Outdoors

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.

Next to the creation of electronic fish locators or depth sounders, the most important development in sport fishing over the last few decades has been “Catch & Release.” <BR><BR>The idea of letting fish go unharmed goes back to the 1930s. Back then, one of the most popular outdoor magazines was “Hunting and Fishing” which originated an organization called “The Square Circle,” a national club of anglers who pledged to adhere to the fishing laws and to promote sportsmanship. In those days, being “square” meant being honest and trustworthy. <BR><BR>One of the practices they began was the concept of letting gamefish go after they were brought to net. In the early 1930s, I was about 12 years old and learning flyfishing from a skilled river man named B.J. Skaggs.

Trailer tires and I just do not have a good working relationship right now. <BR><BR>After leaving deer camp last season and shredding a tire before we were out of the driveway, I decided to rectify the problem over the summer.<BR><BR>I replaced the smaller tires that came with the trailer with a 12 inch tire that would last longer. Well, it didn’t last too long. <BR><BR>Evan and I had loaded the wheeler on the trailer and filled up the truck with boxes to go out to the shack one night last week.<BR><BR>With the dog riding in the back, we were just about to the end of the blacktop when an all too familiar noise could be heard. Flop. Flop. Flop.<BR><BR>Sure enough when I looked at the rear right tire on the trailer, it was deja vu all over again. Another flat tire. <BR><BR>But it didn’t look that bad. And I had a portable air compressor in back of the truck. So, maybe this time things would go better.

When you hear a fisherman complaining because all he’s catching is five pound walleyes and he couldn’t catch any “eaters,” you know something is going on.<BR><BR>But when you hear several people tell you the same story, fishing on different lakes on different days, you wonder if you can cut out of work early, just to see for yourself. <BR><BR>We had 10 walleyes registered this week that went over six pounds, definitely beyond the eater size. Nice fish. <BR><BR>Top walleye of the week was caught by Dave Rajamaki of Park City, UT with a 10 lb. 10 oz., 30.5-inch fish caught in Burntside Lake on a leech. Rajamaki was guided by Mike Pelto and weighed his walleye in at The Great Outdoors. <BR><BR>Bob Hahn of Bolivar, MD fished Basswood Lake and using a pink jig nailed a 9 lb. 15 oz. walleye that he registered at Timber Wolf Lodge. <BR><BR>A 9 lb. 10 oz.

It is turtle time.<BR><BR>They are loafing in the sun on logs, rocks and beaches. Mostly, we see the various dark-shelled sun turtles, sometimes as they slide off their perch and plop into the lake.<BR><BR>A couple of weeks ago, they were laying their eggs, a rather tedious process. Preferred spots are fine gravel or sand strips, preferences which often attract them to gravel roads and put them at risk.<BR><BR>When a turtle has selected the site for her egg laying, she digs a hole with her back legs and deposits the round white eggs from her rear end, one at a time. <BR><BR>Once, traveling up to Prairie Portage, to see if Canadian Rangers Mike and Priscilla O’Brien had arrived, right after ice-out, we spotted a huge snapper on the north side of Newfound Lake. We ran the boat up on the beach and jumped out, camera in hand, to record the scene.

The winds were calm, the temperature was up and the sky was blue. Fishing? Nah. How about lounging on the dock and taking a dip in the lake? <BR><BR>We could have thrown the rods in the truck and tried our luck but throwing on a swimsuit and diving into Burntside Lake sounded like a lot more fun. <BR><BR>It was a Sunday afternoon and there were people all over the lake enjoying the day. Pontoon boats puttered along, jet skis zipped by and there were even a few big Lunds filled with fisherfolk looking for the elusive trout.<BR><BR>We took the dog and the kids and threw them all in the water. A paddle boat provided enough entertainment for all three kids, from the youngest who piloted the craft all on his own to the oldest two doing their best to flip it over. <BR><BR>It has been a chilly summer in the North Country so far. Air conditioners had seen light usage up until last weekend and then suddenly, summer arrived.