims' Pike

Fred Zielinski with our Lunch!

 I nabbed this monster our last night on the lake right out in front of our cabin.  He came on a topwater and swam away with quite the chagrined look after posing with me for a few pictures at the dock.

A Giant Pike!  The Release! Cousin Mark with a nice Pike!

Last week, we kicked off a new relationship with the good folks at Rapid Sport Marine.  Here's a peek at the 2010 Due North Outdoors Lund.   A beautiful boat with all the bells and whistles (Be sure to stop in and see Garett Solberg if you'd like to check out the boat)! 

The 2010 Lund Explorer

Garett, was also nice enough to let us use another Rapid Marine Lund for quite a cool shoot up along Lake Superior's North Shore. 

 Rapid Marine Lund

 We actually took the boat in to a remote walleye lake behind a Polaris Ranger.  Although the ride from the gravel back to the lake was only three miles, we spent hours on the gnarly and tight trail cutting dead branches and clearning downed trees.  Talk about a tight trail!  

 Can you see the boat behind the Ranger?

The good news?  We found a gin-clear and quiet wilderness lake and, sure enough, the walleyes were biting.

Our Destination

Most of the fish came on jigs and minnows in about eight feet of water.  At sunset, we had quite a moment.  We moved to shallow water and watched a giant hex hatch.  Walleyes were coming up and sipping the two inch bugs off the surface.  I ended up cacthing several fish feeding on hex flies in 2 1/2 feet of water.   Talk about awsome....

 Dinner

This week, we shot fishing stories in both Grand Rapids and Crosby areas.  We started with Hall of Fame angler Tom Neustrom up on Big Winnie.  Boy that guys knows how to catch walleyes!   Later in the week we also fished with Hank Ebert, on of the Brainerd Lake's most storied guides.  Hank's a bass fishin' machine!

 Hank Ebert with another nice Largemouth

 I got in on a bit of the action too! Watch for these stories and others coming up on Due North Outdoors!

A nice fish!

Three "Guaranteed" Walley Opener Rigs!

Walleye!

Man, I can't wait to feel that first *thump* on the end of my rod this weekend!  The Lund is packed and I'm ready to head north to Gull Lake.  I had hoped to get up there early on Friday to do a little crappie fishing, but it sounds like I won't be headed up until mid-afternoon.  I expect to sit in traffic all evening!  My friends over at Fox Sports North asked me to put together a quick list of favorite baits for opening weekend.  I chuckled, because I have literally three baits and three baits only that I use the first few weeks of the season.  My "go-to" baits are both for a slower presentation on opening day. Rod #1 will have a Northland Fire Ball 1/4 ounce jig tipped with a shiner minnow.

Northland Fire Ball Jigs...

I don't say that because Northland is a sponsor of ours. I say that because I've used Fire Balls the last five or six years and I am convinced they outfish other jigs.   Chartreuse/green is still my favorite color.  Rod#2 will have a simple snell rig.  Years ago, I got tired of paying for pre-tied rigs, so I started tying my own.  I use about a three foot section of 6 lb. fluorocarbon and tie on either a size 2 or 4 red hook using a snell knot.  With the opener shaping up to be a good one with warmer water temps,

Snells

 Rod #3 will have a big spinner in some goofy color.  Tying spinners (some anglers call them crawler harnesses) has become an off-season hobby of mine.  

Notice I Store Them On Foam Swim Noodles 

 Not only does it save money, but it's pretty fun.  I like BIG #5 and #6 blades and lots of different colors of beads.  I use quick-switch clevises so I can change blades. 

Big Blades!

   Give these three baits a try and see how it goes.  Just don't call to complain when you have to spend all evening cleaning fish!   Good Luck on opener and be safe!