Although it seems like yesterday, it was February when I stopped into Bob Moore's Bait and Tackle in South Minneapolis.

Normally I'm greeted by the owner Bob, or his wife Meg. This time it was different. Bob has a new face in his shop....Heidi his new Red Lab puppy.

While Bob was stocking his shelves with the early spring tackle and cat fishing gear, Heidi was hard at work keeping the hospitality bar high. I know that one of these days I'll walk into the bait shop and Heidi will be sitting by the door suggestion the latest hot bait to each customer as they arrive!

Stop in and see the new face of Bob Moore's Bait and Tackle. Don't forget the doggie treats!

Towards the end of February while most were out on the hard water fishing, I found myself fishing with a Marcum underwater camera on Pool 4 of the Mississippi River. Because of the warm water discharge of the power plant just up stream, Pool 4 has open water all year. Without the boat, barge traffic and rain run off the Mighty Muddy Mississippi clears up very nicely. A perfect time to see what's down there.

One of the times Jessy Krook my boat control guy and I were out we ran across a school of short and long nose gar fish. I was surprised to see these minnow feeders laying so quietly on the bottom of the river. Here, watch the video yourself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-X0y4OH_4nw

Then in March/April we had the flooding on the river at Everts. Ol Man River never shut down the resort but sure made parking miserable. Sure glad the levels are almost back to normal for this time of year. While most figured the river was too high to fish, the river rats flocked to the high water an

d they are still catching many 9 and 10 pound walleyes. There was one 13.5 pounder that came into the resort. This all leads to the question of why so many feel they have to travel hours up north when the fishery of Pool 4 will increase your chance of landing a true trophy?

In just a couple weeks In-Depth Outdoors is holding it's annual Sturgeon Excursion at Wigwam and Adrian's Resort on Lake of the Woods and Rainy River. It's easy, friendly fishing for possibly the largest freshwater fish of your lifetime. Catch Photo and Release are the three key words at the Sturgeon Excursion!

See previous Club Outdoors post for details on how you can dance with a sturgeon.

After the Excursion, it's going to be time to start catching bullheads and gearing up for trophy flathead cat fishing! This is when the days are backwards. Leaving the launch at 7 pm and arriving back in the wee hours of the morning. A trophy catfish guide does not own any sun block!

Fishing at night adds a new dimension to fishing and then with a big old 20, 30 or even 40 pound scraping mad cat at the end of the line adds another dimension! Fishing with live bait that many would like to take home for their dinner. These fish will find the weakest point in your tackle and leave you wondering what happened. Have you ever tried to stop a freight train? This is why we use 80 pound Courtland Masterbraid, and the larger Garcia 7000 reels.

The long awaited fishing season of 2010 is about to kick into high gear! Get yourself a fishing license and make your way to the nearest lake or river. Who knows, you might run into Bob and his new girl Heidi!