outdoors

6:48 AM marked the opener of the MN Winter Trout Season. I headed out to Lake Cenaiko with a few friends and my son to experiece what is an annual ritual for dozens, if not hundreds of MN anglers. The gates opened around 5:30 AM with about 20 cars lined up. The guy at the gate said previous years have seen lines all the way out to the park entrance.

By 6:30 AM there were hundreds of portable shacks set up with anglers chomping at the bit to get their lines in the water. We set up our Frabill Headquarters Hub for the first time. It was instantly christened "The Shangri-La". We could fit a small army in this shack but this morning it ws just an army of me and my son. 

The recent cold added a few inchs of good ice just in the nick of time. We were fishing on good ice that was between 6" and 8" and there were a few areas marked off with thin ice but for it appeared as though the lake was 100% fishable. Once we started I found myself staring at this image for the next 3 hours with very little action:

My inaction was interupted by some hooting and hoolering from about 100 ft to my north. Aaron Dreyer from Elk River hooked into a 22.5" beauty. He fought the fish for about 5 minutes making sure not to break his 2# test line.

^{Aaron Dreyer - Elk River, and his 22.5" Rainbow Trout}

While I was distracted taking pictures and talking to Aaron about his big catch my buddy Matt Bistodeau was busy putting fish on the ice. By mid-morning he had three around the 15" mark.

^{Matt Bistodeau exits the The Shangri-La to show off his catch}

My son Theo was getting a little bored and I wasn't far behind him but we kept our lines in the water and hoped for a bite. We had something hit both our lines but neither of us hooked it. A few minutes later Theo picked up a blip on the Vexilar and hooked into his first rainbow trout. A brief battle ensued with Theo winning the fight. The trout is now resting comfortably in our freezer until tomorrow afternoon when we'll cook it up for lunch!

^{Theo Petrie holds his first rainbow trout}

Most anglers were heading off the ice by mid-morning. We cut out about 11 AM but will definately be heading back. The season runs through March 31 with angling from 1 hr before sunrise to 1 hr after sunset. It's a stocked pond with over 3000 fish released this year. As Aaron proved this morning there are some slobs swimming around. No live bait is allowed other than maggots. It costs you $5 to park and $10 for a MN State Trout Stamp.

Great-affordable fun for the whole family. See you on the ice!

I had a great time hitting the Saint Paul Ice show last week and I wasn't alone. Attandance was at or beyond record levels as anglers perpared themselves for the upcoming ice season.

If money were no object I probably would have dropped about $75,000 on a new luxury house with a matching truck, snowmobile and ATV! Unfortunately I have Ferrari dreams on a Fiat budget but still managed to come away with some fantastic products that will undoubtedly result in great fishing this winter!

1.     Strikemaster - HardWater Ware Polar Parka & Bibs- $330

After several years of wearing make-shift ice wear I invested in this set of winter wear to keep me warm. I'm excited to see how it performs but trust I'll be comfortable. I'm not saying this is the best product available, however, I think it is arguably the best value for your money. Available in size Small to XXXXXL....there's one that will fit you! I also picked up a pretty sweet zipper-collar Strikemaster sweatshirt for $20 which could be the bargain of the show.

2.     Frabill – Headquarters Hub Shelter - $299.99

With 3 young sons I’m rarely fishing alone and usually with another of my kid’s friends or two. This year we’re trying out the Frabill Headquarters Hub Shelter. This gives us plenty of room to fish as a group. I anticipate we’ll use it like a HQ with holes in and around the shack. Frabill Camp Chairs @ $15/chair will replace my orange Home Depot buckets….the buckets will be officially dedicated to holding all our fish!

3.     Irish Setter – Snow Claw XT Boots - $209.99

I generally use my rubber hunting boots for ice but this year picked up a pair of Irish Setter Snow Claw XT boots. They pretty much had me sold on 2000 grams of Thinsulate but the serrated cleats and Aerogel layer between my foot and the sole also sound appealing. This is a very substantial boot but amazingly light. I can see myself on the ice for many hours without cold feet!

5.     Northland - Assorted Jigs & Impulse-Infused Baits - $40.00

I’ll be honest…I’d buy anything Chip Leer tells me to buy! I watched him demonstrate the new Impulse Tapeworm and heard the pitch. If Chip is a believer so am I. It will be a matter of a few days before I know for myself how the products perform! $3.69/10.

6.     Strikemaster – Lazer Mag Express Auger - $480

I’m upgrading my vintage Strikemaster with a Tecumseh engine to the Lazer Mag Express based on my experience using a loaner auger last year when mine was acting up. I’ve watched a fair amount of tips/video from the pros and know drilling holes and moving frequently can increase your success. With the Solo I can seriously drill about 5 holes for every 1 hole with my old Strikemaster…and that’s with sharp bits!

The beauty of the ice show was seeing absolutely everything that an ice angler could imagine under one crammed roof. There were also deals to be had. I also spent some time checking out the Vexilar FL-22 with the new Fish Scout Camera/Case..retails for $1,200 with the case. I’ve asked Santa to consider my good behavior in 2011 and bring me one!

Good luck ice anglers; be careful on early ice.

Watch out fish…I’m geared up and ready to roll!

Every summer Rapala has an employee fishing tournament and participants get a commerative shirt that displays the creativy we as consumers have come to expect from Rapala's marketing group. "So, you want to work at Rapala? Get in line....it starts somewhere north of Saskatoon!" was featured on the shirt this year. For anglers, who wouldn't dream of working for Rapala? Or at least who wouldn't want to work for a company that has an annual-employee fishing tournament?!!

I've been fortunate enough to get to know several of the Rapala team over the past few years. You probably think working there would be great; for an angler, I think it could be the best job in the world! I was talking with a friend who has made a great career in the fishing industry and even for him Rapala would be the ultimate-employment destination.

From the moment you enter the parking lot you know you're somewhere special. I don't think it's a requirement of employment but all of the cars in the lot have some form of Rapala branding on their bumper or rear window. If you happen to be there when pro-staff director/master lure designer Mark Fisher is in town you may catch sight of his obnoxiously-cool wrapped Yukon in the lot. What's even cooler is that the wrap was designed about 75 feet to the east inside the walls of their HQ. Rapala staff is rightfully proud of their brand and not ashamed to show it off.

Walk in the door and it only gets better. Trophies and memoriablia scatter the walls. There's a plaque thanking the staff for the delivery of the 100,000,000th (that's one hundred millionth) Rapala production lure from the early 1990's. They're probably creaping up on the one billion mark if they haven't already passed it. In the conference room is an old photo of Lauri Rapala's cabin where his lure-making business was started in the mid-1930's. It's an amazing beginning of a story that has been developing for over 75 years. I think if Lauri Rapala were around to see this operation he would be pleased...and as a Fin, his smile-of-approval would probably look something like this:

_{Lauri Rapala - 1905-1974}

I visit Rapala any chance I get and what I apprecaite about walking the halls is their feeling of confidence that they control their own destiny despite a competitive market and challenging world-economic conditions. There's no false sense of urgency in the corridors; no manufactured drama. Team members understand their rolls and they perform them well. These folks know how to make and sell a fantastic product and operate like you would expect a market leader to conduct business. This is no secret...in fact it's the reason the employment line starts north of Saskatoon!

Don't lose sight of the fact that fishing in MN is entering primetime as the lakes turn and the water temps fade. Grab a Rapala and hit the lake and catch one for Lauri!

I’m a hunting and fishing fanatic and a strong advocate of introducing others to the sport; It’s fashionable these days to promote the introduction of hunting and fishing to youth and women and it’s often said they are the fastest growing segment in the outdoor industry. I don’t doubt this but I’ve never taken the time to review hard data that proves the statement.

Personally I think it’s important to get women and children outdoors mostly for the quality family time it delivers. We recently took our first family Canadian fishing trip. Our destination was a remote fishing camp near Sioux Narrows, Ontario, called Totem Resorts/Wiley Point. We were there for 4 nights and 3 days, caught 100’s of walleye, a dozen smallies and 3 muskies! We had about 24 hours of boat time as a family in a 19’x8’ area….amazing quality time. We took about 150 fantastic pictures to record the experience and came away the picture below which will most likely be our Christmas card this year...

_{Kristin Petrie's First Muskie - 46" Lake of the Woods - 8/31/11}

Women and children are being presented with great opportunties to hunt and fish thanks to the MN DNR and conservation groups. I don't think we should lose sight another important demographic....men age 28-54.

This is a generation who owned BB guns as kids, had hunting and fishing experiences but were distracted by other priorities growing up. This generation isn’t entirely lost as they had parents and grandparents who hunted or fished, they just need to be reminded to get back to the boat or field. Why are they as important as women/youth to the future of our sport? They are the economic engine of the outdoors. Most women and children who hunt and/or fish have very little input in the equipment they're using...it's the husband/father who's driving the purchase. Most women aren't programmed like men to want to buy $1000 shotguns or $400 deer blinds. Perhaps that will change over time but for now the long lines I see at local outdoor retailers are 98% male.

Should we still promote youth and women hunting/fishing initiatives? Absolutely....but do us all a favor and bring back a few guys to our sport as well!

I’m a hunting and fishing fanatic and a strong advocate of introducing others to the sport; It’s fashionable these days to promote the introduction of hunting and fishing to youth and women and it’s often said they are the fastest growing segment in the outdoor industry. I don’t doubt this but I’ve never taken the time to review hard data that proves the statement.

Personally I think it’s important to get women and children outdoors mostly for the quality family time it delivers. We recently took our first family Canadian fishing trip. Our destination was a remote fishing camp near Sioux Narrows, Ontario, called Totem Resorts/Wiley Point. We were there for 4 nights and 3 days, caught 100’s of walleye, a dozen smallies and 3 muskies! We had about 24 hours of boat time as a family in a 19’x8’ area….amazing quality time. We took about 150 fantastic pictures to record the experience and came away the picture below which will most likely be our Christmas card this year...

_{Kristin Petrie's First Muskie - 46" Lake of the Woods - 8/31/11}

Women and children are being presented with great opportunties to hunt and fish thanks to the MN DNR and conservation groups. I don't think we should lose sight another important demographic....men age 28-54.

This is a generation who owned BB guns as kids, had hunting and fishing experiences but were distracted by other priorities growing up. This generation isn’t entirely lost as they had parents and grandparents who hunted or fished, they just need to be reminded to get back to the boat or field. Why are they as important as women/youth to the future of our sport? They are the economic engine of the outdoors. Most women and children who hunt and/or fish have very little input in the equipment they're using...it's the husband/father who's driving the purchase. Most women aren't programmed like men to want to buy $1000 shotguns or $400 deer blinds. Perhaps that will change over time but for now the long lines I see at local outdoor retailers are 98% male.

Should we still promote youth and women hunting/fishing initiatives? Absolutely....but do us all a favor and bring back a few guys to our sport as well!