Future Fishing Stars...

Every once in a great while a guy gets a chance to give back. When I was growing up I just loved fishing, go figure right? My neighbor Scott Grabow would take me fishing every Saturday morning. Sometimes we would even get out on a weeknight evening or two. I look at all of those times as one of the reasons that I have made fishing such a big part of my life. There is nothing more enjoyable than getting the chance to return the favor.

The other day I was able to get my neighbor and his son out on the water. Much the same situation as Scott and I, but this time the rolls were reversed. This is my favorite time of the year to get young kids into the sport of fishing. The panfish are going crazy, and they are easy to catch. Action is key when you are young, and the crappies and sunnies didn't dissapoint us. Tanner is the name of the young fishing star on that night, and his father Tory joined us as well. Tanner was so excited the entire time on the water, and loved every fish that came in the boat. He would yell "It's a keeper!" with each catch. He said "hi" to all the fisherman around us, and gave them a play-by-play of the events we were having. "Got a bite!" he would yell to them, followed with "It's a big one!" He would let them know if we landed it, lost it, or if it was a keeper. The entire crowd of boats enjoyed the experience as much as we did, but I think Tanner might have had the most fun. The smile on his face the entire evening said it all, a great time with a future star of fishing!

That great trip was followed up with some more action. Mitch Petrie and his three sons Theo, Aaron and William came out to try their luck at the chomping crappies and sunnies. I don't think that anybody left the boat dissapointed that day. The action was fast and furious and the three boys between 5 and 9 years old were having a ball. This crew of fishing phenoms were in the boat last year, and as Mitch and I talked about, you can progressively see them getting better. In fact, the few tangles that we had came from the older gentlemen in the boat named Mike Ernst. The boys were impressive to say the least, and looked like touring pros. The livewell didn't stand a chance, and dinner was caught in a very short time. A perfect way to spend time on the water and share the excitement with the future of fishing. I strongly recommend you give it a try. You just might Love it!

Travis Frank - Travis@mnbound.com

Winter Smallmouth Bass...

In the dead of winter it is hard to picture yourself standing in open water casting a 6 foot fishing pole. This was exactly the case last week when I strapped on a pair of waders and freshly spooled my favorite spinning reel. Smallmouth Bass were the target, and the river was the location. For some, this has been a secret success for years. For others, you may have never heard of such a thing. Regardless, it is an adventure you must try.

There is no secret that Minnesota's rivers are plump full of battling bronzebacks, but when, where and how, have left many people scratching their heads. Let me just sum it all up by saying that as long as there is a legal fishing season open, there are bass to be caught. It's simply that easy! The only catch to this easy equation? You must be able to fish where the bass are.

This time of the year, much of the river can be frozen. Find open water, and you've found a place to start. We opted for the stretch of the Mississippi river near St. Cloud. There is a warm water discharge that keeps things flowing year round. This particular area is shallow, and waders will get you where you need to go. A simple jig and minnow will do the trick, but you can mix it up and still have success. Each day is different, and the fish can move locations in a hurry. The beauty is, that you can move right with them.

Like all river fish, you must play the current. Holes in the river channel or bends are a good place to start. If that doesn't work, just keep walking to the next one. You can cover a lot of territory in a hurry, and once you find one, you have likely found a ton. They school together thick this time of year, which is almost unfair to the fish. My only other piece of advice, is to be respectful of the bass. Once you find out how easy this can be, it is imperative that you practice good catch and release. Oh you'll have fun, and you might just catch some bonus fish in the process. Walleyes are fond of the same areas! And did I mention the scenery is incredible. I snapped some photo's that give me goosebumps. Let this idea spice up your winter months, but hurry, the Minnesota season ends in a couple of days. Good Luck!

Travis Frank - Travis@mnbound.com

A Birthday on Ice...

The other day I was told from a friend that his son had one request for his birthday. He wanted to go fishing with Travis. Well I felt honored to say the least and was excited to get little William in the house. For a 5 year old, this is a neat adventure. The typical birthday party when you are that age is Chucky Cheese or something similar. To top it off, I was also being joined by 3 of his birthday party friends. Now most people might think thatit is a tough task to get that many young fisherman in one house, and they are probably right. For me however, I look forward to these days on the water as another chance to grow our sport. I remember when I was that young and would do anything to be out fishing. I just like to return the favor when at all possible, and I like to see the enthusiasm that kids have when they get to catch a fish. You just can't beat that smile!

To make our day a little easier and different than most, I decided to set the house up on a sunny hole. This was an obvious decision for any young child fishing experience, because action is key to their fun. When you are 5, your attention span isn't that long, and boredom comes easily. I also had a special treat for the kids. I put the underwater camera down the hole, then ran a cord to the big screen television. Now, on a 30 inch television screen, the kids were able to watch all the fish underneath them, and watch the fish eat their bait. This turned out to be even better than I hoped. I seriously was addicted to this television screen, and so were the kids. Bringing the underwater world to life on that television screen was better than any program I have ever watched. We watched a minimum of 10 fish at all times on the screen, and the kids were catching and missing fish like crazy. It was a hoot!

What would a birthday party be without presents and a cake? Well, Kristin being the wonderful mother that she is, brought out cupcakes for the whole crew. The friends exchanged their gifts between bites from the fish, and their turn with the underwater camera.A very neat way to have a birthday party that I won't soon forget. I have to thank Tim for his gear and allowing me to set it up for the kids. I also want to give a great big birthday shout out to little William for turning 5 years old. The birthday crew consisted of Dalton Timko, Ashton Muller, Sage Parrish, and Birthday Boy William Petire. Their parents came for the fun times as well, so thanks to Erik Timko, Karina Muller and Kristin Petrie for allowing me to share in your birthday memories. Catch you all on the water next time, until then, keep on livin the dream!

Travis Frank - Travis@mnbound.com

The Flag Is Up.....

If there is one thing this guy doesn't do enough of, it's chasin winter flags. Tip-ups that is! Yesterday I took advantage of a special holiday, not Martin Luther King day, but my birthday. I had aspirations of heading far north in search of walleyes, but decided to stay local for a mixed bag. As you can see from the endless amount of pictures that I took, we had a pretty productive day. Dusty, Mike, Doug and myself spent the majority of the day chasing tip-ups and pulling in pike. I took my camera along for the ride, and took some 200 photo's throughout the day. Many of our tip-ups resulted in smaller "Snot Rockets," but we tangled with some dandies as well, and finished the day off with 11 Gators with an 8 pounder being the largest. Along with the 11 we caught, were almost as many that got away. For some people, tip-up fishing can be considered rookie fishing, but that still doesn't mean that it is always easy, nor is it any less fun.

Along with the constant chasing of the flags, we also set up camp in the cozy shack and caught our share of panfish. Sunnies were the main target, but we certainly put the hammer down on the crappies as well. For a day that wasn't even planned, it just might go down as one of the best on the ice this winter. We had no shortage of action, with some very large bluegills and respectable crappies coming through the hole. In all, we must have caught a few hundred fish throughout the day. During the very brief periods that fish weren't coming through the hole, we filled our bellies with pizza and snacks. Plenty of trash talk was spewed from our mouths, and laughs aplenty. A good birthday and a day on the water with great friends just makes it all the more special. Thanks fellas, and until next time, keep on livin that dream!

Christmas Walleye Recap

Well hello again! I sure hope that you had a very merry Christmas vacation. Actually, I'm sure many of you are still enjoying your break from work or school. If that's the case, then I suggest you make it a point to get out on the water and catch a few walleyes. Here's a tip, they are biting! This update spans a stretch of several days, so bear with me as I highlight the latest and greatest on the ice.

Last Tuesday evening I was joined by a newcomer to the sport of ice fishing. Jeremy hopped on the back of the wheeler, and we were off to the shack. Jeremy is fairly new to ice fishing, and had only caught one walleye through the ice in his entire life. Ironically, that came only a few days prior to our trip, but he said it was very small. I was hoping to increase his totals drastically, and teach him a few things to help in the future. It was a fairly relaxed tutorial as we set up in preparation for the afternoon bite. I call it the "afternoon bite" instead of an "evening bite,"because the day before, we had 3 walleyes in the jar before the sun even thought about setting. Anyway, we were ready to fish by 3:30, and played the waiting game. Similar to the previous day, we had action before darkness set in. Jeremy learned how to catch a walleye on everything but his jigging rod, and even found out what it was like to lose a nice fish in hand-to-hand "rattle reel" combat. He went 2 for 3 on the rattle reels, and 1 for 2 on the tip-ups. Throw in a few dozen perch, and I would call this a successful excursion. By the time we wrapped it up that evening, Jeremy had tripled his lifelong totals for walleyes, and hopefully will be well prepared for the big trip in a few days. Jeremy will be back for 4 days on the water. Joining him on this trip will be his wife who has been stationed in Iraq, and 3 buddies from Texas. Stay tuned for these reports late next week, as I fill you in on this great story!

Jump forward a few days to Saturday. The time between Tuesday and Saturday were filled with Holiday gatherings and family time. Ok, so we pulled out Mike's house and geared up for the first over-night stay of the year. Obviously this is my favorite way to ice fish, so I was pretty jazzed to get the house on the spot. Katie and her pup Woody joined me, and she was first to land a walleye. Not a giant, but a nice lead-in to what Mike was about to catch. After I dropped Katie off on shore, I returned to the house to nestle in the sleeping bag. I didn't even get zipped in, and Mike was out of the bunk. Ding, Ding, Ding! The beautiful sound of the rattle reel turning. After an intense and well fought out battle by Mike, we were high-fiving and all smiles as we hoisted the first 10 pounder of the year. Talk about a good way to start the over night season. The fish was 29 inches long, and had an 18 inch belly. A true Minnetonka Fatty that is still out there for the next guy. Before the sun rose, we were greeted by a few more ding's from the rattle reels, and we put two more eaters in the jar. A great night on the ice, and a congrats to Mike on the trophy!

Last night Katie and I returned for an afternoon bite. Before the sun could set, we battle two nice eaters onto the ice. It was pretty hectic as the perch and walleyes were mixed, and the rattles were dinging like crazy. The funny part is you never know what to expect when its such chaos. One time it's a small perch, and the next you set the hook on what feels like a rock. Good stuff, and made for a great sunset picture. We left for evening church shortly after that, and I returned with Mike to spend the night. The wind picked up after that, and the fish turned completely off. Oh well, there's always next time. Now that the ice is in good enough shape to move the houses, I anticipate many photos and stories. Stay tuned, and remeber, Keep on Livin' the Dream!

Travis Frank - Travis@mnbound.com