Gone Fishing

Two fisted hoser

2011-11-01T08:17:00.000-07:00

Late October, Buck Lake

2011-11-01T08:14:00.000-07:00

Northern at Buck Lake

2011-11-01T08:12:00.000-07:00

Dinner!

2011-11-01T08:10:00.000-07:00

Unexpected: 19-inch walleye from Buck Lake

2011-10-09T11:01:00.001-07:00

Expected: modest largemouth from Buck Lake

2011-10-09T11:01:00.000-07:00

What's for dinner? Fresh perch!

2011-10-09T10:58:00.000-07:00

Catfish inspectors

2011-10-09T10:53:00.000-07:00

A fistful of fishes

2011-09-28T08:53:00.001-07:00

A respectable urban smallie

2011-08-16T04:42:00.000-07:00

A boy and his Rock Bass

2011-08-16T04:40:00.000-07:00

Hello Thunder Pumper, my old friend

2011-08-16T04:38:00.000-07:00

Hammer handle snared below the Lowry Bridge

2011-08-16T04:36:00.000-07:00

The naturally riverine Bea at Hidden Falls

2011-06-05T15:17:00.000-07:00

If you can't eat 'em, lick 'em

2011-05-23T08:21:00.000-07:00

And as it turned out, he'd been eating perch of similar dimensions

2011-05-23T08:06:00.000-07:00

Chunky waldo from O'Neill's Point, fooled with perch pattern Rap

2011-05-23T08:04:00.000-07:00

One man's meat: Walleyes from Cass, bluegills from Windigo

2011-05-23T08:02:00.000-07:00

Big bull bluegill (pumpkinseed hybrid?) caught with a crankbait at Windigo

2011-05-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

DNR crew netting sturgeon at the Rapid River

2011-05-23T07:39:00.000-07:00

Hesler with another nice smallie

2011-05-21T16:01:00.000-07:00

Smallie caught at the head of the Gorge

2011-05-10T04:34:00.000-07:00

First (and only) pumpkinseed I ever caught on the Mississippi

2011-05-10T04:31:00.000-07:00

City fishing: A multi-species bonanza!

2011-05-10T04:25:00.000-07:00

The first fish of the season: a thunder pumper hoisted from fast, dirty, cold water

2011-04-27T07:22:00.000-07:00

Fishing for northerns at Crooked Lake (near Isabella)

2010-11-08T06:30:00.000-08:00

Redhorse from the Jonk

2010-10-17T18:34:00.000-07:00

Perch fry at Granli

2010-10-09T07:54:00.000-07:00

Nordinger from Allen's Bay

2010-10-09T07:53:00.000-07:00

Mystery fish that swam into my fish box

2010-10-09T07:51:00.000-07:00

What a man: Keith has a 12-incher

2010-10-09T07:47:00.000-07:00

Keith examines the detainees

2010-10-09T07:44:00.000-07:00

Bucket of jumbo perch caught near Yellowhead

2010-10-09T07:41:00.000-07:00

Dink walleye caught on crankbait in Northeast

2010-09-30T18:55:00.000-07:00

Autumnal smallie

2010-09-30T18:52:00.000-07:00

Smallie and Terry

2010-09-30T18:47:00.000-07:00

Thunder pumper and Terry

2010-09-30T18:41:00.000-07:00

Carp at home port

2010-09-28T12:48:00.000-07:00

Hoser Trinity: Man, fish, dog

2010-09-28T12:45:00.000-07:00

Hesler and a smallie

2010-09-28T12:43:00.000-07:00

Kitty caught from the Jonk at home port

2010-09-28T12:41:00.000-07:00

Redhorse sucker, Fridley

2010-09-28T12:39:00.000-07:00

Minnesota River walleye

2010-09-28T12:34:00.000-07:00

Minnesota River carp

2010-09-28T12:32:00.000-07:00

Gull lake northern

2010-08-18T06:51:00.001-07:00

Summer kitties on the Jonk

2010-07-19T06:52:00.000-07:00

Tim and his channel cat

2010-05-05T09:42:00.000-07:00

A spring outing on Trout Run Creek

2010-04-21T08:18:00.000-07:00

Gabby's patron examines an April channel cat

2010-04-15T09:30:00.003-07:00

First fish of spring: carp, caught on backyard nightcrawler

2010-04-15T09:25:00.000-07:00

November fishing on the Mississippi

2009-11-15T16:30:00.000-08:00

Chunky smallmouth

2009-11-14T09:06:00.000-08:00

I caught this 17-incher on a fathead and jig in the vicinity of the American Iron scrapyard.

It was tough to frame this fish properly for the self portrait.

Multi-tasking angler below the Plymouth Avenue Bridge

2009-11-09T17:07:00.000-08:00

Unemployment + Indian Summer = Channel cat, caught and released

2009-11-09T16:38:00.000-08:00

Unemployment + Indian Summer = Smallie by the Treasury Building

2009-11-09T16:26:00.000-08:00

Halloween channel cat

2009-10-31T05:56:00.000-07:00

Self portrait of hoser with a respectable kitty.

He is holding proof of his sound technique

2009-10-30T10:57:00.000-07:00

I came across this fellow, Justin, a few days ago while he and a buddy were fishing under the Plymouth Avenue Bridge.

In a couple of hours, they caught a bucket of good sized crappies (!) and a five pound channel cat.

He was fishing with fatheads under a bobber.

City fishing: Monday morning at Hidden Falls

2009-10-26T14:08:00.000-07:00

I gave my neighbor a lift to his job at Minnehaha Academy this morning. Since I was in the neighborhood, I decided to check out my old fishing grounds at Hidden Falls.

Upon arriving, I discovered some dead bait fish near the eddy by the boat ramp. One is pictured to the left. I believe it is a shad. At least, it looked like a shad.

Aiming to match the natural forage, I pulled a white and yellow Shadrap from the tackle box and pitched it into the current, gently retrieving into the seam between the fast and slow water. Hooked three walleyes, landed two using this method.

I was feeling like hot shit until I swung by the pier at 36th St. on Lake Calhoun. There I ran into another angler who had just landed a 36 inch tiger muskie on a sucker minnow. He had the pictures on his phone to prove it.

As God is my witness, I'll be fishing at Lake Calhoun tomorrow morning.

Hesler poses with imaginary muskie at Lake of the Isles

2009-10-22T18:38:00.000-07:00

We cast mightily under the cold, gray October sky. Hesler spotted a nice northern in two feet of water but it ignored my Rapala on a few passes and then lazily swam into the milfoil.

Goodbye, BWCA

2009-09-30T14:56:00.000-07:00

It was nasty and wet when PK and I finally evacuated our camp at Ensign Lake, paddled four hours into a stiff wind, and strapped the canoe on top of the truck.

24 inch (or so) walleye from Ensign

2009-09-30T10:42:00.004-07:00

I caught her on a deep diving, yellow and white Shadrap, which she broke while thrashing around the canoe. (Photo by PK)

A respectable pike from Ashigan Lake

2009-09-30T10:42:00.003-07:00

PK with another pike from his secret BWCA hotspot

2009-09-28T20:28:00.000-07:00

Fall fishing in the BWCA

2009-09-28T16:07:00.000-07:00

PK demonstrates the sublime aspect.

I think he should request that this image be used on his funeral program in the unlikely event he ever dies.

PK with a northern that swallowed his deep running, firetiger Shadrap

2009-09-28T16:02:00.000-07:00

PK loved that lure. He got it back using his jaw spreader.

PK scrutinizes a dandy stringer from his BWCA honeyhole

2009-09-28T15:53:00.000-07:00

I have to admit it: I am damn impressed with the greatness of his firetiger Shadrap lure. In his honeyhole, it fooled northerns, walleye, a smallie, a largemouth, a perch and a bluegill.

A breakfast stringer

2009-09-28T15:52:00.000-07:00

PK with a 16 inch smallmouth from Ensign Lake

2009-09-28T15:50:00.000-07:00

The otters of Ensign Lake heisted two of these walleyes

2009-09-28T15:49:00.000-07:00

PK and I ate the rest.

PK with a northern from his BWCA honeyhole

2009-09-28T15:38:00.001-07:00

September walleyes

2009-09-21T12:53:00.000-07:00

Snared one evening while trolling O'Neill's Point.

Brother T's chunky carp

2009-09-07T15:34:00.000-07:00

Best fish of a fruitful night fishing below Gabby's.

Channel cat, fooled by a crawler

2009-09-07T15:32:00.000-07:00

Something to carp about

2009-08-11T07:07:00.000-07:00

Biggest walleye I've caught since I don't know when

2009-06-23T16:03:00.000-07:00

Fooled her with a shallow running, perch pattern Rap while trolling in a pontoon at Whitefish.

Twenty four inches, or roughly five pounds.

Arnie picked up two 'eyes, too

2009-06-23T16:02:00.000-07:00

He was trolling a shallow running Rap.

Waldos on Whitefish

2009-06-23T16:01:00.000-07:00

PK hoisted this fat 'eye from Father Foley Point, where we trolled in Arnie's pontoon at dusk.

Prelude to the butchering

2009-06-23T15:57:00.000-07:00

Hesler looks on as PK readies to go after his prize crappies with a very dull fillet knife.

Stringer of crappies from Whitefish

2009-06-23T15:55:00.000-07:00

PK examines the result of an early morning fishing outing on the Hamelot Dock at Whitefish. Three of those crappies were big -- a smidgen under 14 inches.

Curiousity didn't kill the dog...or the cat(fish)

2009-06-06T14:41:00.000-07:00

Daisy inspects a channel cat

And now a drumroll, please!

2009-06-06T14:37:00.002-07:00

I snared this nifty drum while casting a rattle-trap along a sunken rock island above the falls.

Another smallie nailed under the Lowry Bridge

2009-06-06T14:37:00.001-07:00

Pain Island was fishy last night

2009-06-01T10:21:00.000-07:00

Hesler showcases the best of the smallies he ensnared in the shallow water just upriver from the notorious Pain Island.

And here's the grim bucket shot...

2009-05-31T08:44:00.001-07:00

Mr. Chunky

2009-05-31T08:44:00.000-07:00

Another shot of one of those Shallow Water Point 'eyes.

Respectable: A couple of shallow water point waldos

2009-05-31T08:37:00.000-07:00

I was casting a floating perch-colored rap at dusk proved when I ran into these characters.

Hesler's chunky smallmouth

2009-05-25T07:31:00.000-07:00

Fooled by a preposterous chartreuse twister tail!

Fiddler

2009-05-25T07:28:00.002-07:00

Caught below the Lowry Bridge

Another smallmouth from above the falls

2009-05-25T07:28:00.001-07:00

Hesler's barge walleye

2009-05-25T07:23:00.000-07:00

Caught at midday at the Port of Minneapolis, fishing a log jam and barge dock.

A super classy tackle box!

2009-05-24T07:55:00.000-07:00

Channel cat

2009-05-24T07:52:00.000-07:00

Hit a floating rap whilst I drifted and cast the shoreline, just downriver from Gabby's. Put up a good fight, aided by the light tackle.

Smallmouth from the Mississippi

2009-05-11T08:08:00.000-07:00

A big bucket of crappies

2009-05-08T19:06:00.000-07:00

All 10 to 12.5 inches, caught in Cass Lake two days ago. Already eaten.

Pumpkinseeds, bluegills

2009-05-08T19:04:00.003-07:00

Mixed stringer caught in a certain petite Cass Co. lake, using bubble gum pink fake maggots that PK gave me. It was just a few days after ice out.

2009-05-08T19:04:00.001-07:00

Hesler and a smallmouth

2009-04-27T05:58:00.000-07:00

The bite is back on. Winter is dead.

A problematic catch

2009-02-10T15:47:00.000-08:00

I hooked quite a few stingray while fishing at Indian Pass. Sometimes they put up a decent fight but I can't say I was ever happy to see one of them on the end of the line.

Mainly, that was because an old guy on the beach warned me about the miseries that can result if you come into contact with the barbed tail.

So I was a bit uneasy every time I reeled one in until I developed a good technique for de-hooking. Basically, you just flip the creature on its back, pin the tail with your foot, and work the hook free with a needle-nose. Then you shove it back out to sea with the blunt end of your fishing rod.

Sea trout from St. Joseph Bay

2009-02-10T15:20:00.001-08:00

I caught this in the shallows as Jen and I canoed around the bay. Sporty fish but, alas, out of season so we didn't get to sample the flesh.

Check out the teeth in the picture to the left (not my snaggletooth but the single fang on the trout).

From the Gone Fishing archives: June walleyes

2009-01-21T18:48:00.000-08:00

I miss the easy fishing of early summer.