Bust to Boom

With a slight winter warm-up at hand it was time to get back outside and I just needed to feel a fish on the end of a line. Jessica, on the other hand, wanted to get out and hike and get the kids out of the house. Turns out our friends Claire and Vincent shared some of those sentiments and we arranged to meet up at Frontenac State Park Saturday morning. After getting there early I discovered my original plan of fishing Frontenac pond would almost certainly be unsuccessful, so it was time for plan B. While I was sitting and staring through the ice and catching one, tiny little sunfish, some guys that were pulling their ice-house off the ice came by to talk. They mentioned some guys had been getting fish off Crucifix point (yes, that's a cryptic name to "disguise" the location) on the Mississippi River. So, when Vincent arrived I convinced him our chances would be better there and off we went. On the other hand, the girls, Natalya, Lucas and Pierce headed into the state park for their hike.

The kids ready for their hike

I have never fished this spot and although I'd heard it was a popular spot I was amazed to see the number of guys there. It was the middle of a sunny day and still plenty of guys were out! It wasn't the best conditions for catching fish but my hopes hinged on the fact that they must have known something I didn't. Well, as it turns out, I didn't see too many guys catching fish and neither did we. There was still close to two feet of ice beneath us but the groans and moans of late ice reminded us that the river will be open soon. There were guys and pickup trucks spread right across Lake Pepin all the way to Wisconsin but as one drove by us we could hear the ice complain.

Vincent by our shanty. It's hard to believe that's the Mississippi we're on


Yeh, I'm all smiles now but I didn't realize there'd be no fish


It was a pleasant time out there, despite the lack of fishing action and we didn't have too long to wait until our families joined us. Both wives went through the rite of passage of augering a hole in the ice, and Natalya helped out as well. The sun was shining, it wasn't too cold and the beer and company was refreshing. I can say from experience, it is far better to catch nothing with mates around then catching nothing by yourself. We shared lunch back at our house and relaxed away while the kids played. It turned out to be a great evening, although I felt pretty guilty about not catching any fish the two times Vincent and I fished together.

Jessica dragging Natalya and Pierce out to visit the sorry hunters

Claire drilling her first hole through the ice

Sunday I felt the need to catch a fish, any fish, and armed myself with my 3 weight flyrod and, failing that, a spinning rod. I was on Beaver Creek by 2:30pm. I was expecting the snowmelt to have water temps way down but instead the creek looked great and there was a big midge hatch coming off - possibly the heaviest midge hatch I've encountered. The fish were feeding on the surface and just below it with vigor. I rigged up with a size 18 black midge and despite a few slaps it didn't seem to do the trick. I went for an 20 and there was instant success. I must say though, that it took me some time to get the hook set right. I'm not well versed in fishing 7X tippet and tiny flies so my usual quick snap of the wrist was too aggressive. I ended up finding a presentation downstream to the rising fish with a slight "S" in the line was the trick and then a gentle raising of the rod-tip (just to gently take the slack out of the line and take up the weight of the fish) was the way to ensure a hookup once the fish pounded the fly. It was very visual and fun.

The first brown trout of the day

Beaver Creek is just a lovely little stream

Fish were feeding in virtually every hole beneath a set of riffles, although one hole in particular was exceptional in giving up fish. I could have probably fished it all afternoon and just kept pulling fish out. By about 4pm there was only the occasional midge to be seen in the air and although there were a few fish feeding in the tailouts I couldn't convince them to eat my midge patterns. After some trial and error I ended up finding decent success with a large attractor pattern (that I won't mention here) that generated some ferocious strikes in the riffles above the larger pools.

A couple of the bigger fish of the day

I must say I was a little frustrated that I was catching fish now (when I was alone) and not the day before when I was trying to catch somebody else some fish but I guess there was a lesson there somewhere. I do believe in Karma so I sat on the bank contemplating why I'd been blessed this day and not so much the day before and here's what I came up with. Instead of seeing the previous trips as an opportunity to show how good of a fisherman I am, I should have perhaps realized the opportunity I was being given was to fish with a friend and I should have therefore seen the success in the previous trips. Of course, I can only wonder if Vincent believes I actually do catch fish sometimes.

With another cool-off in the pipeline I imagine the fishing will drop off a little but it won't be long now until there'll be plenty of trout for everyone and I'll be out trying to get myself into the middle of those pesky spring BWO hatches. All in all I got 27 trout to hand (not to mention the heap I couldn't land) which is an excellent trip for me. If I can have even one more trip like that this upcoming spring I'll be happy.

Snow Picnic

After enough cold and misery to keep depress a polar bear the weather finally broke Saturday. I guess, broke is a relative term and to those of you reading this from your sweaty vantage point in the tropics, considering the cold we've had, temperatures hovering around freezing with some sunlight is a breath of fresh air. So much so that we decided to have a PICNIC. I must say, when the idea was suggested I thought the term picnic was a loose one and probably meant eating picnic foods indoors - but not so. It was a real picnic, on a picnic table, in a picnic area, and it was awesome, even if I did have to pinch myself from time to time.

Actually, Claire, Vincent, Jessica and I have been developing cabin fever and needed to get out so we eventually decided to head up to St Paul to visit Como Park (Zoo), check out the observatory and maybe do some other things if time permitted. I've only been to the Zoo one other time and that was during the summer when people and flies were everywhere. With the brilliant sunshine, mild temperatures and only a moderate number of people to contend with, the zoo was nice to see. I always enjoy seeing the animals and it was fun watching the faces on the three kids with us. Pierce was taking it all in but Natalya and Lucas were really enjoying them. Lucas seemed to especially like the giraffes and Natalya had a lot to say about the lions.

Taking in the sites at the Zoo

But for me the highlight was our picnic. It was a relaxed atmosphere, pleasant conversation and I think we all had fun pulling the kids about in their sleds. Natalya even pulled out her snowshoes and taught daddy how to do it. Nobody else at the table seemed even slightly fazed by the fact that we were having a picnic in the middle of winter, surrounded by snow and ice. On the other hand, I almost had to pinch myself every time I became aware of just what we were doing. I must admit, I'm sold on winter picnics now.

Snow Picnic Festivities

After lunch we headed back into the Conservatory. The recreated forests and jungle closely resembled the rainforest from home and the smells really got me homesick. It's funny just which senses can trigger such responses. The most spectacular pavilion by far was a the flower display. It was truly something to see and I imagine it would be a great place to visit on those cold, gray days just to lighten up one's mood. Natalya especially loved it with all the different pinks and the treacle-sweet aroma hanging silently amidst the flowers. The flower exhibit changes four times a year and the spring exhibit is supposed to be the most spectacular display, made up of tulips. Jessica already has big plans of taking her mother to see the tulips (they're one of her mother's favorite flowers). We didn't get time to visit the orchid garden but I'm convinced there will be more visits in my future.

The Conservatory

Upon closing of Como we still had some adventure left in us so we headed over to the Science Museum. The Museum always seems to have too much stuff to take in at once and this night was no different, although we gave it a good go and I think everyone had a good time. We must have had a good time because time got away from us a little. We all needed to eat dinner before driving south. We found a small place and ate pseudo-Greek food which I thought was quite nice and the seven of us were the only ones in there. Actually, it was amazing how well behaved the three kids were considering how tired they must have been. For me, it was a great end to a long, but fun day.

At the Science Museum

Driving home a big, almost full moon sat hovering above the horizon, hazy red - almost copper - and I thought to myself that I'd had a great day...............perhaps even better than a day fishing.........but I swallowed that thought before I finished it. I suspect my entire universe would collapse in on itself if I let that thought go to completion so I spent the rest of the drive home thinking about which fly patterns I need to add to my flybox before spring steelhead time.

An interesting morning in pursuit of northerns

With the crazy winter weather we've been having and various family and work commitments it took us a while to organize an ice fishing trip together but finally Vincent and I managed to nail down a date and destination. Saturday was the day and the target was northern pike at Frontenac Pond. With a big storm coming in I suspected the fishing would be either really good, or quite bad. When I arrived there seemed to be many more people than usual and I soon realized there was a tournament on - oh crap! I'm not so keen on spending my outdoors time with hundreds of my closest friends so I dragged my shanty out of the official fishing area to a spot I've had success before.

Vincent had never ice fished before so I was really hoping to put him on some fish so I had the best baits I could get but with all the drilling activity close by I was wondering if my best plans would go astray. Still, when Vincent arrived he seemed pretty into the idea, even if we would have to squeeze into my little shelter. I knew just the remedy for feeling cold and in no time he was drilling his first ice holes through the two plus feet of ice.

Vincent drilling through over two feet of ice

All around us the snow was really coming down and an army of ice augers were frantically drilling away. Unfortunately, the minutes passed with no action...............and still no action. I was beginning to feel pretty bad about dragging him out in these conditions for no fish. The worst part is Claire (his wife) was off hiking and sledding with their young (14 month old) son Lucas in the conditions. Despite the lack of fish I still had a great time just chatting about science and life in general. In fact I pretty much ceased caring about getting a fish for myself within a few minutes (maybe the couple of beers we shared had something to do with that :). It's not like I go fishing with too many folks these days.

The two of us venturing out of the shelter

The real highlight of the day came for at about 11:30am. Before the tournament could begin, in the freezing cold (and the cold front was really pushing in), the heavy snow and the blistering, whiteout winds, a young girl sang the American national anthem. All the fisherman stood facing into the wind with the hats on their hearts. While this was happening Claire came by pulling little Lucas and we crammed all four of us in my shelter - a new record. Luckily she got there just before the front got right on top of us and the wind went really crazy - it was total whiteout conditions. Once the worst of it passed we headed back to our vehicles but none of the tournament contestants were moving. Those guys are either tough or perhaps.....................let's just say tough.

Pretty tough, and crowded, conditions on the ice

We stopped by a subway on the way home to warm up and just chatted for a while. I personally had a great time but I feel really bad there weren't any fish. So far this year (and most of last year for that matter) I just don't seem to be able to get back on the hot bite and I'm waiting for the bad run to be over. If this weather ever settles down there should still be some good winter fishing to be had but man, it's been so cold. I did feel really guilty Sunday when Claire cooked up a fantastic meal for Jessica and I after I'd taken them out into some serious winter conditions and caught nothing, but at least we can say we did some hard core, Minnesota ice-fishing. Hopefully I can redeem myself soon.

Pierce, Natalya and Lucas hanging out at his place

Pleasant Afternoon with the flyrod

You so often hear people say "it was great just to be out and it didn't matter that I didn't catch any fish". I am not going to repeat any of that "catch-cry-of-the-loser" stuff, because I would have liked to have caught a few fish, even a single fish. Unfortunately though, even though temps got towards 28F (-4C) the fish were still sluggish. However, it was a pleasant afternoon and a good day to work on those technical things that will come in handy when temps start being more conducive to kick-starting the trouts' metabolism.I did get to use my new lamson reel for the first time and it performed well.

Neoprene waders when it's this cold - I get all the girls in this outfit

After a couple of days of just laying low I decided I needed to get out for a couple hours so at about 3pm I got my stuff together and headed down to some local streams. As I drove along Beaver Creek I saw a couple of vehicles so decided to head all the way down to the main branch of the Whitewater River. After donning the snowshoes and trecking into a spot that has produced on winter days before, I found the river only beginning to open up, with extensive ice-shelves. Large ice chunks were floating downstream and breaking off everywhere providing evidence enough to suggest the river will be open in a few days if temps stay moderate. Anyway, I swam streamers on the wet swing and fished them upstream before deciding to call it quits in the challenging conditions after a half hour or so. Despite the absence of fish it's always nice to fish this spot as it is nestled comfortably in the valley where the river is gently winding it's way towards the Mississippi.

Whitewater is beginning to unlock

From here I headed back to my favorite stretch of Beaver Creek. Although I didn't notice any rises or insects, I elected to fish a midge dry fly (#22). I began at one of my favorite holes that I know holds some good fish, but they are wily and spook very easily - just the kind of challenge that tests your skills. When you catch a fish from this pool you feel as though you've accomplished something. As seems to happen most times, I failed to pull a fish from the hole. I went on to plumb a short stretch both upstream and down, mainly with a small brassie (#20) but again came up empty.

The challenging Hole

As evening drifted down into the valley a pinkish hue softly reflected from the snowscape, somehow giving the whole scene an inviting and almost "warm" atmosphere. The familiar silence of the snow-covered, seemingly lifeless forest was tranquil and put me at ease (yes, even despite the lack of fish). I went home feeling very relaxed and content...............until the Giants took out the Patriots in the Superbowl!

The pink hue and a beaver damMinnesota Winter Flyfishing Equipment

A Wintery Mix

Our (almost) annual winter trip up to Grand Marais was something we'd been looking forward to for some time. With our two little ones we had space issues with our vehicles so ended up taking both the jeep and the car. Wednesday saw Jessica take Natalya and Pierce into Rochester for a kids reading session at the library while I got the jeep packed but we were both on the road a little after 10am and we made good time.

Jessica's folks' House
Within minutes of arriving at Jessica's folks' place, Natalya had a slip down the stairs. She tumbled the full length and bruised around her eye but luckily she had been holding a stuffed animal that took most of the weight of the fall. Natalya seemed perfectly fine but it was her grandfather that seemed the most shook up about it (he got to see it from the top of the stairs where he couldn't do anything to stop it). Fortunately I didn't get to see it happen as I was bringing stuff (of which there was a mountain) in from the cars but when I got inside Natalya was acting as if nothing had happened and if it wasn't for a little redness around her eye I'd have never have known without Jessica telling me.

Upon arriving in town it was cool, (minus 5 F / minus 21C) but the temperature was dropping fast. By midnight it was down below minus 20F (minus 28C) and cold. It was pleasant to sit by the woodstove and relax after the long drive.

Not too bad when we arrived - only -5F

The morning saw us doing some light shopping in town and during the evening I actually managed to convince Jessica to come ice-fishing with me for a few hours. I know her tolerance for fishing isn't long so we headed out to Mink lake for the last hour or so of daylight in the hope of catching ourselves a splake or two (splake are a hybrid between a lake trout and a brook trout that show hybrid vigor and therefore are a desirable hatchery fish). It was a fair effort just to drill through the 28 inches or so of ice and we weren't rewarded with even the slightest sign of fish activity. Still it wasn't too cold (hovering around 0F) and there was only the slightest breeze.
We stopped off briefly to visit Marja and Skinner, had a bit of a chin-wag, and headed home to see how the little ones did in our absence. For the record, they did fantastically, or at least that was the report and evidence when we arrived.

Proof that Jessica does fish, albeit rarely

A look across Mink Lake

Friday saw Jessica and I again get to abandon the kids at their grandparents place and we skipped off to ski (Nordic not downhill). We skied the Pincushion Mountain loop and the trail was in pretty good shape. I would have liked to have skied longer but we had to get back to get ready for a foray to the sledding hill. Sledding was an activity Natalya, (and I suspect Grandpa and Grandma) really enjoyed. In fact, I think that was our best family activity of the trip. We followed that with a trip into the library to pick out some kids movies. To celebrate my birthday we had chocolate cake and ice-cream after dinner - yum!

Sledding FunPierce and Daddy watching on

Birthday Festivities

Saturday lured me away to again try for splake, and due to a DNR personnel suggestion I was once again set up on Mink Lake. This time I had my shanty up and a propane heater going. The snow was falling steadily but inside I was warm(ish) as I stared without interruption into my hole in the ice. After several hours of zen like boredom I opted to head up to Clearwater Lake to try for a lake trout in the last hour or so of light. I had no bait and only a limited amount of time, but this lake has been good to me in the past. When I finally got through the 30+ inches of ice I drifted my aeroplane jig to the bottom and began jigging. Within five minutes I had a take and the fish (I suspect quite small) was on for about 10 - 15 feet but then dropped off. That was the fishing action in it's entirety. The real adventure was driving the icy roads full of sliding, skidding, slipping, spinning and crashing gently into snowbanks. I'm sure for some people that is great fun, but for me, I'd rather be in control of my vehicle. While I was out fishing, Jessica went to a baby shower with Marja and some other ladies, something I know Jessica enjoyed immensely. That night was a long one as Natalya got quite sick.

Morning saw Natalya in a bad way and there was no way any of us were going to church. The weather was warming up quickly and reached freezing point by mid morning. Jessica and I did get to slip away for lunch with Marja and Skinner and little Kaj and after lunch I took Pierce out for a snowshoe around the woods on his grandparents land. The sun was beating down and it was warm and I couldn't help but wonder how the sled-dogs were doing as they started the Beargrease Race down in Duluth - certainly it was too hot for them!

Dad and Pierce out for a snowshoe in the warm weather

Monday turned out to be a big day and I started it by trying to convince Natalya to go outside and snowshoe or ski, which she finally conceded to do, if only for a little while. She did quite well but I still had time to kill so I set off snow shoeing by myself just north along the Kudance River. With the warm temperatures I could hear the river trickling along under the ice as it made its way down to Lake Superior. It was cloudy, quite warm but still. I enjoyed just sitting and listening to the sounds of winter, highlighted by the many calls and melodic sounds of a nearby raven.

Natalya snowshoeingNatalya Skiing

The Kadunce RiverThe mouth of Kadunce as it enters Lake Superior

We were also scheduled to meet up with Art Kidd at Pincushion for another ski, but this time with Jessica, her sister Mandi, her father and Art all being better skiers, it was decided we'd ski the north advanced loop. I had reservations but figured if you don't test yourself you'll just stay the same so off I went. We came to a good sized drop, but it was well tracked and straight so I thought I could do it but obviously I couldn't. I won't go into much detail, mainly because I don't remember much about the fall or from what I do remember I don't know how I fell. Either way I fell hard, landing on my head. My initial though was to get up and quickly catch up to the rest of the group but then I felt my neck and it occurred to me that maybe I was hurt. Turns out that I then took an easier route back to the warming shed but felt pretty dazed and tired for the rest of the day. Oh, did I mention the headache?

After skiing, which I probably ruined, or at least marred, for everyone else we all headed to the indoor pool to meet up with Grandma, the kids and Beth. We also invited skinner's daughter Brandy to come along and she was a delightful pleasure to have around as she enjoyed herself. I spent most of my time in the hot tub and kiddies pool and sauna, all of which felt great on the myriad of sore spots beginning to pop up over my body. In the evening Art and Beth came over and we all shared a hearty meal consisting largely of the bounty from Jessica's folk's extensive garden and an apple honey custard pie. I'm a little hazy on the evening but I remember going to bed quite early and was amazed that it was so warm it was raining outside but the wind was howling and there was a huge temperature drop coming. Predictions had basal temps below minus 20F(-29C) with windchills well below minus 50F (-44C). I don't care how you look at it, that's cold. How upset would the mushers down the shore be now? Apparently many of the teams with Siberian Huskies had already scratched from the race because it was too hot, now the temps were plummeting it was windy as hell and the trails were ice.

Despite the icy conditions we ventured down to do our duty and observe the dogs at the Sawbill Checkpoint on the banks of the Temperance River. I've seen the teams at the start in Duluth before but never seen them out on the trail. There's no real fanfare, it's not for the crowds, there's no showmanship or skylarking. All I saw was down-to-earth, get-it-done attitudes enjoying meeting the challenges of winter. Driving on very icy roads was well worth it once I saw the dogs and just the atmosphere and the people is a very captivating thing - at least for me. Although I probably don't have the drive for it, I think I'll always daydream of having my own dog team mushing across some vast wilderness with the northern lights beaming down.

Jessica (facing) and Mandi at the Sawbill CheckpointA team leaving after a brief restA team coming in

The roads were bad, the snow storm was coming and Mandi had to begin her drive home. Somehow she seems to always get bad luck for driving weather, but she must know how to drive in it as she always gets home safe and sound. I guess it you're going to live up north you just have to suck it up and do what needs to be done. While she was going through that we all sat by the fire watching "The Man from Snowy River".

After loading the cars up I thought we were done with the trip but little did I know there was still one event planned for us. Jessica's mother was heading to work just ahead of us and she blew out her rear tire along the highway. The winds were gusting strongly and the basal temperature on the bank sign read minus 17F (-27C). Changing that tire wasn't much fun for anyone concerned and delayed our return home by a bit.

Now that's a flat tire!

All in all the trip wasn't everything I'd hoped and there were a few things that downright sucked. But there was also a few good things that made it worthwhile. I am convinced now though that winter in the northwoods can be a savage and unpredictable thing - so bring two cars loaded with everything and you just might be prepared :)