August Muskies
August 30, 2010 by admin
By Nick Simonson
I stood at the edge of the dock and sighed as Sunday’s gusty south wind whipped through the pages in my mental calendar. Next weekend is Labor Day with family up north; the next, dove hunting; the one after that, grouse opener, and then bow hunting. Every weekend was filled with [...]
Fall Fishing Bonanza
August 25, 2010 by admin
By Doug Leier
It comes as no surprise that when August begins losing to September, for many North Dakota residents hunting starts to win out over fishing in the competition for free-time activities.
But I’d also suggest, if you’ve bagged plenty of days pounding the North Dakota prairie, without experiencing the thrill of fall fishing, you might [...]
Fishing Northern Pike
July 20, 2010 by admin
Our Outdoors: A Pike in the Hand
By Nick Simonson
Not once but twice, the devil’s fork tail turned short just feet in front of the dock at the family cabin. The fish, a muskie of nearly four feet in length had given chase, even bumping the lure halfway through my first retrieve, and exerted a [...]
New Musky Lures
May 18, 2010 by admin
Early evidence that three new muskie baits from Northland are living up to all the hype.
Bemidji, MN – Their names are unforgettable. Their performances are undeniable. Not too many moons ago Northland Fishing Tackle broke the news about three seriously savage introductions into the muskie marketplace. Finally, the entire collection is now available at major [...]
Fishing Diary
March 30, 2010 by admin
By Nick Simonson
There have been a lot of changes in my life over the past five years. I’ve lived in two states and three towns and have had six different jobs, with this one being the most consistent. In that time I’ve fished over 60 lakes and rivers, gaining some level of familiarity [...]
Homemade Musky Baits
March 4, 2010 by admin
By Nick Simonson
Muskie anglers love to throw the biggest, flashiest baits. But in these days of dwindling discretionary income, spinners with oversized blades, magnum flashabou skirts and price tags to match are becoming cost-prohibitive. However, you can produce a bait at home for half as much as you’d pay for popular store models [...]
ACE the New Year
February 13, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
It sounded like the hardware store jingle as the long-time guide laid out his simple plan for muskie fishing. “ACE is the base for success with muskies – Attitude, Character, Enthusiasm,” he bellowed to those of us in attendance at the banquet. Simply, he summed up what makes a good angler – the [...]
5 Follows
February 13, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
Just five casts into Saturday morning, I figured the weekend would have one of two outcomes: either bigger muskies would certainly follow the one in my hand, or I just pre-spent my next 995 casts on the 20-incher with the treble of my homemade pink-and-brass bucktail in its mouth. As it turned out, [...]
Muskie Fishing at Night
February 13, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
There’s nothing more primal in our human psyche than fear – or at least a healthy level of cautious respect – for that which we cannot see when the light of day has faded. The haunting cry of a loon at sunset is quickly replaced by the hoot of an owl, filling the [...]
Minnesota Musky Fishing
February 13, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
Up until last year, the muskellunge was just a footnote in my fishing journals. Between jigging for walleyes, pitching tubes for bass, and waxing a few panfish on the flyrod, there wasn’t much room for another angling pursuit. Sure, I had a muskie rod, but its use had fallen by the wayside since [...]
Muskie Madness
February 13, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
Wearing a pair of old glasses, I peered into the choppy surface of the lake. The gray ceiling of clouds reflected in the trough of each ripple, while the weedtops were visible in the water column with each tiny crest. Despite the weaker prescription, I could clearly see the orange pulsating blade of [...]
Early Northern Pike Ice Fishing
February 13, 2009 by admin
Ice Team
If there’s a fish species that gets fired up for cold water, it’s the northern pike. Especially big ones, with distance between the eyeballs. If you’re a little fish, a big pike is your worst nightmare–but if you are an ice angler, a big pike can be your favorite dance partner.
Big pike are active [...]
Northern Pike Recipe List
February 11, 2009 by admin
Here’s some favorite northern pike recipes of ours.
Pickled Northern Pike Recipe
This recipe can be used with any fish but northern pike works best. Before using this recipe be sure to freeze the fish at least 5 days. This will destroy any parasites that are present in the fish or bacteria that may have been picked [...]
Catch & Release Tools
February 11, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
Catch and release works. Whether it’s preserving a viable fishery in a forty-acre bass lake or letting a trophy-caliber muskie swim back into the cabbage after an exciting battle, the mantra of C&R resounds stronger than ever through sport fishing circles. For those looking to preserve big fish it is easier than ever [...]
The Rapala X-Rap
February 11, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
Whether your treasure on the water is colored gold, bronze or silver, the X-Rap by Rapala (www.rapala.com) marks the spot for great fishing.
My experience with crankbaits has been limited; being predominately a river angler has restricted my usual arsenal to jigs and soft plastics which are comparatively inexpensive to most other lures. Crankbaits, [...]
Topwater Fishing
February 11, 2009 by admin
By Jon Mitzel
Long-awaited May is a great time to enjoy catching fish on surface baits. Northern pike and largemouth bass are aggressive fish and will readily attempt to chase food on or near the surface. The action is tough to beat, and most hits are vicious in nature. What an exciting way to catch a [...]
Catch and Release 101
February 9, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
A dead-weight tug on the end of my line signaled that the largemouth bass under the dock was indeed hungry. I swept the rod back and the four-pound fish rocketed up out of the water. She battled every foot of the way to my hand.
I reached down, tweaked the hook and felt it [...]
Extra Hooks Bring the Sting
February 9, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
In one of the best Simpsons episodes, Moe uses a punch-absorbing Homer to relive his glory days as a boxer. But when Homer ends up having to fight the heavyweight champion, the all too Tyson-like Drederick Tatum, Moe searches through his bag of tricks to find the weapon that will help hapless Homer [...]
Freshen Up Your Skills
February 9, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
The season for big fish has come! The snow is rapidly melting, the ice is weakening, and the fish are preparing for the spawn. It is a picture perfect time for spring angling. If you plan to take some photos of your angling success this openwater season, here are some tips for ensuring [...]
Northern Pike Ice Fishing Tips
February 7, 2009 by admin
By Nick Simonson
If you are tired of finicky panfish or walleye with lockjaw and the slow bite that the area has been experiencing throughout this unstable portion of the winter, turn to an old favorite to heat up the action on the ice.
One of the most exciting fish to catch in our area is the [...]
Trophy Northern Pike Fishing in Early Winter
February 7, 2009 by admin
Ice Team
If there’s a fish species that gets fired up for cold water, it’s the northern pike. Especially big ones, with distance between the eyeballs. If you’re a little fish, a big pike is your worst nightmare—but if you are an ice angler, a big pike can be your favorite dance partner.
Trophy pike are active [...]
Spearfishing Through the Ice
By Jason Phillips
Reminiscent of a scene on the coral reef in the Gulf of Mexico, I watched perch drifting against the bottom of the frozen lake. Subtle breaks in the lake floor, accompanied by a weed bed and an old sunken log were the coral in this picture. As I gazed down the hole waiting [...]
Ice Fishing for Pike
February 5, 2009 by admin
By Jason Phillips
According to the weather forecast, March will begin with subzero temperatures which will extend the wait for the snow goose migration. We are in the midst of the spring snow goose hunting season but could be a month away from actually having huntable numbers of geese in the state! With an excess of [...]
The Legend of the Grumman Boat
February 2, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
The fisherman’s dictionary defines the word “boat” as a hole in the water into which money is thrown.
Similar to a hunting dog, the price paid for a boat is rarely reflected in the purchase. There’s winterizing, summerizing, trailer repairs, motor tune ups, depth finders, rod racks, lure holders and much more that are [...]
Top 10 Fishing Lures of All Time
Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
Springtime means stocking the tackle box with jigs, spinners, twisters, spoons, crankbaits and more; usually more lures than I’ll ever need. However, if it came down to it, there is a handful of them I couldn’t go without. For whatever species I was pursuing, I would forsake all other jigs, rigs and plastics [...]
Free Fishing Log – Printable Fishing Log
February 1, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
“Putting together the fishing pieces of the puzzle”
Fishing, no matter how good a person gets at it, is still the grandest puzzle of all. There are so many elements that have to be put into place such as weather, season, bait, lures, and so on. When looked at in hindsight, these puzzle pieces [...]
Don’t You Know How Lucky You Have It?
February 1, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
I met Ted late last March at the rapidly melting mud-covered boat launch on a small lake in LaMoure County. He was a fellow of about fifty or so, with a slight accent leading me to believe he wasn’t from North Dakota; though he did possess a lot of knowledge regarding the little [...]
