Opening Day, Bring it!

The time has finally come.  Opener is now less than two days away and many anglers have already told 'the boss' to take a hike.  Ah, what a perfect time of the year.  Other than deer opener, I don't believe there is a holiday in this state that gets as much attention.  So I have to ask.  What is your plan for the big day?

Are you going to be one of the lucky bunch hoisting walleyes on Leech Lake this year?  The chatter on the street says it may be the best opener the lake has ever seen.  From what I witnessed last year, the chatter is probably right.  Mille Lacs should have several options this year too, so anglers won't have to fish on top of one another in the north end sand.  Did you know that you don't even need bait to catch them on Red Lake?  I know that has been the hottest bite since it re-opened in '06.  Or, will you be like me?  Fishing a smaller, less known body of water in an attempt to catch an opening day walleye dinner.

While I do believe that all of the previously mentioned lakes should be on fire, my optimism also hopes for the same on the small ones too.  The reason?  This is the first year in a long time that the spawn has been completely done statewide.  In fact, a normal calendar year would put us right around Memorial weekend in a walleye's world.  It just so happens that I love fishing walleye's on Memorial weekend, and so do all of my walleye fishing friends - and that's a good thing!

Like all years in recent memory, I'm going to be fishing with some of my favorite pals.  Our tradition is to fish at Midnight.  Where we launch is usually decided the evening of.  Where we spend the rest of the weekend always depends on our success, but one thing is for certain - we never give up until we have our fresh meal for dinner.

Currently our plan is to fish the metro waters.  Unlike popular belief, this is usually far less crowded than many of the northern waters.  My plan is the same as all years.  I will start as shallow as shore and start heading out deeper until I get bit.  Sometimes this happens in a foot of water, sometimes 10, but rarely is it further than that.  I'm going to have three options at my disposal, and it may be a wise decision for you to do the same.  First, a jig and minnow, because it rarely ever fails.  Second is the crankbait, and if for some reason they have lock-jaw, then I'll have the T-Rig ready for them.  What's the T-Rig you ask?  Well, that I cannot share.  But it catches fish when nothing else will.

Many of you may be thinking that the cold front will have them shut down.  I strongly disagree.  I think it will be a blessing in disguise, and when the warm temps start to rise on Saturday I believe you will be pleased with your results.  At least I hope so, cuz after all, nobody goes into the fishng opener thinking that they will get skunked.  Not me, not this year, not ever!  Here's to a good weekend of opening fishing!  May you catch all that your net can hold!  Until Saturday, keep on livin' the dream!

Travis Frank - Travis@mnbound.com

Fish Fair!

It's been well documented that I'm a big supporter of introducing kids to the outdoors.  Fishing for Life is an organization that takes it to a whole new level.  They do year round activities, promotions and and fundraisers that are getting kids involved in the outdoors.  This weekend, May 7 and 8, they are having their annual 'Fish Fair,' and I am lucky enough to be a part of it

Here's a little more about this year's fish fair, and you can decide if you want to help out too, or if you'd like to partake in the activities.  The doors open at 10:00 AM Saturday at the Anoka County Fairgrounds.  Kids and their families can fish for trout, make lures, practice casting, race minnows and more.  All activities are educational, teaching families and kids about habitat awareness, fishing tackle, techniques, fishing clubs, camps and about the fish they want to catch.  Consider this the county fair, but everything is fishing related.  Plus, there are going to be several fishing guides and tournament anglers around to teach their ways and give seminars too.  That's where I plan to help.  I too will be trying to share my knowleadge with anyone who cares to learn.  Maybe I'll learn something from some of the other guys like the Lindner's or Keith Kavajecz too.  Either way, it's going to be a hoot.

If you aren't 100% committed just yet, you may be interested in the Sportsmans Garage Sale.  Taking place at the same time, I've been told it will be a mix of anything and everything from anglers like you and me.  I think it may be worth your time to swing in to learn how you can help.  After all, the proceeds will be going to the children and their yearly fishing activities.  This group is making a difference, you can check 'em out right here. Fishing For Life - Hope to see you there!

Spring Action...

What a beautiful spring we've been blessed with!  The above average temps have brought along above average fishing too.  This past weekend the boys and I slipped out for a couple of hours of catching to prepare for a fish fry.  It's a yearly spring ritual for us, and our stomachs seldom leave empty.  This past Saturday was no different.

We hit the water at mid-day and headed to the opposite end of the lake, away from the big crowds.  For my group to fully enjoy a spring day on the water, we simply must be away from the crowds.  The funny part is that most people feel that they need to be anchored right up next to the other guys to catch fish.  We would prove that this is simply false.  We spent hours catching fish and throwing them back.  We covered several hundred yards of shoreline and caught fish the entire way.  Sunfish was our main catch, and boy did we find some dandies hidden in the hard to reach places.  We also found a few slab crappies and had a bunch of bass grab hold too.

This outing gave me another chance to work on my photography skills and prepare for the season ahead.  I'm really focusing on capturing all the elements of the catch through the eyes of the camera lens.  Ive found it to be a challenge in many ways, but each time on the water I come away with a few photos that I really enjoy.  Regardless, it sure is fun learning, and this whole photography things adds another dimension to my days on the water.  If you want to see some other pics, you can check out my photo blog.  I've been updating it fairly regularly.

A quick tip for those heading out after spring panfish.  The time is now, don't delay.  Head shallow, and sometimes really shallow.  Remember, the fish aren't there to spawn just yet.  They are in the shallows to eat.  You want to find the warmest water on the lake.  The warm water brings all the tiny critters, bugs and minnows in, and the panfish are there to get in on the spring feast.  Find the warmest water, and you've found your fish.  This can be as shallow as a few inches of water.  Wax worms are always a good choice, but don't overlook the new plastic lure options.  The Mini-Mites are a great panfish bait right now, and if you don't bait them, you sometimes keep the smaller fish from eating it.  Just the small hook and rubber under a float has been all that my boat has used.  For the past 3 years now, I haven't purchased any bait.  Good luck and remember to take a young kid fishing with you!  From the muddy bottom bays of the metro area lakes, keep on livin' the dream!

Travis Frank - Travis@mnbound.com

Now is the Time...

To take a kid fishing.  We preach it all the time, but how good are we at actually making it happen?  I feel this is a valid question, because we hear the phrase, but how well do we follow through with it?  It's simply not that easy to make it happen.  Sometimes we just don't have the time, or we might not know a young angler that even wants to go fishing.  I am not saying that I'm the best at this either, but I can assure you one thing, I try.  Yep, I make an honest effort to do the same that was done for me when I was a young fishing dude.  Now I try to find young kids that I know want to fish, and whenever I can make it work, I take them fishing.

I believe this is probably the fourth year in a row that I have written this story during the early summer months, but I think it is worth repeating again.  Now is the time to get your kids into the sport of fishing.  The panfish are biting, and if you are a young angler it doesn't get any better than right now.  Just ask young Tanner, the young stud pictured holding his fine panfish catch from this past Saturday.  The best part about this time of the year is that you need almost zero equipment to make a kids day.  A simple rod and reel, a small bobber, a few small hooks and some wiggling worms will do the trick.  That's it!  No boat necessary.  I repeat, no boat is needed for this to happen.  The panfish are now in the shallow waters and any small bay on any lake will have fish within casting distance of shore.  Tanner caught all of his fish in about 1 or 2 feet of water.  All you need to do is a little research on where you can legally fish from shore, and you can go do it.  The key is not waiting until June, July or August.  That's too late, you must go now.

I'm not trying to sound like a nag, but I assure you that you can brighten any childs day.  There is just something about a fish pulling on the end of a young kids line that gets them excited.  Once you see their pure excitement, you will never forget it, and it will give you a better feeling than any 50 inch muskie.  I promise!  If you are able to be a blessing to a child this spring or summer, I strongly encourage you to follow through and make it happen.  Even if you are reading this and saying, I take my child fishing, I do my part, then it might be cool to take the neighbor kid along too.  It's just a thought but I feel its worth sharing.  If you need any rods or reels, just let me know and I can get you the equipment.  Also, there is a new website to teach every single fundamental thing about fishing called The School of Outdoor Sports.  I will stop with my rant and rave now...Thank you, and until next time, remember to take a kid fishing!

Rainy River Bonanza

The year of 2010 on the Rainy River might go down as one of the most memorable spring walleye runs in history.  Maybe it won't be remembered as the year of catching 200 walleyes in a day, but its likely that all the anglers on that water will remember the size of the fish they caught on their trip north.  It certainly will for myself, and I'll bet my fishing partners will say the same.

Last week I got a bug up my rear to head north.  The reports were just too good to pass up, and I thought I would move my Sturgeon Fest trip up a week.  My boat partners that included dad Tim, my buddies Dusty and Tim, understood what I was talking about when I explained to them that the 10 pound walleyes are biting with regularity.  We changed our reservations and headed to Ballards Resort on Thursday night.  Little did we know what we were about to get ourselves into.

Friday morning I met up with one of my muskie fishing partners, Mike Tengwall.  He'd been on the water the evening before and confirmed our thoughts.  The big girls were biting!  It took a matter of minutes for our boat to believe the word on the street.  I was lucky enough to hook the first fish of the trip.  A beautiful 26 inch walleye.  I followed that up with a fat 27.5 incher.  Then, just when I thought I was the cool guy in the boat, Tim caught his first ever Rainy River walleye, and she stretched the board at a solid 30 inches.  Wow!  Now, we have all caught nice walleyes before, but this was just unheard of.   Next it was my dad's turn, and he caught a dandy 27.5 and a 28 incher too.  It was beyond spectacular.  We all repeated this process over and over throughout the morning.  I assure you that it never got old.  Plus, we even managed to hook a few smaller fish for the frying pan.

With morning number one in the books, we pretty much had our trip already made.  For us, it couldn't have gone any better.  The only thing on our minds was a chance at a hard tugging sturgeon.  After all, Sturgeon Fest is an annual tradition of ours.  To commemorate it all, Dusty shaved himself a sweet mustache in remembrance of our 2009 Sturgeon Season, year of the mustache.  Our antics started in familiar places and familiar sturgeon waters.  Much the same as the morning started, I was the lucky one to start the action.  It took me about 3 seconds to remember why I drive 6 hours north to catch these fish every year.  A battle that probably pulled a dozen muscles in my back and gave me smiles for hours.  At that moment I can remember sitting down and thinking, "Yes Travis, this is as good as it gets."

Day #1 was simply incredible.  In fishing terms, it couldn't have gone better.  To be able to add my good buddies Tim and Dusty to the list was epic, and having my father along was the icing on the cake.  We enjoyed catching fish like each fish was our first one.  I can honestly say that when you see a walleye that big come from the murky waters, they all get you screaming for excitement.  Even after the 15th, 20th, or 30th one.  It never got old, and to add Sturgeon to the list for our afternoon activities was such a sweet bonus.

While day #1 was great, we made sure that it was no fluke.  Day #2 was a near repeat with many huge walleyes and a few sturgeon that were even bigger.  Sunday morning was our grand finale and we sealed it with a couple more walleyes near the 10 pound mark.  I took more pictures of big fish than I know what to do with, and will have more memories than I can even think to share.  All I know is that it will certainly be tough to beat this trip.  I just don't know how it could be possible.

You might be wondering why we don't do this every season, and how it all came to be.  Well, this year was a freak of nature in terms of river conditions.  In a typical year the river turns muddy and the current is out of control.  The walleyes get lock-jaw and most anglers get skunked.  This year was the exception.  The water levels remained extremely low.  The current speed was nearly zero, and the water temps indicated that the females would be in the river during the open fishing season.  Some years the walleye fishing might only last for a day or two.  This year, it was a solid month of picture perfect angling conditions.  When you couple that with the size of the fish that people were catching, then you will understand why the 2010 season on the Rainy River will likely go down in the history books as one of the best ever.  It was for me, and I can assure you it was for my buddies too!  To see more pictures from our trip, check out the Rainy River photo album.  Until next time, Keep on Livin' the Dream!