Outdoors

It almost seems to good to be true. Still swimming in Ely area lakes are a 22-inch smallmouth, a 44-inch northern and a 31-inch walleye. <BR><BR>Each fish was caught and released by anglers visiting the area. Fisheries officials have been encouraging catch and release for many years now and their efforts are paying off.<BR><BR>This week more fish were entered into the North Country Angler fishing contest through Catch and Release than those listed as frying pan material. <BR><BR>Big fish put back means the future of our lakes is looking better than ever. Those fish will lay eggs by the millions in the years to come and provide for the next generation of fishing action.<BR><BR>Leading the way this week was the massive northern pike released by Dusty Nelson, age 17, of Waseca, MN.

Where does one take grandkids fishing when they come to Ely for a visit? One answer is to let them pick where they want to fish, which is what we did last week. The grandkids, Alex and Isaak Sommer from Walker, Minnesota, opted for Little Long Lake. Why Little Long? Because they were up in previous years and had a great time filling the stringer with sunfish, a species in good supply at Little Long.<BR><BR>Thus it was that we arrived at Shig-Wak Resort to pick up a boat and motor previously reserved. Four of us piled into the boat - grandma Edith in the bow, Alex and Isaak amidships and grandpa in the stern with the motor.<BR><BR>The problem was, when we were there before, it was springtime and the panfish were in the east end of the lake on the sand flats adjacent to the lodge.

“I got a bite,” I said, watching my line moving through the water. <BR><BR>“No you don’t,” said Mike, my brother-in-law who was sitting in the front of the boat.<BR><BR>“Sure I do, the current is going out and my line is going upstream,” I said.<BR><BR>We were fishing in the Canadian Channel between Kettle Falls and Rainy Lake. From here the water from Namakan Lake flows toward International Falls through some of the best walleye fishing grounds around the area. <BR><BR>“That’s not a fish, you’re probably hooked on the bottom,” said Mike.

Following what seemed like a monsoon season in the Ely area, fishing was picking up again after nearly four days of rain.<BR><BR>But even though the weather slowed the action, crappie fishermen reported good action in area lakes. <BR><BR>The top four crappies of the week were all caught in different lakes. Minnows were the preferred bait of choice.<BR><BR>Top crappie of the week went to Joan Kramer of Elkton, MD with a 1 lb. 8 oz., 14.5-inch panfish caught on a minnow in White Iron Lake. The fish was registered at Skube’s Bait and Tackle.<BR><BR>Another 1 lb. 8 oz. crappie, this one going 14 inches on the ruler was entered at Silver Rapids Lodge by Steve Pietsch of Arizona City, AZ. A minnow was the bait.<BR><BR>Fall Lake produced a 1 lb. 5 oz. crappie for Ronald Marolt of Winton. He brought his 13.5-inch catch into The Great Outdoors to enter the contest.

There may not be much more entertaining theater than that which goes on with our natural resources. The curtain went up on the political stage last week revealing an often-played remake of a production titled “Save the Wolf.”<BR><BR>Starring are various trained federal and state wildlife folk who insist the gray wolf is quite self-sufficient and is no longer in need of federal “Endangered Species” designation. Other actors in the drama include agenda-driven spokesmen for various organizations which feel just about everything on the earth is threatened with extinction, the wolf, in particular.<BR><BR>These latter are more or less labeled by the press as “environmentalists.” Significantly, they are not labeled “wildlife biologists,” “wildlife researchers” or “wildlife managers.” Everyone knows what those are because they are defined by education and expertise.

The fishing was good on Rainy Lake, it was the getting there that was difficult.<BR><BR>Mike e-mailed me last week and asked if we could head up to Stokes Bay that weekend as he had Friday off. We would take the oldest boys with us, Jake and Mitchell.<BR><BR>A Canadian fishing trip on short notice should be thought out before anything is agreed upon, so I typed in “yes,” hit “reply” and we were set to go.<BR><BR>Of course the old Crestliner inboard was a few steps away from being ready to go at this point. For one there was no gas tank installed and the engine had not been run since last fall. <BR><BR>I figured it would start for sure and went after getting a new tank and all new gas lines installed. This was a fun task I had been putting off for some time. Well maybe fun is a little strong. <BR><BR>After much struggling and some last-minute help, the tank was in and all the hose connections were made.

Catch and Release fishing is catching on nicely in the Ely area and some real big fish were released in this week’s entries.<BR><BR>Leading the way was a nine year-old girl from Grafton, WI. Hailee Makela was fishing with her dad at the mouth of the Dead River on Burntside when she hooked into a 5 lb. 8 oz. largemouth bass. The 21-inch long bucket mouth had a 16 inch girth and hit a leech on a bare hook. The entry was made at Voyageur North and the fish was released safely back into Burntside Lake.<BR><BR>We had four smallmouth bass over 20 inches registered under Catch and Release.<BR><BR>A 21-incher was registered by Wesley Daniel Goodin of Martinsville, IN at Timber Wolf Lodge. The bass was caught on a Shad Rap crankbait in Basswood Lake.<BR><BR>Jeffrey Hirschey of Utica, MN released a 21-inch smallie back into White Iron Lake , with the entry made at Voyageur North.

All of us concerned with our environment, its natural assets, fish and wildlife, are pretty well aware of work being done in Minnesota involving natural resources. We weigh conservation proposals, study the effects of such things as acid rain, mercury contamination and invasion of our ecosystems by exotic plants and fish. <BR><BR>And we are sometimes aware of studies being conducted in far-off areas, studies which could bear upon what is going on here. Such studies are being conducted in Antarctica and who should be working in that chill climate but someone from Ely. Paul Kyllonen.<BR><BR>Paul’s folks, Gene and Ellen Kyllonen, are a retired couple who live quietly and are active in their church. And they keep in close touch with their son who is slated to come home on a visit in early August.

We had looked for a BB gun at Christmas time but the model I wanted was sold out wherever we looked. So last week when I saw that familiar logo on a box, I decided to pick one up.<BR><BR>For anyone who has ever owned one, the Daisy Red Ryder lever action BB gun is a one-of-a-kind. With the lariat logo burned into the wooden stock, the Red Ryder ranks right up there with Radio Flyer wagons. <BR><BR>I had passed my Red Ryder onto my oldest some years ago. It had lasted through my childhood but only made it through part of his. For some reason or another, a BB got stuck in the barrel and wouldn’t come out. <BR><BR>It was replaced with a non-Daisy BB gun that worked fine, but just wasn’t the same.

Shhh. Don’t tell anyone…the crappies are hitting. <BR><BR>Secrets on the level of trout fishermen were circulating through town last week as the crappie population decided it was time to eat. <BR><BR>Word spread fast despite the best efforts to keep boats and canoes off area crappie hot spots. When the crappies are hitting, all bets are off and fishermen come out of the woodwork to fill their stringers with slabs. <BR><BR>Walleyes are great to eat, and a pike sliced up right is mouth watering as well, but crappies have a special place in the hearts and stomachs of most fishermen.<BR><BR>We’ve been known to eat most of what we’ve caught when the crappies are hot and go out the next day to do it all over again. That’s a fun kind of fishing. <BR><BR>This week there were five, that’s right, five crappies weighed in that were over a pound. Mmmm. You can almost taste ’em.<BR><BR>Top crappie of the week was a 1 lb.