Fishing Rod Building Tips

By Taylor Fitterer

Making your own custom fishing rods can be a fun experience. Each rod normally takes about 2-3 hours to manufacture, and the finish drying time can take from a few hours to a few days depending on the type of finish, temperature and humidity. We have learned through trial and error and I [...]

Spring is Around the Corner

Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
Did you feel that? It felt like spring.
Yesterday was that first warm day of the year, reminding us that winter can’t last forever and that there is a lot of work to be done, and a lot of work left undone.
Arsenal inspection
Days like yesterday have me doing two things; checking my tackle situation [...]

Free Fishing Log – Printable Fishing Log

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 [...]

The Worst Dressed List

Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
This is continued from last week, The Best Dressed List.
In keeping with last week’s “award show” theme, it’s now time to focus on those fisheries fashion faux-pas. As with Hollywood, even local lakes and streams have their worst-dressed individuals, and much like US magazine or some other tabloid that makes its money off [...]

The Best Dressed List

Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
With awards show season in full swing, it is not unusual to flip on the tube and see celebrities parading down the red carpet wearing fancy suits, elaborate dresses, and sporting more bling than in every Nelly video combined. For a few nights each winter they dress to the nines, promoting fashion designers [...]

Beat the Wintertime Blues

By Nick Simonson
What a tease this winter has been. Knowing full well we’re at least two months from open-water fishing, Ma Nature gives us days with highs above freezing, frequent melts and not much in the way of severe weather. She sure makes it feel like spring is just around the corner.
This is still North [...]

How to Beat the Heat – Hot Summer Fishing

By Doug Leier
Too hot to fish?
Nah, it’s never too hot to fish, at least for me.
Many anglers, however, commonly blame hot weather for a reduction in fishing success as summer wears on, and they tend to slow down because of that perception. Is that perception based in reality? Do fish stop eating, or
just slow down [...]

Protecting an Important Piece of History

By Doug Leier
I was born in Williston and over the course of my life have called many North Dakota towns “home” along the way. It’s easier now, when asked where I’m originally from, to just reply “North Dakota.” I take pride in my roots.
From the aspen forest of Bottineau to the Missouri breaks near Bismarck, [...]

The Realities of Winterkill

By Doug Leier
When it comes to violence and death, nature is not G rated by any stretch of the imagination.
If you’ve spent time outdoors, you understand that red fox will efficiently kill plenty of hen ducks keeping watch over a nest. Cormorants will eat many fish. There is no doctor to prevent disease, and battles [...]

Catfish Recipe List

Here are some favorite catfish recipes of ours.

Citrus Grilled Catfish Recipe

4 catfish fillets
1/4 cup oil (I have a preference for olive oil)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
2 tsp. dry minced onion
1/4 tsp. tabasco sauce
4 sliced lemon wedges

Rinse fillets and pat dry. Combine the remaining ingredients minus the lemon wedges in a flat dish [...]

Perch Recipe List

Here are some favorite perch recipes of ours.

Baked Perch Recipe
This perch recipe is a crowd favorite for sure.

1.5 pounds of perch fillets
1 med. shallot
2 jalapeno peppers
1 tblspn green onion
1 tblspn minced onion
2 tblspns shredded carrots
1/4 cup red peppers (roasted)
1 tblspn parsley
2 tsp. lemon juice
1 8-ounce can of tomato sauce
1 tsp. seasoning salt

Preheat oven to 400°F. [...]

New Lake Contour Maps

By Chris Hustad
I’ve been around the Internet for a little over a decade now, and I’m still amazed how much information is becoming available for outdoorsmen and women. Everything I’ve learned about hunting and fishing has been through mentors, such as family and friends. I can’t say I know anyone who just picked it up [...]

Exposing Hunting & Fishing Myths and Urban Legends

By Doug Leier
I’m not sure who’s credited with saying, “The right tools in the wrong hands can’t fix anything,” but when it comes to the Worldwide Web, I find myself frequently nodding my head in agreement with that statement.
Here’s my rub: The Web has made communication and ease of connecting with people and places extremely [...]