ACE the New Year
February 13, 2009 by admin
Filed under Northern Pike Fishing
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
Filed under Northern Pike Fishing
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
Filed under Northern Pike Fishing
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
Filed under Northern Pike Fishing
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
Filed under Northern Pike Fishing
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 [...]
Catch and Release 101
February 9, 2009 by admin
Filed under Bass Fishing, Crappie Fishing, Northern Pike Fishing, Walleye Fishing
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 [...]
Start Practicing Catch & Release
January 31, 2009 by admin
Filed under Other Fishing, Walleye Fishing
By Doug Leier
When I go fishing, I’m a hook and bobber kind of a guy. While I’ve used downriggers, depth finders and detailed contour maps over the years, they don’t help me much and I’ve always been a low-impact type of angler.
While I typically get along with simple tackle for fishing – of bobbers, jigs, [...]
