Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guide Lines" December 18, 2018

Phenomenal would best describe the recent weather, as it relates to ice fishing. I’ve been out several times during this warm spell and haven’t even used a shelter. These conditions allow one to get back into those little honey holes, without pulling a sled, which can make things a whole lot easier.

Many of the backwoods trails are narrow and have you running along open creeks, over weeds, brush, and small boulders. This is when I’ll position the auger lengthwise, so I can get past heavy brush and/or trees. I’ve learned which trails allow me to mount the auger on the front of the snowmobile, which is where I prefer to carry it. I like to keep an eye on things.
I’ve previously been through some tight trails that had me knocking the auger cover off the blades. This is when it’s time to go lengthwise. I’ve learned the hard way.

Rigging up the old snowmobile, a 1997 Bearcat, I’ll have the auger mounted on the front, Vexilar in an old milk crate on the back, three rods in holders (all ready to go with different lures), small tackle pack fastened to the backrest behind me, and wax worms in my pocket. All set.

Never really knowing just what to expect, the under-seat storage has an ample supply of bungie cords (can never have too many of those things), spare spark plugs and wrench, and an old fashioned “Swede Saw”. Being ¼ Swede, I’ll call it just that, but the old bow saw goes by many names (Finn saw, buck saw, etc.). I’ve run into situations before, where a tree had to be cut off the trail. That little saw is worth it’s weight in gold, when needed.

This “quick mode” of ice fishing transportation is not only perfect for those hard-to-reach waters but also makes for easy exploring on the larger waters. Scoot across the lake, bore a hole or two, check it out, and move on if nothing there. The nice weather makes it so nice.

I should mention that the Bearcat, which is only used for ice fishing, has finally turned the odometer over the 2,000 mile mark. That’s almost 100 miles per season, spent solely on traveling to and from various lakes. Some years, I’ve only put on about 10 miles, or so, when I didn’t travel to large waters like Lake Winnipeg. There, for example, we would travel 10 miles, just to get to the spot.

I’ve been surprised at the lack of ice fishermen on our local lakes. Maybe they’re just taking it easy and being safe? Now, Upper Red Lake, on the other hand, wow. It’s a regular mad-house out there, with thousands of happy anglers catching nice, fat walleyes. They are, however, still dealing with some “iffy” ice, if your driving a pickup and towing a large wheel house. I saw a photo of one that broke through last week. The large lake has ice moving about all the time. Pay attention to the resort maps and stay on the trails if unsure.

I’ve recently shuttled a few anglers on and off the lakes, three times, as a matter-of-fact. Twice it was two youngsters at a time, and once a big fella, who said friends call him “Tubby”, LOL. And hey, why not help someone when you see they’ve got a long haul ahead of themselves? The old Bearcat has a long seat.

One time it was two young anglers, who live in Duluth and are attending UMD. They drove up for a morning on the ice, in the Grand Rapids area, and were next going to Upper Red Lake. They appreciated the “lift.” I just love to see young people enjoying the outdoors.

Here’s another thought for a pretty darn cool Christmas gift. It’s called the EZducer. I’m sure anyone reading this, who uses some sort of electronics for winter fishing, has lost a fish or two, when your line gets wrapped around the transducer cord. I’ve lost dozens, if not hundreds. The last two were keeper walleyes on Upper Red Lake.

This product, which mounts to the side of your electronics, is a retractable device that lowers or raises your transducer with the touch of a button.

I saw this work, firsthand, last week, and it is clearly a great product. Catch a fish, touch a button, and the transducer is automatically reeled in and out of the way. Press the button again and send it back down to the desired depth. Pretty slick. For more information, go to www.ezducer.com.

..." Read >> Greg's Guide Lines December 11, 2018

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guide Lines" December 11, 2018

This week’s column contains a hodgepodge of short, outdoor thoughts, in no particular order.

*I try to ready my ice fishing rods at home, in the office, before heading out on the next outing. How nice it is, to be able to tie on 1/64 oz. and 1/80 oz. jigs, onto 2-pound test line, in good lighting, and with no wind.

I usually rig up a half-dozen rods, when going for panfish, with lures ranging from tiny little jigs to small jigging spoons. This way, I’m ready for most any tight-lipped challenge.

It’s so much easier to grab a “fresh” rod and quickly get back to it, after getting broke off. After most trips, I’ll usually be going home with two or three of them with no lures at all.  

*Wax worm care. I’ve told various bait shops not to keep them in a refrigerator, as it’s too cold for them and they won’t last very long. I keep mine on the basement floor, next to the wall, which is probably the coolest spot in the house.

Store worms between 55°-60°F. Most refrigerators are too cold to store them in, but the refrigerator door is a little warmer and will usually work fine. They will keep for up to a month or two if kept at proper temperatures.

*Vexilar now has the much sought after “Glo Ring.” This little unit attaches to your electronics and offers an immediate charge to your glow-in-the-dark fishing lures. It’s so bright, UV-LED lights, it only takes one second to recharge. Connected to battery, it uses hardly any energy, and is always there and ready to charge up your baits. Just drop your lure in the “light chamber” for a second and your back to fishing. Reasonably priced and able to be used with any electronics, this would make a great Christmas gift.

* I’ve been finding 10” of ice on a lot of the lakes I’ve been fishing. Up until this point, I’ve been checking the ice quite regularly with a little homemade contraption that catches on the bottom of the hole and has 1-inch increments measured up the shaft. However, I lost it on my last outing but will still be using extreme caution. One can never be too safe.

*I’m still seeing wild turkeys, here and there, and there certainly seems to be a lot of them. The last sighting was on a trip up north. It was shortly after a snow-fall, so they really stood out, looking almost black, standing on the side of the highway near Buck Lake. Not having them been around before, it’s always a nice sight.

*I’ve been using my K-Drill for a couple of seasons now and noticed it wasn’t cutting as fast as it did when new, so I ordered new blades. They were immediately shipped, and I received them the same week. Paying close attention to directions, I put on leather gloves and carefully changed out the blades. It didn’t take long at all and the old ones are now in the same package, ready to be shipped back for a free sharpening. That’s pretty cool.

*Upper Red Lake has been on fire, so my brother, Joel, and Dennis Rule went back up there to find out just how good it was. Joel reported back from the lake, with photos, saying “40-50 walleye today. Probably another 30 misses. Fun day.” He also stated that there were a lot of ½ ton trucks out on the ice. I’ve got to get back up there. It’s just too much fun and the fish are so fat!

*We’ve been blessed with some mighty fine weather thus far and I hope it continues for a while. How nice it is, to be able to travel on clean, clear highways. It just makes things a whole lot easier, when one can seat back and relax. No white-knuckle trips so far.

*How many fish do you think I have in the freezer? Nada, zip, nothing. That might seem strange for someone that fishes as mush as I do but there are three reasons why.

One – Many times I’m in the “catch and release” mode and fish all day, going home with nothing. I just enjoy being out there.

Two – Gifting. Hey, it tis the season isn’t it? Many times, more times than not, I’ll be so tuckered out, when reaching home, that I pawn my fish off to my fishing partner for the day.

Three – Yes, I do fish solo most of the time and that can lead to cleaning fish, when I get home. So, sometimes, I’ll have a limit of crappies in the fridge or possibly the freezer. Marilyn and I do eat fish once-in-a-while but most of those fish I clean are given to local folks that used to fish and are now unable to because of old age. Some recipients never really fished when younger but just love a fresh fish dinner. It makes me feel good too.

*It’s been smooth sailing, using my snowmobile, out on the lakes. There’s only a couple inches of snow and travel is easy. The recent warmer weather has me leaving the shelter in the truck and running and gunning with only the snow-cat. The Vexilar is placed in the back of the Bearcat, along with three rods, which are housed in holders. The K-Drill is mounted on the front of the machine, while wax worms, and tackle are in my pockets. Good to go!

Stay safe, have fun, and good luck!"

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guide Lines" December 4, 2018

Local lakes are seizing up nicely and things are happening. I’ve been nosing around, quite a bit, and have found decent ice for wheelers and snowmobiles, which was measured at 6”. However, some lakes aren’t quite there yet, so be careful.

Further north, Upper Red Lake and Lake of the Woods, the ice is getting thicker and anglers are doing well. Upper Red has continued with a fantastic bite and now Lake of the Woods has joined in. A friend fished there, last weekend, and reported 70-80 fish caught, including a 10 pounder. Both big lakes are allowing snowmobile, atv, and utv traffic only.

So far, I have three successful walleye trips in, along with a half-dozen extremely mediocre panfish outings. The lakes I have been fishing are solid producers, but it just wasn’t happening yet. I expect that to change here very shortly.

There’s just enough snow cover to run my snowmobile and it’s working out just fine. This sure makes checking lakes a whole lot easier. I do, however, proceed with extreme caution, often walking ahead and pre-drilling holes, making sure all is safe.

One local lake, a proven early-ice fishery, offered fussy, small crappies, and had me packing up and heading for different water.

On my way off the lake, I stopped and chatted with a couple anglers. They reported to have done pretty good a few days earlier and were back at it again. Off I went to another lake, only minutes away. Oh, how I love living and fishing in Itasca county.

My next lake had a reputation for current and sketchy ice. I’d be very cautious on this one.

Walking ahead, drilling holes and checking ice, is as easy as it gets, when using a K-Drill. Weighing in at only 5 pounds, all you need to do is attach a cordless electric drill and you’re in business. Most every household has one but there are minimum requirements for the best performance.

Electric drill requirements are:
*1/2” drill chuck required
* Brushless drill design
* 10V, 4Ah Lithium battery or higher
* Must be run in lowest drill driver setting (not hammer drill)
* Minimum of 700 pounds of peak torque RPM 500-600
* Can be used with gas power heads (7/8” shaft)
* Milwaukee M18 2703 Drill/Driver Recommended

It comes in 6” and 8” models. I have the 6” and it really whistles through the ice. I’ve been using this for all my walleye and panfish. However, I do know there’s always a chance that I may get a fat walleye stuck in that 6” hole, but it hasn’t happened yet.

I found 6” of ice on my next lake and cautiously checked a few of my favorite areas and not a fish was caught. I didn’t even see one? This is common though and I’m sure going back there next week would have a totally different outcome.

Later that night, I checked with the anglers that were on the other lake and found that they had done very well, catching a bunch of fish, with six of them being 12”. Minnow anglers! Yes, sometimes it makes all the difference in the world and I would be back at it with live bait the next morning.

So, what does one do when waking up extra-early and wanting to head to the lake, but everything is still closed? It was six o’clock when I stopped in at the Hibbing Lucky Seven. Always open, I knew I could get a scoop of crappie minnows and from there it was to McDonalds for a healthy breakfast.

Arriving at the lake, I was surprised to see someone there ahead of me, especially since the sun hadn’t come out yet.
I made my way out to the community hole, passing the other anglers, who were set up near a weedline, more-than-likely going for sunfish.

Using minnows, or pieces of, I caught fish-after-fish, but none were of any size. I think the largest was a 9 ½” beast. I could only take it for just so long before packing up and going elsewhere. This time I went in a different direction and found myself scooting across a small lake, back in the woods.

It took a little searching but eventually I found the Mother Lode. Now it was my turn.
Crappie after crappie would inhale my baits, everything from minnows, wax worms, and plastics. It was one of those bites. It doesn’t get much better.

I stayed long enough to put ten in the bucket and made it back home in time to watch the Vikings game. I should have stayed on the lake.

I should mention that I will be at the L&M store in Hibbing this Saturday from 10-3. Stop in and take a look at the K-Drills and Vexilars or just stop to talk fishing.

Jeff Sundin Fishing Report December 3, 2018 "Glow Spoon Walleye"

Fish Ed TV is back!

It's been a while since the last season of Fish ED TV on ice. But, we're back now with a brand new batch of ice fishing shows and they air every Sunday morning at 8:30 AM on Fox Sports North.

This week on Fish Ed, host Jon Thelen shows you how to maximize your catch on mid-winter Walleye's.

Join him on Lake of the Woods for tons of tips and information to make your ice season more successful! View Video >> Glow Spoon Walleye

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guide Lines" November 26, 2018 Upper Red Lake Early Ice Report

I finally made my first ice trip of the season and it couldn’t have come fast enough. I was getting just way too stir crazy and needed something outdoorsy to do.

Always up early, I sent a message to my brother, Joel, who was more-than-likely sleeping at 4:00 am. Lying in the recliner, half-asleep, he called me back at 6:00 am and a plan was set into place. We were going to give Upper Red Lake a shot, but a little planning and preparation still had to be done.

It was Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, so maybe I can blame my lack of motivation on too much turkey? Whatever the reason, I still had to finish up packing walleye tackle and the right rods.

By the time we had things ready, we were leaving town around 9:30 am and found ourselves fishing by noon. Not leaving ourselves a whole lot of fishing time, neither of us cared, as we just wanted to get out and catch a few fish on this lazy day. It was something to do.

I drove and trailered Joel’s four-wheeler. Researching the Upper Red resorts had me selecting JR’s Corner Access as our destination, as this was the first day they were allowing ATV’s out on the ice.

The trip, exactly 119 miles from my house, went quickly, and brought back a flood of memories. Back in the “crappie days”, I couldn’t get enough of the big lake and traveled to Upper Red countless times, often by myself. I recalled returning home, with a bucketful of big crappies, and being barely able to keep my eyes open. It was usually a long day but oh so much fun.

I kept an Upper Red Lake fishing log and still make entries in it to this day. Back then, when the crappie bite had finally cooled off, I had registered over 14,000 miles traveling to Red Lake and back. I told that to Al Lindner one time and you should have seen the expression on his face. Priceless.

We selected JR’s Corner Access because of the positive fishing reports from days prior. People were walking out and doing well. On this day, however, we’d be riding a wheeler to the hotspot, about a mile out in 10-11’ of water.

In typical Upper Red Lake fashion, it looked like a gold rush. Anglers were coming in droves and the place was as busy as it could get. A penalty for sleeping in, we ended up parking in lot #2, a second field, a good distance away from the access. Lucky me. As I was about to make the hike back to the access, JR, himself, pulled up and offered me a ride. This was going to be a good day. I could tell.

One has to check in at JR’s first, before parking. Here, you pay the access fee and receive an updated ice-road map that shows the way around any poor ice. It also shows just where to fish.

Traveling out on the lake, we found some bumpy, rough ice, closer to shore, but it didn’t last long, as it soon turned into a slick, glare-ice trail. The weather was warm and that made it even more slippery.

A lack of snow cover can make things look a little sketchy during first ice. There was a “black ice” area that we had to go around, as it was only 5 ½” thick. Driving over ice that regularly changed color is a little intimidating. I told Joel “if there was snow cover, we’d be driving out there without a care in the world.”

Much like a lottery, we picked a spot in the middle of hundreds of other hopeful anglers and set up, and it only took 10 minutes for Joel to catch our first walleye of the day. It wasn’t fast-and-furious, but the action was good enough to make us stay put. I think we only drilled 5-6 holes.

The ice was a solid 7”, which we both measured. It always looks thinner, when looking at clear ice, with no snow cover.
The walleye limit on Upper Red Lake is four fish, with only one allowed to be longer than 17”. Our fish ran fairly-large in size, with most of them being 16-19”. We ended up going home with five nice walleyes, which included two over 17”. Two other “keepers” were lost in the hole and three bigger fish were released.

We decided to pack it in early and only fished until around 3:45 pm. Not wanting to run over any thin ice, I told Joel “I think we should get off the lake before it gets dark, so we can see where we’re going.” “I was thinking the same thing” he replied.
Note – as of this writing on Monday, 11/26/2018, ice conditions have greatly improved but caution should always be taken.

Good luck, be safe, and have fun!

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guide Lines" November 13, 2018

"There’s a lot to be said about bagging an early season buck, and getting everything done with, but it does come with a bit of negativity. Now I am more than bored, unable to go out and hunt alone for a few hours, as I have filled my tag. Sometimes I think I’m better off not to get a deer right off the get-go because I enjoy spending time in the woods.

However, on the plus side, I did find time to bring my boat over to Ray’s Sport & Marine to get it winterized. Yes, dragging my feet, as usual, I thought I would be able to get out to catch a few more fish but deer season got in the way. It always does.

I’ve also started the process of getting ready for the new ice fishing season, even though we have no safe ice to walk on, at this point. Last year, it was just killing me, sitting in a deer stand with pleasant temps and knowing hundreds of anglers were catching walleyes on Upper Red Lake. Not this year.

The big lake is always one of the first to freeze up and it looks to be right on course again this year. There’s been reports of a few hardy souls, walking out and catching a few fish but I think it’s a bit early for that. Let’s let it thicken up a bit my friends.

I guess I’m not as adventurous as I once was. I recall walking out, during the first ice period, and stopping on shore to cut a 6’ piece of tag alder. My fishing partner asked, “what’s that for?” “You’ll see”, I responded.

Making it about 100 yards, I stopped, drilled a hole, and stuck the branch in the lake bottom, telling my buddy “keep your eye on that stick and if it’s starting to move, we’re getting off the lake.” You see, the lake wasn’t totally frozen over, and we would be fishing further out, near open water. If the stick was moving, that meant the entire ice sheet had broken loose from shore and if we didn’t get off in a hurry, we’d be floating across the lake. There was a fairly-strong east wind blowing that day too.

Well, it never happened, and the fishing was excellent. We were “tip-upping” for northern pike and did pretty darn good, catching some big fish. Fishing about 50 yards from open water, and waves, we were standing on 6” of ice and “relatively” safe. Would I do it again? Probably not. I’m not as quick as I used to be.

All this unexpected free time also has me rigging up a few rods and spooling on new line. As for now, I’m concentrating on the walleye rods, as I have Upper Red Lake in my sights, much like that opening weekend buck.

For a little Tuned Up Custom Rods refresher course, for walleye, I prefer the lighter “Fusion” (small Jiggin’ Raps), “Precision” (medium spoons and Jiggin’ Raps), and the “Power Precision” (medium to larger spoons and Jiggin’ Raps/Rippin’ Raps). Stop in at Thousand Lakes Sporting Goods, in Grand Rapids, to get a first-hand look.

For line, I’m a mono guy, for the most part, and will be spooling up with some fresh 4 and 6 pound test Berkley XL monofilament, clear or low-vis green. If fishing deeper water, I’ll more-than-likely be using braided line.

Cookie’s on Upper Red Lake reports – “Well, well, well, it’s that time of year again. Reports of ice as far as you can see? We have gotten roughly 3 inches of snow as the ice formed so there’s a layer of snow covering the ice sheet. I have not seen a picture from space on the internet yet but expect that will show up soon.

I expect a few locals will be walking on the ice to start checking things out today? The one nice thing as the first few hundred yards the waters only a foot or two so if you do break through your feet may get wet. Once people start to venture out on the lake please use common sense. A pressure ridge can pop up any time especially when it warms up a bit or the wind start to blow, no fish is worth a rescue operation. You can see some piled up ice way out as the winds were blowing pretty good a few days ago.

We will be able to keep 4 fish again this year with one over 17 inches. I expect good fishing again this year after going out with the DNR checking their nets this fall I was way impressed.” For more information, contact Cookie on Facebook or by calling (218) 647-8391.

JR’s Corner Access on Upper Red Lake – “The lake continues to do its thing and make more and more ice. We will be starting to check Ice depths and fly over with the planes this week and see how everything is looking.

We will be keeping everyone updated as everything will be changing daily. Our number one thing is your safety so let’s all be patient and just let the lake be the monster it is before we all start venturing out there, as it will be here soon enough. I can almost taste the first Jr’s fish fry of the season! For more information, contact JR’s on Facebook or phone (320) 290-3838.

..." Read >> Greg's Guidelines November 13, 2018

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guidlines" November 6, 2018

The first weekend of the Minnesota firearms deer season is now in the books and what a memorable one it was for the Clusiau camp.
It started out earlier, with me positioning a portable stand, in what I forecasted to be a great spot, telling my son “I just know I’m going to get a nice buck there. I can feel it.”

Other, much more comfortable stands were at my disposal, but I wanted to start the season by sitting in the portable. So, with that in mind, I dressed to the max, making sure I wouldn’t get cold, even though the temps weren’t all that bad. Wearing my heavy, insulated ice fishing boots, I was prepared to sit all day.

Shortly before first light, I hoisted myself, and a large, heavy backpack into position. Key equipment (buck grunt, can call, monocular, etc.) was taken out of the pack and placed close at hand for easy and quiet use.

Sometimes, I’ll saturate a wick with deer scent, tied to fishing line and drop it below the stand, stopping about three feet from the ground. That, again, was the plan, on this early morning.

I was anxious to try out Tink’s new spray applicator. Tink’s #69 DOE-IN-RUT has been around for years and it’s a great product. I’ve used it before but have never seen it available in a spray can. I think it was the words “No Mess” that actually caught my eye. That pretty much sold me right then and there.

Dangling the wick out away from me, I started spraying. I could hear it spraying but didn’t see anything hitting the wick. Then I felt it! The gel formula was seeping out from under the top of the can and running all over my fingers. My goodness. What a horrendous odor!

The can says, “SPRAYS 100% PURE DOE ESTROUS”, adding “NOT DILUTED WITH PROPELLANTS LIKE AREOSOLS”. They weren’t kidding. The smell was something else and had me gagging.

Not only was it all over my hand but the stand itself, backpack, gloves, and camouflaged balaclava mask, which I planned on wearing, all took a hit. It was unbearable.

There was a slight north breeze, not much, and I found myself sticking my neck out into the wind as much as possible, in order to get a breath of fresh air.

Now, my top choice for a deer stand would have to be abandoned. There was no way I was sitting in that stuff all day. Off I went to my next stand, one that smelled a little better. My gear certainly didn’t. I was surprised that I didn’t get trampled while walking through the woods.

A nice lunch was brought along but I couldn’t place my hand anywhere near my face to eat. It was well after lunch time, when I decided to head back to camp so I could wash my hands and have a sandwich. Then, it was back to the woods.

I went on to see a couple small deer and didn’t bother to shoot. I’m pretty much a “horn hunter” until late in the season, when more desperate.

Plans were made for the next day. I would be prepared to sit from dark-to-dark, not caring if I missed the Vikings game on television or not.

The next morning had me carrying a ton of extra stuff along. However, once I reached the stand, I found it well worth the effort. Pouring a cup of hot coffee, I sat back and relaxed, reading (more like glancing) at the sports section of the StarTribune, and working on a SUDOKU puzzle.

Movement was noticed, off to my right. A nice buck was fast-walking itself, in search of a doe. It paused, just long enough for me to get off a quick shot and it was down. I wasn’t sure how big it was but then noticed the nice rack sticking up out of the tall grass.

Waiting long as possible, I made sure of the deer’s location, before climbing down the ladder. Once on the ground, things looked a whole lot different, and I didn’t immediately find the animal, thinking to myself, “did it get up and run off while I was backing down the ladder?” I was just sick.

Seconds later, the buck was spotted, and I walked up to it with a sigh of relief. The rack was gorgeous, as was the deer. Looking up, I said “thank you God.”

It was early in the morning, so I had three hours to spend in that location before we could haul the deer out. Luckily, I was well-prepared.

The first order of things was to wrap a hotdog in aluminum foil and place it on my Buddy Heater. Lunch would be ready in twenty minutes or so. Then it was back to the newspaper. I had a couple of crossword puzzles to take care of. Of course, the DeWalt radio was playing “classic rock”. You didn’t really think I was going to miss the Vikings game?

Good luck hunters, be safe, be comfortable, and always have fun!

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guidlines" October 29, 2018

An intensive Deer Hunting Survey was conducted by the Minnesota DNR. There is plenty of interesting information here and if you’ve got a lot of time on your hands, give it a read, as it’s available online and consists of over 100 pages.

The DNR reported that “Surveys were distributed to 25,319 deer hunters in five regions of the state (11,417 after the 2014 deer season, 10,403 after the 2015 season, and 3,499 after the 2016 season); 10,894 completed surveys were used for this analysis. After adjusting for undeliverable surveys and invalid respondents, the response rate was 44.8%.”

On average, survey respondents were about 50 years old, 90% of which were male. Survey takers reported having hunted deer in Minnesota an average of 29 years.

It was fun comparing my statistics and thoughts with those who took the survey. At 69 years of age, I’ve been hunting deer for 57 years. It would be more like 56 years because the hunting season was closed that one year, when the deer population was way down. Also, there were a few years that I was too busy doing something else and didn’t even bother to load the rifle. Looking at it, realistically, I’ve probably hunted deer 50 years and only got a deer about half the time. That’s not many. Especially when I started out getting four deer in the first four years.

It was a very tough season, when I first started, at the rip old age of 12. Nowadays a youth can legally hunt at 10 years old, which I personally think is too young, but things change, and it seems to be for the better. There are also quite a few female hunters in the field, which wasn’t the case many years ago.

The survey went on to say that some of the most important factors that had hunters taking to the woods were enjoying nature and the outdoors and hunting with family. That’s pretty much “dead on” in my book.

I can honestly say that if my son and three granddaughters weren’t so much into the sport, I’d probably not be hunting. I’d push the fall fishing limit a little further than I do now, freezing my fingers off and not getting the boat winterized in time, but I’m liking this deer hunting thing. Of course, I do it a whole lot different than I used to.

For one thing, I’m a lot more comfortable. When I first started, there was no such thing as a deer stand. I’d find a comfortable stump and plop myself down, hoping for the best. If there was any type of stand available, it was nothing more than a couple of 2x4s, nailed between two trees. There you sat, up about 8-10’, freezing in the wind. I can’t recall ever getting a deer, when sitting in one of these so-called stands.

Now, I’m quite comfortable, warm and out of the wind. This, along with my older age, which has given me more patience, has me sometimes sitting from dark-to-dark. Sit long enough (and be quiet) and you’re bound to see a few deer.

My success rate has gone up over the past several years because of this, along with being able to see a long distance. Those little open-air stands only had shooting openings of 50’ or so, tucked away back in the brush.

The survey revealed most hunters preferred using elevated stands, while the smaller percentage used ground blinds, stalking, and deer drives, all of which I’ve done.

I’ve only used the ground blind a few times and haven’t shot anything out of it. They are comfortable. I’ll give them that. However, being on the ground has one more in tune to wind direction. The deer might not see you but can sure as heck smell you.

Stalking? I still do that quite often and have walked up on some very nice bucks. Play the wind and you’ll be fine. Go slow. Look and listen. Don’t be in a hurry, like my brother Nicky.

Back in the day, when he was a fixture at deer camp, I don’t think anyone saw more deer than him and I think it was because he walked so darned fast through the woods. The deer probably thought is was another deer or anything other than a human.

One time, as he was high-stepping it, over a grassy hill, he almost stepped on a small bear that was resting there. According to Nicky, they both let out a holler and took off in opposite directions. I wish I could have seen that one.

We used to do a lot of drives and that technique can produce very well. We used to have a large hunting party, so it was fairly-easy to map out a good drive. Those deer sometimes came running out of there 50 mph.

I recall one of those times, when, yes, I was sitting on a stump, while some of our group made the drive. A big doe came running out, up a hill, and into the opening. A young and inexperienced hunter, I fired the rifle much like I would a shotgun, which meant I was leading the deer. I fired once, and the deer turned on a dime and ran back down the hill. A second shot was foiled because I didn’t fully eject the shell all the way, jamming my trusty old Winchester .30-30 lever action.

Walking down toward where the deer ran, I was looking for a blood trail and following tracks, when I walked right up to the deer. It was just laying there, sitting upright, as if nothing had happened. About that time, Doc Newman, one of the drivers, came through the woods, saw my predicament, and dispatched the animal.

Later, while checking the deer over, we couldn’t find where I hit it, but then someone noticed a front tooth missing. I had shot the tooth out, because of leading the animal, and stunned it. Incredible.

Be careful out there this weekend, always have fun, and the best of luck to all.

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guidlines" October 22, 2018

"Last week consisted of a lot of deer hunting preparation and a little fishing. Yes, I managed to get in another fishing trip, after that cold spell we received.

This time, it wasn’t crappies or bluegills (surprise, surprise), but a trip up north for a crack at some Lake of the Woods walleye.

Jim Fetzik called, earlier in the week, saying he had an open seat. At first, he wasn’t sure if he was going to spend the night up there or not, so I told him I would get back to him. I wanted to go but the recent cold weather and countless fall crappie trips had me thinking this one through. I was basically “fished out”, if you can believe that.

I also had no desire to stay overnight, preferring to do a day-trip, which I’m almost famous for doing. Blake Liend and I used to do many of these, back in the day, and some of them consisted of nearly 500 miles, driving up into Canada and back. The 326 mile round-trip to Wheeler’s Point and back was practically a walk in the park.

A last-minute decision had me jumping in with Jim and Mike Oddo at 6 am in Pengilly. Heck, I’ll go most anywhere, long as I don’t have to drive.

At first, I thought we were going to fish the Rainy River and was a little surprised that Fetzik had Lake of the Woods in mind. Hmm? I’ve fished the Rainy River in late October before but never Lake of the Woods. This would be interesting. Thoughts of all the big walleyes Andy Walsh and I caught during the AIM championship, in September, came to mind. There’s so many big fish in the lake, it’ll scare you.

Arriving at the public access, around 9:30, we were lucky to find a place to park. It was crowded. A good omen? Fishing must be good.

Making it out to the main lake, we were a little disappointed in the conditions. Sure. There was a little wind, but we could handle that. It was the dingy, dirty-looking water that had us concerned. This is usually no good at all.

Talking to the bait shop owner, we were told that the river was even worse, a result of high winds, plenty of rain, and the dam being opened (probably the main reason). He told us to look for clear water and fish in 20’ of water, where he had done well the day before.

Slowly checking out the lake, we saw fish scattered all over. Plenty of them. We tried fishing in these areas but came up empty-handed. It looked to be a long day.

Finally, Mike Oddo caught a fish. It was small and took until noon to do so. At least we had something to go on.

Staying in the area, we found that using jigs, tipped with salted emerald shiners, a Lake of the Woods favorite, were the best presentation. Up until that point, plastics and “Jig Raps” were given a fair chance to catch a fish but didn’t produce a lick.

Also, as the bait shop guy had stated earlier, 20’ was the ticket (actually 20.6’).

The key to catching these finicky feeders was to try and keep the boat as still as possible and vertical jig, keeping the bait about 6” off the bottom. Mike did the best and was using a glow/white jig with red eyes. Does that matter? Sometimes it does. Northland Tackle “Fire-Ball” jigs in “parrot” color also did well.

One thing that surprised me was the fact that we never caught any big fish at all, absolutely unlike September when most all of them were great fish with big, girthy bellies. As a matter-of-fact, the largest of the day was a 16”er. Many little fish, being too small to keep, were caught and released.

We fished until one short of our limit and went on to explore the Rainy River, which was packed with boats. Only trying it for a short while, Jim had a very heavy fish on that shook loose next to the boat. We think it was a walleye, but one never knows without seeing.

The Rainy River bite should be in full swing, when it clears up. I’m not sure if I’ll be making it up there again or not because of the upcoming deer season.

Whatever you do, be sure to be safe, always have fun, and enjoy the Great Outdoors.

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guidlines" October 16, 2018

Brrr. It’s getting a little nippy out there.

An early morning trek to the woods had me taking care of a few pre-season deer hunting chores. I didn’t plan on using the side-by-side and shortly after traveling to the first stand, I knew I wasn’t dressed warm enough. Yes. Fall is in full swing.
The firearms deer season gets underway in two weeks, November 3, and it appears that there are plenty of them around. They look fat and healthy too.

A lot of folks check out some of their hunting areas by shining and that is perfectly legal, long as you do it the first two hours after sunset and have no “implements” along that could be used to take wild animals. This can be a lot of fun and a real learning experience. You’ll wonder where all those deer disappear to when the season starts. Isn’t that about it?

I’m making a bold prediction that there will be quite a few deer shot this season and many of them being big bucks. I came to this realization, after checking out the monstrous, new power line cut that runs the entire length of the North Country. This gives the hunter a great vantage point and many deer will be seen but can you hit one at 500 yards or more? I can’t.

There’s always a safety issue here, as well. Please be careful and not only know your target but know what lies behind it, which is all-the-more reason to wear blaze orange, head to toe.

A reminder for those baiting deer – it all needs to be removed 10 days prior to the opening day.

And just what is bait? According to the MN DNR regulations, “bait includes grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, hay, or other food that is capable of attracting or enticing deer and has been placed by a person.”

Liquid scents (example: doe in heat), sprays, salt, and minerals are not bait.

For those that live and breathe deer hunting, here’s a little more that can get you pumped up for the new season. Glen’s Army Navy Store in Grand Rapids will, once again, have Steve Porter’s Trophy Whitetails on display this Friday, October 13 from 9-6. Check out these live, monster bucks. They’re incredible.

Looking at the forecast, I just may be able to get a few more boat trips in before putting it to bed for the winter. Thursday looks to be a very nice day. Hmm? Where should I go? Local crappie fishing or Rainy River walleyes? Maybe a trip to Mille Lacs for those monstrous smallmouth bass? They’ve been getting some real dandies.

I remember the first year the DNR changed the smallmouth regulations to catch and release only, from September 10 to February 24. I was musky fishing on North Star Lake and noticed some fish, down deep, positioned near the end of a point. Curiosity got the best of me.

No live bait was brought along but I did have a bunch of jigs and plastics. Using a ¼ ounce jig, tipped with a Berkley “Power Bait”, I caught one of my largest smallmouths ever. Somewhere in the six pound range, I wanted a good photo of it, with me, of course.

I thought of bringing it to one of the resorts and having someone there take the photo, but the new regulation clearly stated it had to be “immediately released” so that’s what I did. No photo but what a great memory, watching that big girl slowly swim back to the bottom.

Up early, getting ready to write my column, Marilyn hollered to me. A coyote had trotted past our house and was walking down the sidewalk. She was right. We watched it for a couple minutes, as it checked out the elementary school lawn and was eventually frightened off.

That was cool to see and my second coyote sighting, here in Keewatin. I did see a bear running past the house one time. Lily alerted me to that. A few deer and fox have been seen, as well. That’s one of the nice things about living in a small town, surrounded by woods and mines. There’s plenty of wildlife to enjoy.

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guidlines" October 9, 2018

"Recent fishing outings have me thinking of hard water, mainly because of the weather. It’s getting a little chilly out there, to say the least. This is the time of year that has me bundling up in layers and wearing my warmest ice fishing gear, which has me feeling quite comfortable, but my fingers are taking a beating.

I always say, “if your hands are cold, you’re probably catching fish” and that’s true, if you think about it, especially during late fall. Removing hooks and handling minnows, which are swimming around in icy water, does this. Not catching anything? More-than-likely, you are nice and toasty.

It has gotten to the point where I’m sometimes fishing with gloves and this works fine, long as the fish are striking your bait with gusto. However, if it’s a very subtle nibble, off come the gloves.

A major part of my fall fishing regimen has to do with those little disposable hand-warmers. Good for 10 hours, I shake them up and place them in my pockets before leaving the house. By the time I reach my destination, they are working well and very hot. How nice it is to place your hands inside of warm pockets, in an effort to regain some degree of comfort. I use these little heaters when deer hunting too.

One never knows how the fish will react, from day to day. I’ve had phenomenal fishing, where the fish would absolutely destroy your bait, but I’ve had a few tough outings, as well. Describing fall fishing as “feast or famine” holds true.
I visited a local lake, last week, which has a huge crappie population, and struggled. Normally, I would catch several dozen fish on this water but not on this day. I ended up searching the entire lake and could see fish but was unable to trigger them. I finished the outing by landing one small crappie and missing another. Strange. It was just flat out tough fishing.

The next day, trying a different lake, I enjoyed a fantastic outing, catching several nice fish. While out there, I talked to another fisherman, who said this same lake was terrible on the day before. Something had these fish in a funk, where they wouldn’t bite, and it’s something that the human being cannot detect. Mother Nature was hard at work, making sure to throw us off balance, protecting her resource and I’m fine with that. You can’t “kill them” each-and-every outing. There wouldn’t be anything left.

Overall, the fish have been biting well and one of my best baits has been a Northland Tackle “Puppet Minnow”. This is another thing that has me thinking of ice fishing, as I use this bait quite a bit throughout the winter months. There’s hardly anything more fun than using a jigging bait over a school of aggressive fish. They hit it hard.

Since I’m now fishing for panfish, the smallest size, 1 ½”, is being used. Weighing in at 1/8 ounce, it sinks fast and gets down to the fish in a hurry. Yes, I always have minnows, and a large selection of plastics along, but when the “Puppet Minnow” is working, there’s nothing better.

I recall when this bait first came out, many years ago. I was ice fishing and the bite was tough. There were isolated fish, here and there, and it took many holes to find them. Dropping down all my favorite, best-producing presentations resulted in a big, fat zero.

When this happens, I like to switch it up and go to the other end of the spectrum. If they’re not interested in a minute, little hair jig, maybe they’ll hit something a lot larger. They did, but it wasn’t fast and furious.
I’d send down the Puppet Minnow and get their attention, stopping it 1-2’ above them. Fussy fish that they were, I wouldn’t even try to jig the bait, as it would scare them away. I would place the rod on the ice and watch. I had as much time as they did.

After staring at the little jigging bait for 2-5 minutes, nose-to-nose, they would eventually strike it very hard. I caught several crappies in this manner, along with a few nice sunfish. Who would have thought? An angling bystander, who was struggling as well, was as surprised as I was.

Jigging baits have become much more popular during the open water season and there are a lot to pick from. Northland Tackle’s “Puppet Minnows” range in size from 1 ½” to 3 ½” and the colors are looking pretty sharp, as they now offer them in the popular “UV” look. This work very well for all species, especially Upper Red Lake and Lake of the Woods walleyes. I can hardly wait!

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guidlines" October 2, 2018

"Wanting to get a little fishing in, I checked the forecast and was disappointed to see that a fairly-large storm cell was heading my way. It didn’t appear to be moving very fast and looked like it was going to give me a couple of hours before covering the North Country. Off I went, driving toward the rain.

Reaching my destination, I sat in the truck and pondered the situation. It was just beginning to rain, very lightly, which wasn’t bad, but the approaching skies were dark. There was a whole lot more to come. I could see that much.

Usually, a glutton for punishment, I would launch the boat and fight Mother Nature for a couple rounds, but this time, and it surprised me, I put the truck in gear and kept on driving. The gas tank was full. I would drive until I found clear skies.

Playing it by ear, and much by that old gut feeling, I thought things through as I drove. There were a few lakes that were of interest to me, but it was really coming down now. I’d have to pass them by.

Two lakes that offered good crappie fishing had to be crossed off the list because of heavy rain. I could see what was happening. I was slowly working my way to one of my favorite haunts, but really didn’t care to go there. I checked the lake out, a week prior, and struggled. Yes, it held nice fish, but they are sometimes hard to find.

Another deciding factor, for me, is the condition of the road. I would much prefer traveling on a paved road, all the way to the lake, especially when it was shortly after or during a rain fall. I hate mud, but sometimes you have to dive right in and go for it. If you see me pulling the boat and I’m covered with mud, from the front truck bumper to the outboard motor, you can bet it was a good fishing lake. I certainly wouldn’t get all dirty, by checking out a mediocre fishery.

Finally coming to a halt, I was now an hour from home, and was covered with mud. The rain had stopped but the road was terribly sloppy. A boat washing session would have to take place, once I got home.

The first hour had me scratching my head. Once again, I couldn’t find the big fish. Then it happened.
I latched onto a big, fat crappie and knew I had found their hiding place. It was “game on.” Most every cast found a nice fish.

The water was calm and when this situation presents itself, I like to use this method for boating a bunch of nice fish.
First off, some lakes have fish preferring certain colors, and that was the first thing I did, which happened at the boat launch. I tied on a Northland Tackle “Fire-Ball” jig in “Parrot” color, which is a combination of blue, chartreuse, and orange.

Also, the jig was heavier than most would use, weighing ¼ ounce. I like the big jig for making it easier to get down to bottom, along with the “splash down” feature. Cast that thing out (remember the calm lake) and let it make a nice splash upon entering the water. I feel the fish detect this and key in on the bait, as many times they’ll take it before the jig reaches bottom.

I’m not just winging it out there, as far as I can cast. It is somewhat of a pre-planned attack. If I am seeing a school of fish at 25’, I cast approximately that distance and let it pendulum back to the boat. This way, if they don’t strike on the drop, I’ll continue to hold the rod at that depth, right in their faces, until one bites. This works really well. All it takes it a little practice and you’ll see immediate results.

Another thing to consider is the minnow placement on your jig (if they’re not hitting plastics). Stick a minnow on, the conventional way, through the head, and your bait is somewhat streamlined. However, impale it through the body, sideways, and you now have a bait that makes a big splash, along with a slow, enticing fall. Deadly.

Placing the minnow in this manner also makes it easier to hook fish and there won’t be anymore “missing minnows.” Plastics can be configured in this manner as well. Hook them crooked, or sideways, and the fall will be much slower. Works for me!

It’s getting cool, bundle up, be safe, and have fun. ..." Read >> Greg's Guidelines October 2, 2018

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guidlines" September 25, 2018

Holy smokes! The water temperatures have dropped 5 degrees or more in the last few days and this means that fish are on the move. I’ve been waiting for this to happen, as it makes my favorite fall pastime, catching crappies, a whole lot easier.

I’ve fished a good deal (surprise, surprise), managing 22 outings in the past 30 days, but that’s what keeps me on top of the fish. It’s just something I love to do.

This season, however, I’ve kept with proven, good crappie fisheries that are of no surprise to me. Normally, I experiment a bit and try quite a few other lakes and that has my success rate dropping way down. Not this year, as I’m almost batting 100%.

One of the lakes, that I love to frequent, had the fish staging at 17’ last week. Now, with the minor cold snap, they have dropped down to 19’ range. I expect them to keep on moving to the wintering areas but for now, they’re bunched up pretty good and well on their way.

My last outing was fruitful but slow in catching. There were plenty of fish below me, but they can get tight-lipped from time-to-time, especially in the fall. This calls for a few adjustments to my presentations.

Fall crappie can be caught a multitude of ways but the top two, last week, had me going in this direction. My jig and minnow offering was sweetened up by adding a small piece of bright plastic to it. When they’re really banging, you can get by with large, gaudy baits, but this wasn’t the case.

I ended up adding a 3/8” piece of chartreuse plastic, which was butted up against the jighead. This left plenty of room to add a minnow. The attractive color was perfect for the stained-water lake I was fishing. If they were really snapping, I’d add the entire plastic, along with the minnow, if needed. Many times, live bait isn’t required, when they’re “on the bite.”

I recall, many years ago, sitting on top of a big school of huge crappies, during a snow storm, when all I needed to use was a ¼ ounce jig, tipped with a 3” twister tail. I could cast out, set the rod down, pour a cup of coffee, and watch the line as the lure fell to bottom. I would see a “twitch” in the line, put the cork back in the thermos, and set the hook. They wouldn’t let go. They were that hungry.

When things got a little tough, last week, I went to my “go to” bait, which is nothing more than a very small hair jig, which I also use quite a lot during the ice fishing season.

The jig, weighing in at 1/80 oz., was left dangling in front of the fish until one would suck it in. Now, the bait is simple, but the rest isn’t so easy, if you’re not used to using it.

First off, the jig is so light that extra weight is needed to get it down to the fish. I prefer using heavy weights (sinkers, “hanger rigs”, etc.). This way, you are fishing vertically, and can place the bait exactly where it needs to be. Drifting too fast can have you all over the place, either dragging bottom or somewhere up in no man’s land (no fishes land).

When it’s a subtle bite, one needs to pay attention to the rod tip, as you can’t feel them bite, especially when using monofilament line. That’s why I prefer using braided line, with a mono or fluorocarbon leader. A soft, wimpy rod, that’s detects the lightest of bites works best.

If it’s still a tough bite, add a waxworm or maggot (much like winter) and if there’s any negativity at all about this rig, it’s the fact the you’ll be catching a lot of smaller fish as well, but that’s okay. Just keep catching until that big girl latches onto it. It’s bound to happen.

Walleyes have been found all over the place, shallow, as well as deep. I’ve been catching deep fish, using lead core and crankbaits, as well as a jig and minnow. Shallow fish have been tricked into taking the jig and minnow.

Also, keep in mind that there are many outdoor activities taking place right now and one of them is waterfowl hunting. Please use a little common courtesy, when pulling up to a fishing spot and you see someone has already set up their decoys and are waiting for a few ducks to come by.

They were more-than-likely out there and set up in the dark, when you were still home and having coffee, or perhaps still in bed. This happened to me last weekend. Pulling up to one of my favorite fishing holes, I heard someone holler. Looking around, I couldn’t see where it was coming from, but finally noticed the hunters, and a nice spread of decoys, snuggled in the weeds. We waved to each other and off I went to my next best spot. I could care less, as I had the whole lake to fish. They, on the other hand, were sitting in a pre-determined spot for the remainder of the morning.

Good luck, be safe, and have fun.

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guidlines" September 17, 2018

Fall is slowly trying to creep into the fishing scene. Water temps have been remaining in the 66º range, putting my “go to” crappie fishing lakes on hold, for the most part. There are a few lakes producing panfish on a regular basis but most of them are just a tad too warm to get the fish moving to the deeper basins, where they are much easier to find.

I’ve been doing well on the walleyes, finding bigger, slot fish, in deeper water and “eaters” shallower, in 17’ or so. It all depends on what you’re looking for. I normally go for the bigger fish, not caring if I bring anything home. Many times, I head to the lake with no live bait at all. However, if I’m planning a fish fry, minnows will be brought along.

I can hardly wait for things to cool off, as the shallow walleye bite really takes off and most baits shops will have the larger minnows (fathead or rainbow chubs) that I prefer to use. As for now, the chub minnows are pretty darn small and best used when seeking larger crappies. A preferred water temp, for me, is around 57º. That’s when I’ve done very well on the walleyes with a jig and minnow.

(Image) Father and Son Fun. Casey Clusiau and father, Scott, enjoyed a day on the water last weekend.

By the looks of it, the bear season got underway with a bang (pun intended). There’s been a lot of successful bear hunters so far. That’s one thing I’ve never done and one that I’ll more-than-likely never partake in but that’s just me. I’m usually too busy fishing.

There’s plenty of bears out there. We just never see them, unless using trail cameras. Unlike deer, which are all over the place. I remember seeing three of them cross the road in front of me, one time, while traveling on the Scenic Highway. Now, that’s not unusual, but they were spaced out, about a mile apart from one another, and all heading east at the same time. Weird.

I’m curious as to how the grouse season has been so far. I know you usually don’t see them too often, until the leaves fall, but I’ve heard reports of them being way down. I do know that I’ve only seen a couple all summer and I’m always traveling the backroads.

I used to hunt them a lot, when younger. One time, as I was walking the trails in the Buck Lake area, I saw one sitting on the ground. Carefully stalking my way toward it, I was surprised it wouldn’t move. I eventually ended up, walking right up to the bird and found that it had landed on a sharp stick and was dead. It must have just happened, as it was a typical, cool, fall morning and the bird was still warm.

The whitetail archery season has gotten underway and that’s another thing I’ve never done. That darn fishing gets in the way. It would, however, be a great time for sitting in the woods, as it’s not cold out and you always have a chance at seeing plenty of deer. Of course, you don’t want it too warm, as the bugs would be miserable.

It’s “Take a Kid Hunting Weekend”, this weekend, the start of the waterfowl season. I used to love hunting ducks, when I was a kid. My cousin, Bob Palava, and I would go at every chance.

Most of our efforts took place on Buck Lake, where we positioned ourselves in Porky Bay. It was either here, or on the river, Day Brook, where there was plenty of rice and careless ducks. Bob was a much better hunter than I was, and always paid attention to detail. I recall him not being satisfied with the decoys appearance, so he painted them to his liking. Bob was a great artist.

One time, when hunting with “Big Dan”, another cousin, we were in Porky Bay when a small flock flew over. Both of us shot at the same time, in the exact same direction, causing the boat to almost tip over, taking in water. That was a close call for two young hunters with not a lot of experience.

Duck hunting is a lot of fun but can also be very dangerous at the same time. There’s always the danger of going for a swim in ice cold water. Please be careful out there.

We shot plenty of ducks but never a goose, as the only time we would see them, they would be flying high and heading south. Now, they’re all over the place. I think I might be able to get one now, if I didn’t fish so much.

Good luck, be careful, and have fun. Enjoy the Great Outdoors.

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guidlines" September 11, 2018

It’s that time of year again, for me anyway. Terry Wickstrom, my closest friend, is back in town for an annual visit for some fantastic fall fishing and a chance to touch base. Growing up in the Grand Rapids/Hibbing area, it’s always an opportunity for Terry to get back to his roots and enjoy the continual back-and-forth banter between us.

Terry’s been in the media limelight of the Rocky Mountains, ever since he made the move to the Denver area, many years ago. He’s retired, only recently, from his long-running television shows (Mt. States Fishing and Angling Adventures) but continues to write a weekly outdoors column for the Denver Post and has a Saturday morning radio show, Terry Wickstrom Outdoors, on 104.3 The Fan/ESPN. Many of his television shows can be found on the YouTube channel. Go to “The Best of Fishing with Terry Wickstrom.”

Last Saturday’s guest was legendary angler Al Lindner, who talked fishing for a half hour. I’m sure, as winter nears, I’ll be making a call to the station, as well, to talk ice fishing.

Wickstrom has a plethora of entertaining stories and I felt obligated to share a few of them with you.
Bismarck, ND – It was the late 90’s and the PWT walleye championship was being held there. Prior the event, Terry did a little pre-fishing with entrants Jim Randash and longtime friend Ron Seelhoff.

It was a difficult bite and Randash was having trouble in putting fish in the boat, along with most everyone else. Terry told him to concentrate on fish that were mixed with the baitfish, as they seemed to be the only biters.

Randash did so and ended up winning the championship. On stage, he told the crowd he had to “find the groceries” in order to locate biting fish. Jim went on to say “I’d like to thank Terry Wickstrom.”

With that being said, Seelhoff, the best troller in the business, gave Terry a dirty look, wondering why he didn’t help him. Terry said “you wouldn’t jig fish anyway.” Ron, who recently passed away, was the all-time money winner in the PWT tournaments and I highly doubt that he would have tried jig fishing. Terry was right.

Championship Fly Fishers – World famous fly fishermen, Lefty Kreh and Bob Closser (the Closser Minnow), were chatting when Bob asked Lefty “do you remember the first time we fly fished together? Remember what you asked me?”
“Yes” answered Lefty, I said “do you watch your back cast.” You said “no” and I replied “good, because I wouldn’t want to look at it either.”

UPS Up Early Angler – The local UPS driver was filling in Terry on a very good bite and it looked like another tv show in the works. The only problem was you had to be on the water by 5 am. Then it dawned on Terry, the fish bit all day but it was the only time the guy could fish before going to work.

Terry’s wife, Karen Kullhem Wickstrom, pretty much runs the show and does a lot of planning, involving setting up tv shoots and radio guests. She also did all the filming and editing of the television shows.

One time, while flying to location in Canada, she looked over and saw the pilot had fallen asleep! We always tease Terry, saying that all he needs to do is show up, catch fish, and then leave. He agrees.

Another trip found Karen sleeping alone in Canada, in a tent, but all was okay because she had a whistle and some bear pepper spray. Terry commented “that’s just a dinner bell and seasoning.”

Nunavut, Canada (near the Arctic Circle) – Karen was lying down, taking some great footage of a musk ox, at close range, when the guide said, “be ready to run, in case it charges.”

Wyoming Shoot – In order to get the best possible angle for filming, Karen was situated high above a small lake, set up on a ledge, when she noticed there were three large rattlesnakes behind her. Terry told her to “back away”, which wasn’t very well received, as she had nowhere to go, other than jump off a cliff into the water. Terry ended up beaching the float tube and driving all the way around to chase them away.

I recall doing a show with Karen in SE Minnesota, on the Root River. The fishing is great, but it is one of the few places in Minnesota that harbors rattlesnakes. We’re not quite sure what it was, but while filming, she could hear the tall grass moving behind her.

I don’t like snakes, never did and can’t imagine being along on the shoot that took place on the Snake River, between Oregon and Idaho, also called Hell’s Canyon. They had to have someone walk in front of them with a stick, to move the snakes out of the way.

Notable Quotes – Terry and I talk fondly of our Uncle Eino, who was a professional trapper in the early years and a great outdoorsman. Eino told of the time he was trapping beaver, when a large black bear wanted his catch. Walking backwards, keeping his eyes on the bear, he skinned the entire beaver and tossed the carcass to the hungry bruin.

One of Eino’s jokes was “do you walk to work or carry a lunch?” Yes, he thought funny.

Terry Wickstrom - “Anyone that tells me they catch fish every time is probably lying about everything else too.” Enjoy the Outdoors!

September 11, 2018 "MARATHON MAN ON A MISSION" Kolodzinski, Guinness World Record Holder Attempts To Break His Own Record Today

Canton, Ill. — Jeff Kolodzinski is a man on a mission — a Marathon Man out to break a record he already holds. On September 11 and 12, 2018, at Giant Goose Ranch in Canton, Illinois, he will attempt to catch more than 2,143 fish on hook and line to break his own world record set in 2011.

But Kolodzinski is not doing it for a spot in the record books. He’s doing it to introduce people and families to fishing and to increase awareness and financial support for the Fishing For Life, a non-profit, tax exempt charitable organization whose Next GEN program finds mentors for children of families in need.

A special focus within the program, serves families of our veterans who have lost loved ones while serving our nation. It’s important to me to remember those who have sacrificed for our nation and 9/11 is a day that we can honor those who have given all and shine a light on those still serving.

"Not only is Kolodzinski the current world record holder for fish caught in a 24-hour period, but he also represented the United States seven times in international competition at the World Championship of ..." Learn More and Watch Live Video Feed >> Kolodzinski, Guinness World Record Holder Attempts To Break His Own Record

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guidlines" September 4, 2018

It’s transition time and I’m liking it! All species, fish as well as game, are making their fall moves and for those that love the outdoors, it’s productive and exciting. Of course, the old saying “fall fishing is feast or famine” pretty much holds true, as there are days when it’s almost too easy to catch a bunch of fish, while the next day could offer a complete reversal of fortunes.

I’ve boated a few nice northern pike, recently, which tells me the water temps are dropping. Normally, you don’t see a lot of big fish during the warm months of summer but as it cools down, here they come and there’s good reason. They’re just following the “lunch wagon” around.

Spawning in mind, ciscoes (aka tullibees) venture closer to shore and shallower waters and top-of-the-line predators are usually not too far behind them. Larger northern pike and walleyes are chasing them around all season but much of it takes place in the main-lake basin areas.

How many have seen large flocks of loons and seagulls, diving and feeding heavily, out in the middle of the lake? They’re there for a reason and normally it’s smaller baitfish, but I’ve investigated this phenomenon several times and on a couple of occasions have found a few dead ciscoes laying on the surface. This is out in the middle of nowhere, in 45-50’ of water.

Upon close inspection of the ciscoes, I noticed they had large gashes in them, or bite marks.
This prompted me to try my hand at some deep, open water fishing, which resulted in only a couple of fish, but one of them was a solid 10 pound walleye. Another hit so hard, I had a line broken. Exciting for sure, but this can be awfully hard to figure out.

How far down are the baitfish? They scatter, as you approach, so you rarely see any on the graph, if they are “up high.” However, using a graph with a side imaging feature will allow you to see just how far away the clouds of bait are. Then you need to figure out just what type of lure it’ll take to catch these big fish. I picked out something that resembled a cisco, being white/silver and about 8” long (I’ve caught these suspended fish on crankbaits measuring 5-8”).

How much line to let out is another factor, depending on the lure being used. Something else to consider is the use of planer boards (we were using boards when we had one break our line. A big fish indeed). I’ve even had success using lead core line, trolling a small crankbait. It takes a lot of practice and experimenting to get this presentation down pat. It’s not easy by any means.
But for now, I’m focusing my efforts on the heavy weed lines, now that big fish are coming up shallow.

One way to tell if there are any big fish present is to try trolling smaller lures (spoons, rattle-baits, etc.) over and alongside the weeds for the typical, little northern pike that are there all summer. They’re usually a dime-a-dozen and provide non-stop action.

However, when the big fish move in, these little guys hightail it and are nowhere to be found. I’m not sure where they go, if it’s deep into the weeds or where, but they certainly aren’t where the big girls are. So, with that in mind, if trolling or casting the weed lines isn’t producing anything at all, keep at it. It’s just a matter of time.

Transition time also means that walleyes will be putting on the feedbag and looking for that jig and minnow. This is one of my favorite methods for fall walleyes, as they usually bite well and going home with a nice limit is almost a “gimmee.”

Crappie and bluegills are bunching up as well, and many of the local anglers are doing pretty good. If you’re struggling at catching some of these fall panfish, you may want to try another lake, or several of them. Once found, it’s way too easy, but you need to keep looking until that school is found.

Until you figure out just what the panfish want, bring along the entire arsenal, as it may change from day-to-day. Some days, crappie prefer minnows, and the next day it would be plastics. Be prepared to have fun. It’s all happening NOW.

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guidlines" August 28, 2018

"My first fall crappie outing is in the books and it was a good one. Yes, I know, it’s not really fall yet, but this one particular lake is usually the first to have panfish frequenting the deeper water and it performed right on schedule. I’ve been fishing this lake, in the fall, for 30 years now and kind of had an inkling that it would be good to go.

Glancing through my “fall crappie fishing” log, it shows that Lake X produces nice deep-water slabs during the latter days of August and continues to do so right up until first ice. It was spot on and I wish I had started keeping this journal decades ago.

This time, they wouldn’t touch plastics, preferring a jig/minnow presentation instead. It’s odd, how this plays out. The next time I head that direction, they might jump all over a jig/plastic. One never knows so it’s always good planning to bring a bucket of crappie minnows along.

Checking out another local lake, I found a nice school of bluegills, located just off a deep weed line in 14’ of water. A good-sized school, they bit well. This is always fun, even when mixing in a bunch of small fish. Again, plastics didn’t produce. It was a piece of nightcrawler that got them going. It was a regular feeding frenzy down there. Find a bunch of fish and the competition is usually fierce.

Releasing some big fish, and several smaller, I kept five. I had just received a new fish scaler and wanted to give it a try. I haven’t scaled a fish in well over 30 years but thinking of the “good old days” got me wanting to try it again. That’s the way we all cleaned fish, back then, as filleting wasn’t even heard of.

Well, I found out one thing, and that is I’m much better at filleting a fish than scaling one. Who would have thought that? Scaling is so much easier to do. At least I thought it would be.

A small “work station” was set up in the backyard, complete with a garden hose to clean things up. The makeshift table, waist high, was perfect.

The scaler, a new product called the “Super Scaler”, worked to perfection and was actually fun to use. It certainly brought back a flood of memories. Heads, tails, and fins were cut off and things were looking pretty good. The fish, however, were a little slippery to hang on to and that had me a little nervous, when using a razor-sharp knife to cut out the fins. One slip and that would be it. I’m positive, I was better at it, many years ago.

I recall, back then, I would sometimes scale them outside, if the flies weren’t too bad. Such was the case last weekend. The weather was cool enough to keep insects at bay. As a matter-of-fact, I do most of my fall fish cleaning outside. It’s just a whole lot easier, when it comes to cleanup.

I also recall my warm weather scaling, that used to take place inside the house. You know how messy scaling can be? Well, to remedy this, I would fill the kitchen sink and scale them under water. This would keep the scales from flying all over the kitchen and everybody happy.

I made a post on Facebook, asking how many still scale fish and was really surprised at the results, as there are a lot of anglers that still do so. Actually, many prefer this method over filleting because of the great taste of pan-fried sunfish, skin, fins, and all.

I received comments like: “the best”, “the only way”, “gills taste great scaled”, etc. Some prefer leaving the fins on, as well. I remember doing this. And, of course, there are some that didn’t prefer to go this route, saying “all skin comes off in this house.”

Of course, there’s that “regional’ thing. While scaling may be preferred for some ocean fish (redfish, red snapper, etc.), it is also preferred by many for the midwestern states sunfish.

To each their own, but I was pleasantly surprised at how many “scalers” we have out there. Another thing, some were disappointed in the taste of their crappies, when prepared in this method for the frying pan. Most agree that crappies aren’t as good, when cooked this way, but bluegills are superior. I’d have to agree.

For more information on the Super Scaler, go to superscaler.com 08-28-18

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guidlines" August 21, 2018

"My goodness. What a fabulous walleye fishery Lake of the Woods is. I hardly ever get up there, but after last week, I think I’m going to have to make a few more trips this season. Wow. Four long days on this special big water is certain to leave lasting memories.

The AIM Pro Walleye Series state championship was held last Friday and Saturday and AIM captain/organizer Denny Fox couldn’t have picked a better lake.

Tournament partner Andy Walsh and I headed up early last Wednesday morning. I knew it would be a grind of a day, getting up and leaving Keewatin by 3 am, but it needed to be done. Only two precious pre-fishing practice days awaited us. We had to find big fish.

If there’s any problem at all in driving up that early, it’s the “deer thing.” Yes, we saw our share, but thankfully they stayed put on the side of the road.

Although we arrived early and got to fishing right away, we didn’t catch our first fish until 9:30 am. Yes, there’s a ton of walleyes in Lake of the Woods, but you’re also dealing with thousands of acres of water. As a matter-of-fact, the big lake, counting Canada’s portion, covers over 1,000,000 acres. However, once a fish is caught, you can pretty well bet there are a lot more waiting for you.

Fishing deep basin, mud areas, we concentrated on the 32-34’ areas. Fish roam in huge schools and there’s many a time that you’ll be able to find a big school and have it all to yourself.

That happened to Andy and me a couple years ago, while pre-fishing. On the day before the tournament, we found a bunch of nice fish, out in the middle of nowhere, and no one else was fishing there. However, on the next day, they had vanished. That’s one of the problems when dealing with big water.

Although Andy’s boat is set up with down-riggers, I used lead core, while Andy rigged. There were times when we’d out-fish one another because of the depth fished and lure selection. That’s what pre-fishing is all about, trying to find that hot pattern.

A good number of fish were caught, with the biggest being a fat 28”er, taken by Andy on a big Salmo. We knew it would take five big fish, like this, to win. One or two wouldn’t cut it.

Day two of practice had us catching and recording 33 pounds, which was okay but still not enough to be a threat. The AIM Pro Walleye Series has a “catch-photo-record-release” format and no fish are ever put in the livewell. They are quickly measured, photographed, and released back into the lake.

For the last three seasons, we each have our own duties, when a fish is caught. Andy does the measuring and holding of the fish, while I do the photography work. It wouldn’t matter if I had just caught a 10 pounder. Andy gets the glory of holding a fish the photo. It’s just the way it is. By doing this, we are far less likely to make any mistakes, as the fish could be disqualified. We’ve been okay so far.

Throughout our two days of practice, we tossed our most productive baits into a special tackle box I call the “hot box.”. These are the baits that produced the best during practice and the ones we would concentrate on using during the event. There’s just a lot less digging around this way. Andy’s best lures were a variety of Salmos, with blue/silver being good. Mine was a chartreuse/orange (“green crackle orange”) jerkbait made by Baker Lures (KMDA in Bovey).

On a side note, we had more than enough crankbaits to go around, as I brought along 325 of them and I know Andy had at least that many already in the boat. Can you have too many?

On the first day of the tournament, we boated 16 miles out and started catching fish. It’s a bit of a ride, especially when choppy.

It didn’t take long to put a 7 pounder in the boat. We followed up with a 7.63 pound fish and then a 6.55. We were catching some very nice fish but couldn’t improve on our smallest, a 6.34 pounder, and finished the day registering our top five fish for just under 36 pounds. That’s not bad when considering it’s a little over a 7 pound average. Yes, there’s plenty of big fish in these waters.

Day two started out a little on the slow side but eventually Andy tagged a big fish that weighed over 10 pounds. I caught a 7 pounder and lost a big fish right at the boat. We caught a lot of fish on this day but couldn’t find any other big ones and had to register three in the 4 pound range, for a total weight of 29.28 pounds.

For someone out just relaxing and enjoying a day on the water, that would have been pretty darn good, but we knew it wasn’t much when compared to some of the other angler’s success. We ended up placing 32nd out of 56 teams and weighed in ten fish for 65.11 pounds.

The winners, Tyler Wolden and Nate Leininger, weighed in a whopping 91.25 pounds, good for the state championship crown and $9,000. Rounding out the top five teams are 2nd – Longtine/Anderson 88.65 pounds, 3rd – Kriese/Klimmek 86.52 pounds, 4th – Grothe/Grothe 86.29 pounds, and 5th – Topper/Hasse 85.20 pounds. Congratulations to all.

Good luck, be safe, and by all means, have fun. Oh, and you just may want to run up to Lake of the Woods for a day or two ..." Read >> Greg's Guidelines August 21, 2018

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guidlines" August 14, 2018 "Trout Timeline"

3:30 am – The alarm was set but it didn’t need to be, as I woke up well before it was set to go off, a little after 2:00 am. Yeah, I do things like that. It’s amazing. Years ago, an alarm was always set. Especially for important days, like the deer or fishing opener. Now? I just go to bed and know full well that I’ll be up in plenty of time. Never need to worry about over-sleeping. Today was important too. I was joining friends for a day of charter fishing on Lake Superior with captain Lorin LeMire of “Fish of the Gitch.”

4:00 am – Mike Walsh, from Buck Lake, arrives right on time to pick me up. I’ll go darn near anywhere, long as I don’t have to drive.

5:45 am – We arrive and cross the Aerial Lift Bridge. The harbor is just a few blocks more and where Lorin rents a slip for his 28’ Grady White. There’s a lot of big boats here and I always get a kick of the cool names, written on the back of most of them. That’s almost worth the trip right there. Also joining us, is Andy Walsh and his mother, Mary, Mike’s wife. They made the trip from Brainerd.

6:15 am – Calm seas and destination is reached. It doesn’t take too long with two 200 hp outboards. Hazy out, the sun is blood red, which is beautiful but shows the makings of a hot day ahead.

6:30 am – Mary reels in the first fish, a small lake trout that hit while lines were being set. We’re allowed ten lines today, two for each on board. Lorin had a recent trip that had fourteen lines out and every one of them caught a fish. That’s quite unusual. The fish must have really been hungry on that day. You just never know.

6:55 am – Mary boats another lake trout. This one has her plum tuckered out by the time she gets through reeling in over 500’ of line. It wouldn’t be so bad but there was a large planer board on the line and an 8 oz. snap weight further down. That’s a lot of weight, when you consider a nice trout on the back end of everything. She was worn out, but I couldn’t help but laugh. Sorry Mary.

7:15 am – Lorin sets out his newest invention, a “planer board cam”, which is a super-sized homemade planer board with a GoPro camera mounted and facing the direction of the boat. Some pretty cool footage can be captured in this manner. Some adjustments needed to be made but it’s going to work out very well.

7:58 am - Lost one. Boards are set in a line so any time one is pulled back and not in sync with the others, it means you have a fish on the end of it. Small fish will do this, but big fish may sink the entire board. Now that’s exciting.

8:20 am – False bite. A piece of drift wood hung up on the line and it certainly got our blood pumping for a bit. Yes, it’s a big lake, but you still need to keep a keen eye for floating debris, here and there. LeMire hit a section of dock a few years back. Outcome not good.

10:20 am – A hit! This one got off right away, but it was a good sign, as we had gone over two hours without a strike. The largest freshwater lake in the world, sometimes it takes a little time to put a program together. Don’t panic. Just keep on trolling, looking for varied water temperatures, mudlines, etc.

Black flies were biting very well and were quite the nuisance for the entire day. I told Lorin “that’s the sign of a good fisherman.” If there wasn’t any fish slime, blood, etc. in the boat, there might not be any flies, but they were there, and they were thick. A good sign?

10:30 am - Mary reels in a beautiful King Salmon (yes, we’re courteous gentlemen and let her reel in the first three). They fight like the dickens and you know immediately when one has taken the bait, as they don’t come in easy. This one, which turned out to be the biggest of the trip, weighed in the eight pound range. Good eating!

11:30 am – It was Mike’s turn and another salmon was boated. Small but great eating none-the-less. Andy mentioned that the “Best Fishing Times”, according to the Solunar Calendar, would be from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm on this day. We’d see. I usually never pay any attention to that stuff, but it’s a documented fact that 90% of the world records are caught during a 5-day period on either side of a full or new moon so….

11:58 am – Mike cranks in another salmon and it’s better sized this time.

12:07 pm – Mike gets a lake trout this time. Things are heating up. Maybe there’s something to that best fishing table. Andy and I were just sitting back and letting his parents catch the fish, as we will be heading to Lake of the Woods this weekend for the AIM Pro Walleye Series Championship. I think we’ll be reeling in more than our fair share of fish then. At least I hope so.

12:31 pm – Mary boats another lake trout.

12:48 pm – Mary gets another laker. It’s getting fun! Well, actually, when I think about it, it was fun all day long, even when we had a case of “the lulls.”

1:36 pm – Andy grabs a rod and reels in a lake trout. I don’t think he could take it any longer. The bully!

1:48 pm – Mike reels in a nice lake trout. We decided to fish for another half-hour or so before calling it a day. Things went well. We caught a bunch of fish, had a few laughs, and it was just a great fun-filled day in general. It’s what we live for.

2:25 pm – Reeling in all the lines and putting them away for the next trip, I catch an accidental lake trout. What’s that saying? “Good things come to those that wait?” Things couldn’t have worked out better. It was a great trip with great friends. It really doesn’t get any better than that.

Good luck on the water, be safe, and always have fun!

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guidlines" August 7, 2018

Whoa! Where did the summer disappear to? Well, it's not gone yet but it's certainly picking up a head of steam and it won't be long before that wonderful fall fishing begins, my favorite time of the year. I wish it would last for 3-4 months.

As of late, I've been chasing practically all species, most everything except muskies. It's hard for me to get in the "musky mode", after several years of fishing hard for them. Famous for being "the fish of 10,000 casts", it probably took me more than that before I finally caught one.

My good buddy from Deer River, Brian Griffith, taught me the ropes and I couldn't have asked for a better teacher, as he made catching these elusive creatures look easy. It wasn't. Not for me, anyway. As a matter of fact, it took me more than a year before I connected. However, after the first one, the rest came easy, sort of. I honestly think it's more mental than anything, very strange.

During the first summer of musky hunting, and that's exactly what it was, Brian would usually catch one or two on most every outing. Me? Nothing.

It got to the point where he'd give me the best bait in the boat, along with the best spots to cast. Nothing. Oh, it was a long summer of discontent.

We fished popular waters like Leech Lake, Deer, Moose, Little Winnie, and Little Wolf just to name a few.

I came close a couple of times but it didn't happen during that first summer.

The following year, out of desperation, I made a trip to Elk Lake at Itasca State Park. At this stage of the game, I was no musky purist. I was going to catch one by any means and do whatever it took and I didn't care how. So, with that mindset, I didn't hesitate one bit to add a nice sized sucker minnow to the back of a large tandem spinnerbait. And then it happened! What a relief. The "musky monkey" was off my back.

It wasn't big but was a beautiful little seven pound fish that made my day. Actually, it probably made my whole musky career and as I stated earlier, the rest came easy. After that, I caught quite a few muskies and even fished the pro circuit one summer with Brian. However, musky fishing being what it is, there's always a mishap or two that can and will happen, especially to a novice.

One time, on Little Wolf, we could see fish actively feeding, so we eased up into position and began using surface baits and then it happened. A true monster had it's sight on my Hawg Wobbler. Slowly working the bait, I could see a huge wake closing in on my lure (I would have been better off if I didn't see anything at all). The next thing I saw was an enormous mouth, opening up and sucking in the bait. And then I messed up. Big time.

Seeing all of this taking place, as soon as the fish closed it's mouth (at least I thought it did), I reared back and set the hooks as hard as I could, only to have the lure come flying back at me at 100 mph. I pulled the lure away before the fish could crunch down on it. I couldn't believe it. Neither could Brian. Being an experienced slop-bass fisherman, I should have known better. You have to wait until you feel something on the end of the line before you "cross their eyes." This would have been my first big fish.

Then there was the time, when I finally did hook a big fish, and Brian didn't grab the net right away. He found his camera instead and told me to keep it next to the boat so he could get a picture. Seconds later, the big fish shook the bait and was happily swimming back to the weeds, a deflating moment, for sure. Again, it would have been my first big one.

One of my largest fish was taken while fishing with Brian on Leech Lake. It was rougher than heck out there and hard to stand up in the boat. My back was getting sore so I thought I'd take it easy for a bit. I tied on a surface bait (always a favorite presentation for me) and sat down in the boat seat to rest.

Now, all I had to do was cast out and slowly work the bait back to the boat, nice and easy. All was going smoothly, until a big fish came crashing through the whitecaps and darn near pulled me out of the seat (the reel drag, ala "Greg style", was screwed down tight). The fight was on!

Running around the boat, trying to tame the beast, I almost fell in. Finally, it was netted, a picture taken, and the fish released. For the photo, I had to kneel down and hold the fish to the floor, not a good picture but it was too rough to stand up. The musky measured 48" and was in the 30 pound range, which was a pretty good fish back then. Nowadays, they're practically "a dime a dozen."

I caught another big fish, of the same size, while fishing on Moose Lake, which eventually turned out to be my favorite lake. Fishing alone, I made one very long cast and felt something hit my Mepps "Giant Killer". Setting the hook, I was surprised at the heaviness of the fish and eventually got it into the net and in the boat.

Again, with another poor photo. Seeing how there was no one to take the photo, and this was before cell phone days, I laid the fish on the floor and snapped a quick picture before releasing it (I've never killed a musky and have released all). With nothing to compare it to, it's a lousy photo and is very hard to tell it's size. I did capture the beautiful spotted colors though.

After writing this article, I got that old blood pumping and just may have to blow the dust off that antiquated musky tackle and give it another try. It sounds like fun!

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guidlines" July 31, 2018

"Half asleep, sitting in my recliner, I was a little surprised, when my youngest brother, Scott, came walking into the living room, late Friday evening. I told him "I never even heard you come in." It was at that point that Lily, my faithful watch dog, woke up and began to bark. She's a fat lot of help.

Scott asked "do you want to fish the Blue Lake Northern Pike Tournament tomorrow?" Nothing at all penciled in, it sounded like a good time so plans were made.

I hadn't fished out there at all this year, but thought it shouldn't be too hard to catch a few fish. You normally can't go more than a few yards before a northern would be on the end of your line.

I recalled the last time I fished a Blue Lake event like this, many years ago, with Greg Heyblom. We ended up winning the northern pike division by flipping bass jigs into cabbage weeds. The hardest thing here was the fact that there wasn't a whole lot of places where cabbage could be found. It's an odd lake, actually a flooded reservoir, with standing and submerged timber all over the place. One has to be careful out there.

Back then, I was bass fishing and got bit off by pike more than a few times, so with that in mind, I rigged up a few weedless jigs, fastened to my line with very thin homemade wire leaders. It worked well and we won. This event, however, would be quite different.

On a side note, I remember Heyblom and I hurried back to Nashwauk because I wanted to fish another little event on Shallow Lake, near Warba, which just happened to be on the same day, but started at a later time. Marilyn, who would be my partner, was ready, hopped in the truck, and off we went. We barely made it there, in time, but ended up winning in the walleye division. That's the only time I have ever fished two events in the same day and to have placed in both of them was quite a thrill. That doesn't happen very often, if at all.

The Blue Lake Northern Pike event, organized by Pete Patterson, has been going on for many years and is a fun time, with many local anglers teaming up and giving it a try. There's some pretty good anglers to compete with but the bottom line is fun and there's plenty of it to go around.

This year, there were 34 boats entered, so when it came time to put the boat in, parking places were limited. Making my way down the shoreline, I bumped into that little rock pile but didn't hurt the motor. I forgot about that thing. That was the first time.

There's a million places to fish out there, especially if your adventurous. The take off had boats scurrying off in all directions. It was interesting to see where everyone was going.

Our goal was to bring in three northern pike, over 26". How hard could that be?

We tried a little trolling to start things off and nothing. The next move had us pitching jigs up and into the timber. Again, nothing. Casting spoons didn't work either? That was a surprising start.

Working several different areas, we finally caught some fish but they were largemouth bass. Oh, and then there was the big dogfish that felt like a nice pike.

Getting back into some of these little areas can be tricky and I bumped into sunken wood a couple of times. I hate when that happens.

Pitching jigs into the same area that Heyblom and I fished, had us seeing a nice northern, in the 7-8 pound range, along with another nice fish. First, it bumped Scott's bait, and then quickly turned around and hit mine before disappearing. Strange. They sure weren't in a feeding mood.

Heading further back, toward the end of the lake, had me hitting wood a couple more times.

We finally caught a northern pike, but it turned out to be only a 23"er, and the only one we would catch all day. We did have a couple others get off by the boat.

On two occasions, I had a heavy fish on, which took drag, but they both got off. That was on the jig, while fishing fairly deep. Who knows? They could have been big bass or dogfish. Or maybe a walleye, as there are some real horses in there. I've caught them up to 7 pound by casting spinnerbaits for bass.

Anglers that had been doing a little pre-fishing said it had been real slow out there and it certainly was for us. Many were casting big musky-type baits and some were using minnows. We didn't bring any bait along but will have a nice bunch of sucker minnows, when fishing it next year.

And it doesn't matter how slow it is. Someone's always going to catch a fish or two.

Big fish specialists, musky maniacs, Chad and Gary Rutherford took top honors with their three fish tipping the scale at 16.37 pounds. Second place went to Jim Nordmark and Andy Campeau, who weighed in 12.86 pounds. Third place went to John Martire and Michelle Nelson with 12.82 pounds.

The awards presentation and drawing for several prizes, was held at the public access, along with a free lunch and beverage. It's a fun event that you may want to give a try next year.

Good luck, be safe, and always have fun. Oh, and you may want to watch out for dead-heads.

..." Read >> Greg's Guidelines July 31, 2018

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guidlines" July 24, 2018

A few recent crappie outings reminded me of why I like to fish for these critters and there are several reasons to do so.
First off, living where we do, in Itasca county, land of 1,000 lakes, the opportunities are almost endless, as practically every lake has a panfish population, with some good and some not so good.

Secondly, the crappie usually provides great action. Find one and you’ve pretty much found them all, so to speak. Willing biters, it’s the perfect species to get children involved in the sport.

Thirdly, they are some of the best eating fish and there are plenty of them to be had. If I’m keeping a few to take home, I prefer them to be at least 10” in length but sometimes you end up on a lake that offers oodles of smaller fish and have to make a slight adjustment in your standards. I guess it all depends on how hungry you are for a fresh fish dinner. I’ve been there.

I prefer to go out late in the day and stay until almost dark. The time frame of 6-9 pm is usually the best bet for the lakes I frequent.
Getting there a little early, like 5:30 pm, usually offers slower fishing, but this is an excellent time to locate fish. If you can catch a few at this time, rest assured, it’s only going to get better later. Just hang in there and wait them out. It’ll happen.

A solid game plan for an all-day crappie outing, would be to fish a clearer lake, early and late, with a stained water lake sandwiched in the middle. Yes, it takes a little lake hopping but by doing this, you have a decent chance at catching crappies all day long, from dark til dark.

Do a little pre-planning, check out a map, consider the water clarities, and go for it. There’s usually another decent lake with 10-15 minutes of your first selection. It’s not that hard.

I usually don’t fish clear water crappies real early in the morning, as a visit to the same fishery at dusk is usually more than enough. Normally, a 2-3 hour stint, toward evening, results in 50 fish or more, depending on the amount of anglers in the boat.

A bonus, in fishing a clear water lake, is the fact that crappies tend to bunch up more than they would in a stained water lake and that makes the catching a whole lot easier. Stained lakes often have the crappie more spread out.

Presentations vary too, depending on the water clarity. I prefer a more-finesse approach when fishing clear water, going with smaller lures, like little tube jigs. They’ll see it. Trust me.

Stained water, however, has me getting a little gawdy, using larger, brighter, and noisier baits, like jig spins and larger plastics. You’re sort of “ringing the dinner bell” here. Using minnows works well too, as you have that scent thing going for you.

The same rods and reels are used. It’s just the offering on the end of the line, 4# Berkley XL, that matters.
Sometimes, if I arrive at the lake a wee bit too early, I’ll try for other species and many times that would be a largemouth bass. The reason for this is that I love to use a jig-worm for bass, as it provides a lot of action.

Slowly moving along a weedline, casting a 4” worm, can often locate panfish too. You’ll feel the “pecking” and many times the worm’s tail will be chewed off. Keep on fishing but remember where the little nibblers were. Or you could just drop the bass gear and get to panfishing. Works for me.

Good luck, be safe, and have fun.

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guidlines" July 17, 2018

Ouch! You know those little, slicing cuts you can get from mishandling braided line? I’ve got one, again, and only because I was trying to take it easy on a big smallmouth bass. Not wanting to use a landing net on it, I felt it was best to “water release” it, as I do with many of my fish. After all, they’ve been through enough already. There’s no need to make it worse by having them thrashing around in a net, removing slime, etc.

Reaching over the side of the boat, I was trying to remove a treble hook, holding the line in my left hand. It was at this point that the bass decided to make one more powerful run. The fish’s attempt at a quick getaway had the line running across my finger, fast enough to cut a groove in it.

Blood immediately appeared, along with the pain. I knew better but took that chance, like I usually do. This time the fish got even. A tip of the hat to you Mrs. Smallmouth!

I always carry a little bottle of liquid bandage and it’s been used more than a few times for incidents like this. If there’s any problem at all with using it, it’s the fact that applying it hurts more than the cut itself, as it’s an antiseptic and really stings. It does, however, seal the wound and your back in the game within minutes. I hate when this happens.

Trying to “fish around the weather”, because it was so darned hot, had me putting in my regular early morning stints before it got too uncomfortable. Getting out on the water super-early is fine but when the sun makes an appearance, the low rays are reflected right into your face. This has me keeping my back to the sun, which sometimes changes my plan of attack. Many times, I’ll fish a different shoreline, depending on the style of fishing.

Having had two bouts with skin cancer, I’m usually covered up pretty good, full-brimmed hat and all. A buff is often worn, which protects my neck, but it does get a little warm at times. I’ll slip this thing on, when I get too lazy to apply sun block.
I make regular, 6-9 month, visits with a dermatologist, to get checked over. This is when any damaged skin is taken care of, via liquid nitrogen, and here’s another thing that stings.

I’ve mentioned this before but will do so again, as it bears repeating. My dermatologist recommended sunscreen to use is Neutrogena 100+ (UltraSheer Dry-Touch). Now this high number may have you thinking that it’s as thick as lard, but this stuff goes on really nice and smooth and is very easy to apply.

Just trying to keep you in the game. Oh yeah, wear shades too.

My latest early-morning adventure had me trying for crappies. Normally, I’ll go toward evening, when fish become more active and are frequenting the weed lines. Fishing, as well as catching, becomes easy at this time. Fishing legend Dave Genz once told me “everyone becomes a better angler when the sun hits the trees.” There is so much truth to that statement.

But here I was at first light. Where would the crappies be? I started out by using the smallest, 1/32 oz., “Thumper Crappie King”, made by Northland Tackle. This little bait has it all, featuring a lifelike minnow head, thumping belly blade, and Double-Curl Screwtail. All I needed to do was make a long cast behind the boat and slowly troll the weed edges.

The first pass resulted in nothing, so another was made with a larger, heavier bait. Once again, using a “Thumper Crappie King”, only in the 1/16 oz. size, another pass was made. This time, I would be getting the lure down a little deeper, in my quest to find some panfish. Aha! I had a strike. It was a crappie but smaller in size, which didn’t really matter, as at least I had found them.

Working the area over pretty good didn’t produce any more fish. Looking a little deeper, I found them laying on bottom in 12’ of water. The one I happened to catch must have been hungry and made a run to the “store” for a snack.

I went on to catch and release over a dozen fish, before moving on to something else. Fish were caught but it wasn’t at all easy. They would grab the bait and drop it almost immediately. I went with my “go to” for this lake and it’s something you may want to try on your next crappie outing and that is to use a 1/16 oz. jighead, preferably orange in color, tipped with a 1 ½” piece of nightcrawler.

Thread it onto the hook, leaving just enough out there for them to grab. It’s a great persuader, when the fishing gets tough. Crawlers aren’t just for sunfish. Crappies eat them up too. Give it a try. Good luck, be safe, and have fun.

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guidlines" July 10, 2018

I’ve been using plastics for many years now and got into it, basically, out of necessity. Decades ago, Marilyn and I were fishing in Ontario, catching walleye and crappie, when we ran out of minnows. What to do next?

Looking through the tackle box, I came across some baits that had just come out. I never had a chance to try them, but now looked to be the time. What would we have to lose? If they didn’t work, we’d just head back to camp with an already pretty good catch.

We threaded on Berkley’s new “twister-style” Power Baits and got to fishing. Trolling the little 2” off-white colored plastics, along a weed line, surprised us both. We were now catching fish at a faster pace than when using minnows. Confidence was gained.

Back home, I ran out to Swan Lake and used the same method, catching three walleyes in the first seven minutes. The rest is history.

Yes, plastics can work and very well at that and we now have a plethora of them to pick from. Here are some of my favorite types of plastics, used for some of our favorite fish.

Crappies – Probably the easiest for anyone to use is a small “twister-type” tail. I started off using a generic 1 ½” tail and bought them in bulk. I had four bags of 1,000 in red, chartreuse, glow/white, and brown and still have a few of them left. They are still used to this day. I prefer using a solid tail, over tubes, because of durability and ease of changing baits.

Old George, a regular guide client of mine, once caught 82 crappies in two hours of trolling twister tails. Needless-to-say, I was busy.
All you have to do is cast out behind the boat and slowly troll the weed lines toward dusk. Works every time.

Bass – I’ll never forget the first time I tried the old 6” grape Producto worm on Buck Lake. It was like magic. I never caught so many nice fish in such short order.

Nowadays, we have a huge selection of bass worms. Some of my favorites are Berkley’s 4” and 6” “Power Worm” in “Blue Fleck” color. It’s really hard to beat this color. The 4” is used when I’m jig worming, which I do a lot, as it normally provides a lot of action. Another great Berkley worm, for me, is the 4” “Rib Worm” in “Firecracker/Chartreuse” color.

Berkley’s new “Max Scent” also works very well. This is sort of a hybrid, a cross between “Gulp” and “Power Bait”. Terry Wickstrom and I tested these baits out last year with great results.

Northland Tackle makes a couple baits that are always used on my bass outings. For my jig worming, I’ll use the Impulse 3 ½” “Jig Crawler” in “Baby Bass” color and the 4” “Ringworm” in “Firecracker” and “Cranberry Blue”.

I’ve recently added, yet, another worm to my arsenal and tested this one out last weekend. It’s a 5” “Sick Stick” made by Power Team Lures, who specializes in bass baits. Fished ala “senko style”, I use a weedless hook called the “Jacked Wacker”, also made by Power Team. Stick the hook in the middle of the soft stick bait and cast it out.

The slow falling presentation works wonders. I caught some very nice bass, as deep as 25’, by letting it slowly sink toward the bottom. All you need to do is watch the line for that little “twitch” and then set the hook.

Paddle tails have also given me a good deal of fun. I have a nice selection of Northland Tackle’s “UV Mimic Minnows” and use them for bass, northern pike, and walleye.

I’ve caught walleye and northern pike by trolling them along a weed line and bass by casting up near the weeds. For a lot of fun, use a leader and troll them, What fun!

One occasion had me trolling them near bottom, in 35’ of water, by using lead core line. Always experimenting, I saw fish down that deep and wanted to see if they would hit a slowly trolled Mimic Minnow.

I caught a few northern pike, right away, and was pleasantly surprised when a big largemouth bass decided it was lunchtime.

Walleye – Many times, when using spinners, I’ll switch from a nightcrawler to a plastic worm, when the perch and/or sunfish start stealing the bait. You’ll feel the “pecking” but rest assured, your bait is still in one piece and ready for a hungry walleye.

I’ve done well, pulling spinners over the weeds, with 4” Impulse and Power Baits. I’ve also done well by using them on bottom bouncers at the deeper depths.

It all works. All you need to do is to start using more plastics and gaining a little more confidence ..." Read >> Greg's Guidelines July 10, 2018

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guidlines" July 3, 2018

"Fishing for as many years as I have, many trophy-size fish have made their way into the boat. I can recall several of them but not all. What really sticks in my mind are the dozen or so super-big fish that got away. Especially the ones that I never got the chance to see. That really bugs me. I don’t really mind losing a big fish but want to see what and how big they are.

Little Bear Lake – My first “Big Fish Lost” happened decades ago, while staying at the cabin. There were a few walleyes in the lake back then, enough that one had a decent chance at catching a few for supper.

I was using a gold “Tinsel Tail” jig (new, just hit the market), tipped with a minnow, and pitching it up near the weeds, as I slowly inched along with the electric trolling motor.

I felt the strike, set the hook, and the stand-off begin. The rod was folded over and I was waiting for the fish to make its move, which didn’t happen.

Trying to get the big fish to budge, I started jerking on the line and agitated it enough that it slowly moved toward the boat but stopped about half-way. Again, with the stand-off. The same technique was used to get it moving again but this time it just kept on slowly swimming toward and under the boat, heading out to deeper water.

This had me running to the bow of the boat, keeping the line away from the motor, and watching as the reel drag gave way, offering as much line as needed.

This time, it didn’t stop. It just kept on slowly swimming away, until I tried to put the brakes on, and that’s when my line was bit off. Yes, it was a sad day in “Gregville”, but I learned that I better get used to it, as it would happen many more times.

Big Buck Lake - Stealth mode, I shut the outboard motor off, well in advance of “the sunken hump”, and used the electric motor to get close enough to cast. Trying for largemouth bass, I made a long cast with a spinnerbait and begin my retrieve, only to have a fish bite the thing off. I never felt the fish at all, only a “lightness” in my line, which was now blowing in the breeze.

We’ve all had this happen several times and often it’s possibly a small northern pike that needs glasses, as it was more-than-likely bitten off in front of the lure.

Just back from a musky trip, I glanced down and spotted my big-fish-rod, ready to go. Adorned with a large tandem spinnerbait, tipped with a plastic trailer, the total length was in the 10-12” range. Making a cast to the same area resulted in the same ending. All was gone, and I never even felt the bite, but this time a 12” leader was taken as well. Two casts equaled two baits gone.

Normally, I would have written this off as a smaller northern, biting ahead of the lure, but a big fish sighting had taken place here earlier in the year.

Marilyn was with me, as I used the same approach to the sunken island. I was looking in the other direction, getting the rods ready, when she said, “oh my God.” “What”, I responded. She went on to say that an extremely large fish tail was sticking out of the water. Her exact words were “it looked like a mermaid.” So, who knows how big that fish was? Monstrous by any standard.

Coon Lake, Scenic State Park – The largemouth bass were biting pretty good and I tied into a fish that basically over-powered me.
I immediately realized it was a big fish from the time I set the hook. It quickly swam toward and under the boat and pulled hard enough that the hook pulled free. I had the drag screwed down tight and had trouble in hanging onto the rod, which was folded over, pulled tight against the side of the boat.

Silver Lake (yes, the one located right in the city of Virginia) – Fishing for and catching some pretty nice largemouth bass, the exact same scenario as my experience on Coon Lake repeated itself. I was handcuffed. It totally took me by surprise. Maybe I should loosen the drag a bit?

Good luck on the water. Be safe, have fun, and catch a BIG ONE! 

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guidlines" June 25, 2018

"Tired out, stiff and sore. Yup. That’s me, after spending three, long, consecutive days on Leech Lake, with the last one being quite “bumpy.”

Andy Walsh and I competed in the last of the AIM Pro Walleye Series Minnesota Division events and now await the championship, to be held on Lake of the Woods in August. Andy, also a little sore, and I should be healed up by then.

The lake is at “mayfly stage” and fishing can be difficult, if in the wrong place at the wrong time, and that’s always a possible problem when fishing big waters. You just never know. One might be fishing a great area for three hours, without much success, and leave for the next spot, when suddenly, the walleyes decide to turn on. I’ve been there too many times.

Our pre-fishing wasn’t very good, catching only three fish per day. Many times, we could see fish but couldn’t trick them into biting. Even my old mayfly-walleye-trick of using an orange jig, tipped with a small piece of nightcrawler, didn’t work.

Some areas, where the wind was blowing in, had a bug slick so thick that it was almost impossible to fish, as mayfly carcasses would wrap around your line. The Goose Island area was like this.

A bug hatch can trigger a feeding cycle, that includes everything from insects and minnows to larger predators. All fish are opportunists, they need to, and will take advantage of whatever Mother Nature offers them. Such was the case last week.

Mayflies don’t just happen in May. They can show up here and there all season long, usually just in time to throw a wrench into your long-planned fishing vacation.

Many of the walleye were keying on crayfish and this was quite evident when I caught a 24” fish and Andy was trying to remove the hook. Kneeling, down on the floor, up close and personal to the walleye, he started coughing and gagging uncontrollably. This went on for at least five minutes.

Hanging his head over the side of the boat, it startled me at first, as I didn’t know what was wrong with him, until he told me how awful the regurgitated crayfish smelled. Then I had to laugh and laugh I did. So hard, in fact, tears were streaming down my face and my jaws and belly hurt. I had been there before.

I recall fishing with Bill Olson on Trout Lake when he caught a big dogfish. It was so big that I decided a photo needed to be taken. As Bill was posing with the fish, it “released” its entire stomach contents, with most of it being digested crayfish and you talk about a sickening odor. It was awful. So bad, in fact, that one had trouble in getting a breath of fresh air. It was actually hard to breathe.

I was absolutely nauseated, but watching Bill, and listening to him complain, had me laughing so hard that my sides were aching. So hard that I thought I might have to make a visit to the hospital. Not kidding.

Jim Carpenter had an interesting story from Sunday’s event. Fishing in 21’ of water, Jim’s partner caught a nice fish, looking to be in the 24-25” range. While attempting to net the fish, a much larger walleye, in the 28” class, spooked the smaller fish, forcing it to take off so fast that the line broke.

I don’t know what was going on here but that’s a first. Acting like many smallmouth bass, maybe it was trying to take the bait away from the smaller fish?

Yes, we stunk it up this time and that happens. Some of the teams that settled below us were top-notch anglers and it really makes one wonder where and how some of those big weights were obtained. We’ll get ‘em next time.

Have a nice Fourth of July! - Greg Clusiau

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guidlines" June 19, 2018 "Swan Lake Classic Fishing Contest"

The 33rd Annual Swan Lake Classic fishing contest was held last Saturday, based out of MJ’s Lodge & Resort. Sponsored by the Pengilly Booster Club, it may be just a small local tournament but features some stiff competition each year.

My decision to enter was a late one, as I had been watching the weather forecast and it didn’t look good. Finally, after some “hem and hawing”, I decided to give it a go. It looked to be a light drizzle for most of the day, with a possibility of thunderstorms, later on.

We, Andy Walsh and I, were doing okay, catching some nice fish but having to release them all because of the 17-26” slot. Trying for big fish only, anything over 26”, we had caught fish up to 24” when Mother Nature said “oh no. Not on my lake.” It seems to happen all the time. She doesn’t care for tournaments.

Around noon, a bolt of lightning came straight down, fairly-close to us, with the noise of a high-powered deer rifle. I told Andy “that’s it. We’re out of here.” Then it started to pour. We headed back to MJ’s to turn in our boat number and called it a day.

Fishing as many years as I have, there’s been more than a few close calls and I don’t want anything to do with lightning.

I recall a time on Ash Lake, when I cast a jig and minnow out, only to have it lay on the water’s surface, with my line making a large arc in the air. There it sat. I had heard of this before but never witnessed it first-hand.

I was so fascinated by this phenomenon that I reeled in and cast back out to see if it would do it again. It did, and it was time to go.
Many years ago, while guiding a long-time client of mine, it happened again on 6th Crow Wing. We were catching crappies but got chased off the water by lightning and thunder. We sat in the truck, waited out the storm, and headed directly back to our little hotspot when all was clear or at least looked to be.

We were back to catching crappies, when I told Old Bill “reel it in, we’re out of here.” He asked “why?” and I pointed to my line, which was standing straight up in the air.

I’ve had a lot of experiences with static electricity, as well as close calls with lightning bolts. Here are a few “lightning facts” (National Geographic) you may get a “charge” out of.

* Lightning strikes during thunderstorms kill more Americans each year than either tornadoes or hurricanes.
* Contrary to the common expression, lightning can and often does strike the same place twice.
* Cloud-to-ground lightning bolts are a common phenomenon—about 100 strike Earth’s surface every single second—yet their power is extraordinary. Each bolt can contain up to one billion volts of electricity.
* Lightning is extremely hot—a flash can heat the air around it to temperatures five times hotter than the sun’s surface. This heat causes surrounding air to rapidly expand and vibrate, which creates the pealing thunder we hear a short time after seeing a lightning flash.
* Lightning is not only spectacular, it’s dangerous. About 2,000 people are killed worldwide by lightning each year. Hundreds more survive strikes but suffer from a variety of lasting symptoms, including memory loss, dizziness, weakness, numbness, and other life-altering ailments. Strikes can cause cardiac arrest and severe burns, but 9 of every 10 people survive. The average American has about a 1 in 5,000 chance of being struck by lightning during a lifetime.

I tell fishing clients that I have three priorities:
1) Safety. If you’re fishing with me and I feel lightning, high waves, etc. is a present danger, we’re reeling in and heading back to shore. It doesn’t matter if you’re catching a trophy fish on each-and-every cast. We’re done!
2) Fun. We definitely will have fun. Isn’t that why they’re out there in the first place? People come from all locations and walks of life. Often, it’s a vacation and they want to enjoy it. Even if the fishing is tough on this particular day, fun will be had via some of my endless fishing stories or whatever it takes.
3) Catching fish is a third priority and while that may not sound very good on the list, be it known that we usually do catch fish anyway. Safety first!

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guidlines" June 12, 2018 "Mille Lacs Lake On Fire During Walleye Tournament"

My first walleye tournament of the season is now in the books and what a time I had. Who would ever think that registering five fish for close to 34 pounds would have you finishing in 59th place out of 100 boats? Yes, that’s Mille Lacs Lake for you. The big lake has trophy fish of all species and plenty of them.

Pre-fishing for the event, partner, Andy Walsh, pictured foreground in the photo, did very well, catching many big fish, along with losing a few monsters on the way to the boat. Walsh, now living near the shores of Lake Mille Lacs, spends a good deal of time out on the big water, either guiding, pre-fishing, or just plain having fun and trust me, there’s plenty of it to be had.

The lake has a special “catch and release only” regulation for the walleye but this works very well for fishing tournaments, like the AIM Weekend Walleye Series, which has the format of “catch-record-release”. I’m thinking this will be the trend for most all events in the future, as it keeps a fish back in the water within minutes, after a quick photo session. At least I hope so.

Big lakes are notoriously rough and having a livewell full of fish, racing and bouncing across 3’ waves is definitely not good for them. Heck, it’s not even comfortable for the anglers.

For those that would like a fresh walleye dinner, there are plenty of surrounding waters to keep them happy. As for walleye anglers into catch and release? They’re loving it. Especially when the fish are of the large variety.

Andy’s pre-fishing had him favoring six spots that held big fish and after thinking things through, we figured on heading ten miles to the first spot. The plan was to fish it for a bit and then go elsewhere. Well, it’s funny how things change.

After reaching our destination and catching a couple quick fish, all of a sudden, a wrench was thrown into our best laid plans. We had a trolling motor issue. The motor worked fine, steered well and had plenty of power, but was “stuck” in the down position.

Fearing if we pulled it up by hand, in order to move on to the next spot, we might not be able to get it deployed back down into a working position. With that in mind, Andy said “we might have to stay here all day” to which I replied, “maybe that’s a good thing?”

So, there we stayed, wondering how the other spots were producing. We were, however, catching some darn nice fish so the decision wasn’t difficult to make.

Then another wrench! I had just reeled in a six pound walleye and while going through the process of measuring, picturing, and recording, Andy turned around and couldn’t find his rod. Evidently, he had a fish grab his bait and pull the rod overboard without us even noticing it. It was quite wavy on the water, so we wouldn’t have heard “the splash.”

Andy shouted to a competitor’s boat, that was fishing only 50 yards from us “if you catch a Tuned Up Custom Rod and reel, it’s mine” and had barely got the words out of his mouth, when one of the anglers thought he had a bite.

He knew it didn’t feel quite right but kept on reeling and lo and behold, there was Andy’s line and eventually, the rod. A little further down the line was an 18” walleye.

The fish was quickly unhooked and released, and plans were made to meet after the tournament, to get the rod back. There is “no coupling” of boats allowed in the tournament rules so there was no way we were going to approach them to reclaim the “lucky” fishing pole. We met them after the event, talked fishing and had a few laughs.

Our new friends said by the time we arrived at this community fishing hotspot, they had already “filled the card.” They had put five nice fish in the boat and were looking for bigger and better fish.

Andy and I were in the second flight, which placed us about 20-30 minutes behind these guys. Big fish were biting early but disappeared as the sun got higher. It’s amazing how quickly things can change.

It’s quite a fishery, to say the least. Can you imagine catching six pound walleyes and not being satisfied? That’s what Andy and went through for the entire day, after we had our five best fish registered. A six pounder was quickly measured and tossed back. There was no sense in recording it, as we had better.

Bowen Lodge Fishing Update June 12, 2018 - Lake Winnibigoshish Back To Being Walleye Wonderland

"A trip onto Lake Winnie with John Myers of the Duluth News Tribune generated more than a little buzz. Fishing on the big lake is consitent and many of our guests have reported double digit catches of walleye during their fishing trips.

We could say a lot more about it, but why, especially when we can let Mayer's article do the talking for us.

Myers Wrote; "Forgive Gerry Albert if he gets a little excited when he catches walleyes here.
"Here's another one!'' Albert shouted as he set the hook on a walleye, working to keep a tight line and run his outboard in whitecaps. "Ohhh, and I think it's a keeper!"

Big Winnie is Albert's lake, so to speak. He's the ..." Read >> Lake Winnibigoshish Back To Being A Walleye Wonderland June 12, 2018

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guidelines" June 5, 2018

The time has come for me to change it up a bit and focus more on walleye fishing. Up until last week, I was pretty much fishing for most everything (crappies, sunfish, northern pike, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, rainbow trout, brook trout, lake trout, and coho salmon) but Minnesota’s state fish. The reason being, I am entered in a number of walleye tournaments and want to fine-tune my thinking, presentations, and equipment. Hey, that’s just me.

Last Sunday was “wet and wild” but it didn’t prevent me from going on a search for walleyes. Prior the outing, I had all early season “plans of attacks” thought through and readied the boat for walleye only. All else was taken out of the boat so it didn’t get in the way (or distract me).
Much like when I am in a serious panfishing mode, a variety of fishing rods were rigged with various presentations, so I didn’t waste any time doing it in the boat. All I had to do was grab another rod and get to fishing.

Three jigging rods were affixed with various size and color jigs, ranging from 1/16 oz to ¼ oz, with the lightest presentation being tied onto the end of one of my crappie rods. Yes, there are times when that light-action rod catches more than its fair share of nice walleye, especially when it’s a tough bite.
Most rods are in the 7’ range, which allows for long casting, when fish are shallow and tend to be spooky. This happens quite frequently in the spring.

Rigging rods? Same thing. Three of them. One was set up with a small hook and bead for night crawlers, another with a larger colored hook for leeches or minnows, and another with a floating jig head, which is rarely used by me. My brother, Joel, on the other hand, uses a floater most every time out walleye fishing, and does well. Me? Nope. I just never use them much and really have no good reason for not doing so. However, if I ever needed a floater rod, it would always be there, at the ready.

Two spinner rods were rigged with Northland Tackle’s new “butterfly rigs.” One was a double-hook crawler harness, while the other featured a larger single hook, good for tipping with a leech or minnow. I tried these for a short while last week, pulling them over the cabbage weeds (if you can find any) and caught a few fish. They work nice.

And who can forget about a crankbait rod? That was there with other rods that could easily accommodate bottom bouncers and spinners. I was all set!
First off, one needs to have bait. Nothing close at hand, I made a run and picked up a dozen shiners and two dozen large leeches. Already sitting on four dozen crawlers, at home, I didn’t need any more of those.

I should have taken a better look at those shiners, as they looked to be perfect for largemouth bass fishing in Florida. You talk about BIG! And to think the attendant asked me “do you want small ones?” I know it’s early in the season and good bait can sometimes be hard to find but what in the world. And the leeches. That’s another sob story.

Shortly after day break (it was COLD), I started by trolling crankbaits along a prime walleye-holding area. I really didn’t care to do this, as the northern pike are way too prevalent here and can cause all sorts of problems. However, I figured it a good way to search for walleyes. If I got one, I’d slow down and rig or jig.

The only bites I had (hard raps, three of them) I determined to be small pike, missing the bait, but one never knows. Pitching a small jig and minnow up into and on the edge of the weeds provided nothing so I quickly headed across the lake to what I hoped to be a better spot. It wasn’t.

My third and more-than-likely last spot of this miserable morning had a lot of fish present, along with white caps. They were biting on just about everything I threw at them, but northern pike were way too common and after an hour, I was sitting there with four of my lines blowing in the wind. The pike had chewed off anything that looked a bit too flashy. Re-tying a couple times was difficult with cold fingers.

Finally settling on something the pike wouldn’t notice as much, I stayed with a rig and leech and caught quite a few walleyes. A passing thought had me thinking of bring home a nice limit, but laziness had me releasing all fish caught. When I got home, I just wanted to warm up, not clean fish.

I was finally in the mood for walleye and it’s a good feeling. My tournament season starts this weekend on Mille Lacs Lake.

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guidlines" May 30, 2018

I’m surprised at the quickly rising water temperatures, for having a very late ice-out. Many of the panfish waters are already “somewhere” in the 60ºs and fish are on the move.

An opening weekend outing found us catching several nice bluegill and crappie on a main-lake hump, a fair distance away from the spawning areas. A return trip there, last week, found the same area totally void of any fish at all. They were finally located in 3’ of water, on or within close-proximity of their spawning grounds. Getting them to bite was another thing, as they were as tight-lipped and spooky as can be.

My absolute best bet for catching spring slabs is a small hair jig (Skunky’s Jigs) and/or a “Fire-Fly” (Northland Tackle). These little offering usually don’t need any live bait added to them. However, during the toughest of times, a tiny piece of worm, added to the already deadly little jig, can really make a big difference.

I should mention that Skunky’s jigs can only be found on Facebook. Custom made by Tom Jacobson, these little guys are quite deadly and are made as small as 1/64 and 1/80 oz. Both sunfish and crappie eat them up.

I’ve been trying out Wanglers “Worms for Anglers”, found at your local L&M Supply stores. You might think “well, a worm is a worm.” Not quite. These are something different indeed.

First off (and here’s probably the best part), they don’t need any refrigeration and can be stored most anywhere, as long as the temperature is between 38º and 90º. Secondly, they twist around like little snakes and another great feature, available in different colors (chartreuse and red), is mighty attractive to sunfish and crappie alike. Packaged 30 to a container, they last a long time, not only because of no refrigeration, but also to the fact that they are extremely tough. The thicker-than-normal skin makes them harder to break off, when sunfish start nibbling away. I’ve caught several fish on just one small piece, an incredible little bait.

The deep spawning crappie, however, were extremely hard to convince into biting. This was one of those times, when a small crappie minnow, left dangling under a bobber, right in their faces, would be the best presentation for catching a few fish.
I worked hard enough to catch a few fish and then decided to leave them alone to do their thing. The fish I did catch were “blackened” males, sporting their spawning colors, absolutely beautiful fish that were quickly photographed and released.

One little trick I use when searching out spring panfish is to prepare four or five rods prior the outing. They will all have the same little jigs on them, although in different colors. The big difference is that each rod has the bobber set at a different depth.

I’ll usually have them set at 1’, 18”, 2’, 3’, and 5’ (or something like that). The reason for this plan of attack is that I can quickly search out areas, in finding out just what depth they’re favoring on this particular day.

Also, I’ll be sure to be using long casting rods, when fishing gin-clear waters. Clear water often has spooky fish and the best way to get a bait in front of them is to use a 7’ spinning rod that allows you to make a super-long cast, in needed.
I use Tuned Up Custom Rods 7’2” Apex UL, available at Thousand Lake Sporting Goods, soon to be in their new location at the old Embers building in Grand Rapids. This whippy rod has plenty of backbone and can toss lures quite a distance, especially when using fresh 4 pound test line (Berkley XL clear or low-vis green).

For those times, when panfish are deep into the weeds and 4 pound test just doesn’t cut it, I’ll use a heavier line, which is usually on the end of a telescoping 16’ Wonder Pole. This is a pile of fun and brings back memories of the old bamboo pole, always fun to use and takes a little practice to get into the “swing” of it.

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guidlines" May 22, 2018

"The early bird gets the worm, some say. With this thought in mind, I made plans, last year, to be one of the first to fish the Red Lake River dam area with fishing guide Daris Rosebear of Rosebear’s Guide Service. If there was any problem at all with my thinking, it was the fact that we would be a little too early.

I’ve fished with Daris several times, both summer and winter, and so far, all trips have been on some of the over two dozen little lakes that lie near the southern end of Lower Red Lake, which, by the way, is off limits to non-natives.

Convincing two of my brothers, Scott and Joel, to join me for a day on the Red Lake Nation fisheries, we left early and met Daris at Seven Clans Casino in Red Lake for breakfast. It’s about a 2 ½ hour drive from Keewatin and for once I was on time, meeting Rosebear promptly at 7:30 am.

From there, one more stop was made to purchase a daily fishing permit. Cost? Ten dollars.
Arriving at the dam, a cold, strong breeze was coming off the big lake, calling for me to put on my rain suit for extra warmth. It was, indeed, cold and gloves were worn at times while fishing.

Maybe it was a little too cold, as scores of walleye and crappie still hadn’t made there way to the dam yet and that was mainly the focus of my trip there. As for northern pike? They were there in droves and continually trying to swim up as far as possible, jumping the little current area and slithering across 2” of water before gliding back into the river.

Some weren’t as lucky, as a mixed batch of fish (walleye, sucker, and northern pike) lay dead in the super-shallow area, unable to get back down to safety.

Walleye were there but not in huge numbers. Crappies were non-existent. The water was just too cold.

We didn’t care. It was fun fishing, catching the occasional northern pike. The river offers huge northern, with some measuring in the high 40” range, but all we could muster were a few of the smaller fish, which were fun anyway.

At one point, a northern, looking to be in the 15 pound range, jump onto the “skinny” water area and laid there for a bit before making it back to the river. That was cool to see, as were several others that were congregating near the edge of the dam. It was all happening, but the fishing was slow enough to make us head to other waters.

Regrouping, we made our way to one of the little stream trout lakes, which had been recently stocked. Each lake was the lucky recipient of 5,000 stream trout, being mostly rainbows and a handful of brook trout. They’re small but grow about 2” a year and fit in well with other larger trout that still remained, making it through a rigorous winter guiding season.

Within minutes, while Daris was trolling to “the spot”, Scott had a fish on but lost it half-way to the boat. More-than-likely a small rainbow, it was the start of an over fifty fish afternoon, which had us keeping four larger rainbows and releasing all others.

Several brook trout were caught, as well. These little fish are absolutely gorgeous, speckled with white leading edges on their fins. All brookies were released but Daris and his guests have caught some real dandies in the past.

The best baits ended up being small in-line spinners (Blue Fox, Mepps, Bow Spinners, etc.). Especially if they had a touch of charteuse. Many times, three or four fish would follow your lure right to the boat, trying to take the bait out of another trout’s mouth. Hungry fish. I like that.

We made an early departure because of a looming rain storm but went home feeling pretty good. We caught a bunch of fish, in a short amount of time, and anytime I can spend a day fishing with my brothers (or sisters), it’s a good day.

It’s just now getting started on the Red Lake Nation. The water’s warming up and all is happening. For more information on fishing with Daris, contact him at (218) 214-0018 or go to his Facebook page Rosebear’s Guide Service.

P.S. The big crappies should be moving up to the dam NOW. a b c

Lake Winnibigoshish, Bowen Lodge Fishing Report May 22, 2018

"Walleye fishing continues to dominate the conversation around the lodge and in the fish cleaning shack. Our guests have had a lot to be happy about this week, the weather is good, the fishing is good and the eating, that’s been good too.

Thanks in part to the late arrival of spring, walleyes remain in shallow water where they are hungry, easier to find and so far, very catchable.

Key depths have been 9 to 15 feet and almost all of the fish have been located along shoreline structure. The best areas are near rivers and flowages where walleyes continue to enter the “main lake” as they return from the spawning season.  

Many of the larger female fish have already completed their journey and now, smaller male fish are showing up in good numbers.
With surface temperatures warming steadily, spring ..." Read >> Bowen Lodge Fishing Report May 22, 2018

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guidlines" May 15, 2018 "Another Minnesota fishing opener is in the books!"

Getting back to my roots, fishing the way we started out, I headed up to the Little Bear Lake cabin on an early Friday afternoon. This gave me plenty of time to clean the place up a bit and to scout the lake for panfish.

Even though Little Bear had become ice free much earlier than most area lakes, it still wasn’t what we consider to be “warm” and I had some difficulty in finding and catching fish.

Crappies were found in a shallow area that I usually never fish and were extremely spooky. Even making super-long casts with finesse baits, below a bobber, had me coming up empty handed. A couple nice northern pike were spotted in the same area, resting, soaking up the sun. Like the crappies, they quickly scooted off and out of sight.

Checking shallow, protected bay areas had me finding a large school of sunfish and although they bit upon most every cast, all were of the small variety and released. It just wasn’t happening on Little Bear Lake, so I already had my mind made up, when heading back to the cabin. We wouldn’t be fishing here tomorrow.

Crappies spawn and can be easy targets, when the water temperature reaches the low 60º range and although the Little Bear Lake hadn’t reached that point yet, they wanted nothing to do with eating anything at all.

My son, Kris, and his pal, Kyle McCollor, rolled into camp as the sun was setting. Kyle had driven up from Coon Rapids and wanted to catch a few suckers for the smoker. Meeting up with Kris, at one of the local rivers, they caught and kept four of them, before arriving at camp. That was one species off the list. I wondered how many we would get over the weekend.

The next morning, we headed to a small lake and really struggled. Noted as being decent for early-season walleye, we never caught a one and between the two boats, Kris/Kyle and me/Bruce, all we caught were a couple small northern pike. Even the panfish were in hiding. It was time to re-group. Thank goodness we live in Itasca county, as there are plenty of options. There’s always another lake waiting for you, only minutes down the road.

Thinking maybe the stream trout would be more aggressive, we headed to a small designated trout lake. Again, fishing was terrible, and the only strike we encountered was something that bit off my precious Bow Spinner. It was time to pack up, once again, and head to another lake.

This one started off slow. Even catching a northern pike was difficult, until we found “the spot”, then it was one after another, until Kris reached his new Minnesota state limit of ten fish under 22”. He wanted them for pickling and this new limit is perfect for that, as they are quite small in my opinion. I seriously don’t think many folks will be targeting these fish, but we’ll see.

The new regulation protects northern pike from 22” to 26”, with them being quickly released back into the water. We only caught a couple that were in that range. Hence the new regs in trying to bolster the pike size in Minnesota.

Remaining on the same lake, we set up and tried our hand at evening walleyes and only put one in the boat, a spawned out 26” fish, which was quickly photo’d and released. Kris also added a nice largemouth bass.

The next morning had us going in a different direction for panfish. I was reluctant but went along with the boys anyway. Kris had fished this lake a number of times and knew just where they would be. He was right.

It did take a little bit, in finding the right location, but when we did, it was pretty much one fish after another. The crappies ran nice in size and a few good sunfish were caught, as well. The sunnies, however, were all released, as they were “spotty”, having been infested with neascus, aka “black spot disease”. Although harmless, if well cooked, they’re unsightly to look at, especially if you’re trying to eat one. I’ll pass, thank you.

This lake offered up a couple more bass, to add to the list, a little largemouth and a nice smallmouth.

Making a short morning of it, we made our way home to clean fish. We didn’t hammer a bunch of big northern pike or fill the boat with walleyes, but we caught a bunch of fish and of several different species. That was nice, especially after starting out struggling. It was all good.

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guidlines" May 8, 2018

"The Minnesota general fishing opener has me heading back to my roots, the way I started fishing in the first place. That means, for the most part, that I’ll be trolling and/or casting spoons for northern pike, a species that generally is willing to bite and provide plenty of action. It’ll be fun, and I can’t wait to feel those ferocious strikes. 

Organizing my tackle, and ordering a few more things, I was delighted to see that Northland Tackle has added several new colors to their line of Forage Minnow casting spoons. A couple that caught my eye are “white diamond” and “purple scratch”. You can check them out by going on-line. Cool looking baits. 

Of course, I’d never rule out soaking a sucker minnow below a bobber, if I have the patience to sit still that long. There’s something special here as well, especially when the bobber signals the first strike and then slowly takes off, disappearing out of sight. You don’t know if it’s a pesky, little trouble-maker or a ten pounder, exciting stuff. It’s all a part of Minnesota fishing.

I’m not sure how many I’ll keep, as I usually release most all of them, but the new limit for this year, in our area, is ten fish, with not more than two of them being over 26” in length. Also, all fish from 22” to 26” inches must be immediately released, so that leaves us with a bunch of smallish northern pike. Fish fry? Picklers? We’ll see how it goes.

I recall one opener, when my wife, Marilyn, brother Joel, and I anchored up in front of a small stream and used bobbers. We were so busy, it was incredible, and fun!

We used a small boat (that’s all we had) and that’s what I’ll be using again this year, mainly because a few little lakes are figured into the game plan and larger boats are to hard to get in the water.

That means a little prepping is in order. I’ll have to dig out the oars, small anchors, stringers or fish baskets, portable electronics, etc. It’s a lot of work but usually well worth it.

I might do a little walleye fishing this opener but it all depends on which way the wind blows, so to speak. We have so many options that looking in any direction offers a whole new set of circumstances. Some of the lakes, I have on the agenda, feature a small walleye population so I don’t expect to fill the boat with them. However, slowly dragging a jig and minnow is always fun, waiting for that sometimes- subtle strike.

One early season outing, with Joel, his father-in-law Harry, and me, had us fishing a small river that had a bunch of walleyes in it. We were having a good time, catching some nice fish, and “stringing them up” until it was time to tie another one on and we couldn’t find the stringer. It was at this point that we realized it had somehow come untied and was laying at the bottom of the river somewhere. Not good. I felt sorry for those fish.

And yes, the spring panfish gear will be brought along, as they should all be up shallow and ready to eat something. This is probably one of my most favorite things to do. All I need is a long-casting rod, a bobber, and a handful of Northland Tackle “Fire-Fly” jigs. I’m well-stocked up with my favorite colors, “bumble bee” (black/yellow), “pink/white”, and “glo”.

Also, never rule out stream trout at this time of the season, as rainbows bite pretty darn good. I recall an opener spent with walleye/trout expert Jerry Waldvogel. It was a late spring (much like we had this year) so instead of working hard and begging a walleye to bite, we filled the boat with trout trolling equipment and went to Nashwauk’s LaRue Pit.

Using long lines, trolling small Rapalas, we finished the day with 35 rainbow trout. It was phenomenal and a good call on Jerry’s part.
All small lakes are wide open and ready for fishing but some of the big waters will be a little sketchy. Heading to Leech Lake? Mille Lacs? You’d better call ahead and make sure you have open water to fish in.

As for me, I’ll be puddle-jumping, sitting on a boat cushion, and trolling along somewhere. I’ll more-than-likely end up with a sore back but that’s how we got into this game and I’m really looking forward to it.

Have fun my friends, be safe, and good luck!

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guidlines" May 1, 2018 "Where To Go For Spring Fishing?"

"Where to go? Our fishing options are slowly coming to fruition but some of them require a bit of traveling.

Original weekend plans had me readying equipment for a sturgeon outing on the Rainy River (something I haven’t done in years), but up-to-date fishing reports didn’t look all that good. For one thing, boat traffic was extremely high and it’s never fun playing “bumper boats.”

Another negative factor was the river’s dirty water. Conditions like this can make the catching difficult and reports coming from friends that decided to give it a try revealed just that. I’m sure there were a few that did well but it sounded like most caught about one fish per boat and that’s not good at all. I think we’ll have to wait until it clears up a little.

The sturgeon season goes as follows: April 24 – May 7, you can keep one if so desired but only one per calendar year and it needs to be between 45-50” or over 70”. For the life of me, I don’t know why anyone would want to kill one of these fish anyway.

Looking over the Minnesota DNR charts on lake sturgeon, they estimate a 50” fish would be 23 years old, 60” – 34 years old, and 70” – 51 years old.

Many folks prefer to smoke them but not me. Imagine the pollutants they have absorbed from being in that river for that many years. Nope. Count me out.

From May 8 – 15, it’s a catch and release season only and is closed from May 16 – June 30.

However, catching them is a lot of fun and it’s a chance to catch a very large fish.

My canceled plans had me heading in the opposite direction, south, to Lake Superior. There’s always open water somewhere, if you’re willing to travel, and that’s pretty much what it takes at this time of the season.

Keith Nelson resides in Duluth and was looking for a fishing partner for the big lake. It was the perfect opportunity to get back in a boat. It was also about half the distance, being an hour and a half instead of three.

Having fished the big lake a number of times, I knew it would be cold out on the water, so there I was, digging out my winter wear, which had just been put away for the summer.
Meeting at the McQuade public access, we readied the equipment, along with several other anxious anglers. There was ice on much of the area we planned to fish, only a week earlier, and it certainly felt like it out on the water. Water temps were in the 34º range.

Setting out our two lines apiece, it was too long before a fish decided to strike. Keith and I were chatting away, not really paying much attention to the rods, when I glanced back and noticed one of my rods folded over, with the weight of a heavy fighting fish.

I took it easy and played the thing to the boat and all was well until Keith tried netting the fish. That’s when the stickbait’s treble hooks got stuck in the landing net. We all know what happens here. The fish twisted one more time and was soon swimming free again.

Keith felt bad, but I didn’t. I’m not a big trout eater anyway. It was just good to enjoy the fight on open water, once again. Although I would’ve liked a photo with the fish. It wasn’t a monster but looked to be a 6-7 pound Kamloops rainbow trout, a nice fish to start out the season.

It was slow going, with us catching one small coho salmon and losing another. Covering plenty of water, we fished as far down as the Knife River and back.
The weather was nice, as far as Lake Superior goes, but there was a bit of a chop when up and running to another area. Even though we were only going somewhat slow, at 35 mph, it would have been one heck of a ride if Keith didn’t have the Smooth Moves boat seat suspensions.

These things are incredible and anyone that does any amount of fishing on sometimes rough water should really consider these units, especially if you have a bad back, etc.
They are adjustable, according to your weight, and the suspension unit absorbs all of that bone-jarring ride. It was actually pleasant.

As for now, sticking locally, I’ll be searching out a few sucker bites. They’re just starting to go in several areas and always a part of my Minnesota spring fishing.

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guidlines" April 17, 2018

"Wow. Don’t you just love this weather? I’ve been ice fishing on a regular basis but Sunday’s cold, blowing wind kept me off the lake. All it took was an early morning walk with my dog, Lily, for me to rethink my plans. There was no way I was going out there, as I had been on the ice for several consecutive days and needed a well-deserved break.

I almost feel driven to go, now that I have 85 ice fishing trips in the books. Why stop now, when there’s still 30” of ice and plenty of snow to keep it cool. I might just hit 100 trips this season after all. My goodness. And to be honest with you, I’m really looking forward to some open water outings and had two of them planned but both fell through.

Both had to do with Lake Superior and I’m sure you’ve seen all the videos taken of that wild and crazy lake over the past few days. Mother Nature at her finest, it was downright scary but breathtaking at the same time.

One trip was with charter captain Lorin LeMire. We wouldn’t be taking his big rig, as it isn’t ready yet. Nor are the boat ramps. We’d be taking a smaller boat, that would be slid across the ice, and then be fishing fairly-close to shore, a mile or two. I don’t like the sounds of that. Sitting that far out in a little dinghy, one can’t help but think of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Yikes!

When the big lake trip canceled and Lorin had the day off, he was looking for something to do so we teamed up with Keith Nelson and went crappie fishing on Big Sandy Lake. Driving trucks, yes, that’s right, we made it out to one of the community holes and fished for most of the day.

I brought along my snowmobile, just in case the ice was sketchy, but it was thick and solid, with the auger’s powerhead almost hitting the surface before a hole was made. Mid-April and driving on the lakes. Who would have thought?

Fishing was slow, but the fish were nice. Big Sandy is one impressive panfish lake, without question. I really should fish it more, as it’s only an hour away, the same distance as Vermilion, Big Winnie, Bowstring, etc. 

Not only was my trip with Lorin postponed but he may have to cancel or re-book several of his already scheduled trips due to the late spring. Old Man Winter just won’t go away.

The other would be shore-casting with Keewatin’s Marc Koprevic, who has been successfully practicing this art for several seasons. We canceled last week but are keeping a close eye on the conditions of the North Shore and can go at a moments notice. I’m looking forward to it, sitting on a rock, watching bobbers and/or casting. Also, it’s a lot safer.

Many of my more recent ice trips have been to lakes that have challenged me in the past, during the late-ice period. They continue to do so. I have no clue where the fish disappear to. I’d check these waters out and struggle for a few days before heading back to a more reliable bite.

Stir crazy, in a big way, I stayed home and looked through a bunch of old fishing books and it ended up being a pleasant trip down memory lane. I probably have about 50-60 books and many of them are written by friends of mine. Some are written of them. It’s a nice collection but I do have to admit, I’m more of a writer than a reader. I haven’t read too many of this collection. It’s just that, a collection.

I also came across an old brochure that has my old fishing partner, Brian Griffith, featured on the cover.

Many years ago, Chris Hookland, Brian, and I made a trip to Lake of the Woods. We were staying at Red Wing Lodge in Morson, Ontario. The purpose of the trip was muskies, something that I was just getting into. We were all founding members of our local Star of the North chapter of Muskies Inc. and it was an exciting time.

It was a slow weekend of fishing/catching muskies but on the evening before we were to go home, Brian had a monster of a fish follow up to the boat. We stayed long as we dared and then set off for camp before darkness set in.

It was hard to leave that big, aggressive fish, as we knew by it’s attitude that it would be eating something soon.
The next morning, we were packing up, but pleaded with Chris to let us go back out for a few hours. Reluctant, Chris, who had to get back to his restaurant in Marble, finally gave us the okay, two hours and nothing more.

Back then, I never fished Canada much at all so all I had was a three-day license, which expired the day before. Seeing how I couldn’t fish, I brought along Hookland’s video camera, just in case.

Sure enough, the big fish inhaled a large, purple Eagle Tail, hitting the bucktail at boat side, with me capturing it all on video.
On the way up to Morson, Brian, an experienced musky fisherman, said “if I get a fifty incher, it’s going on the wall.” Back in those days, “fifties” were a lot harder to come by than they are nowadays. In comparison, there are a whole lot more big muskies for one to pursue today, due to excellent musky management. Back then, it was an exceptional catch.

The big fish measured at 52” and weighed 42 pounds. Brian had it mounted and it almost looked ridiculous hanging in his living room. It was just too big. The footage ended up being used in one of In-Fisherman’s musky videos.

Oh, the memories ..."

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guidlines" April 10, 2018

Wow. Am I going to be ice fishing right on through April? I know things can get Minnesota warm in a matter of a few days but as of right now I’m walking on 2 ½’ of solid ice. What in the world. This years fishing opener is going to be more than interesting.

How many recall the opener, only a few year ago, that had ice floes all over Big Winnie and Cut Foot? That was a late ice out and it had many, many anglers catching big walleyes. Many were kept too, as they were over the 26” slot number. How sad. I think that’s going to be the case again this year.

Looking back at the records of such things, there was documented ice on some Minnesota lakes, on the much-heralded fishing opener, in 1950, 1966, 1979, 1996, 2008, 2013, and 2014. So, it doesn’t happen all that often, but the spring of 2018 looks to be a lock.

As of this writing, last Monday, they’re still driving trucks on Big Sandy Lake (they’re catching crappies too). I have a trip lined up for Tuesday but am not too keen on driving. I don’t care how much ice there is. In my mind, it’s well into April and normally my ice fishing stuff is put away by now.

One of my more recent City Auto Glass walleye tournaments, on Lake Vermilion, had ice floes to dodge and this event is held on the weekend following the opener. I’m not in it this year but look forward to hearing of the reports.

I’ve been ice fishing 77 times so far this season and that number will surely have grown by the time I’m done. One thing I’ve noticed when drilling holes, is that some lakes have good, solid ice, replicating mid-winter, but others have had “softer” ice that comes out of the hole looking “wet”, a sure sign that spring is trying to show its face.

For those intent on ice fishing until the end, keep in mind, if we ever do have an ice out (where’s that Al Gore?), that small lakes are first to open up, much like they lead the way in being the first to freeze. Big waters follow a week or two behind, in both situations. Be safe out there.
I’m sure there will be more than a couple open water fishing tournaments that will have to be canceled or postponed. For example, I heard that Lake Pepin still has ice on it and one of the MTT (Minnesota Tournament Trail) walleye tournaments is scheduled for April 21, as is a crappie tournament on Lake Minnetonka. Normally, fisheries this far south have open water during this time but not this year.

And how about the Zipple Bay Ice Out Trophy Pike Tournament, scheduled for April 28? There might be enough room for a few boats to move around but you can bet there will still be plenty of ice on Lake of the Woods. They’re still ice fishing out there and are using extensions to get through the ice.

Several years ago, during a very late ice spring, a friend of mine planned on doing the best of both worlds on Minnesota’s opening day. He wanted to start the day off by ice fishing and finish it up by hopping in the boat and fishing the Rainy River. Well, that never happened, as the fishing was so good, he ice fished the entire day.

I can’t imagine how good the fishing will be in the Rainy River on opening day, May 12. It should be packed with fat walleyes. It’s going to be a regular “hay day” up there.

For those wanting to make the run up to the Rainy River now, before the season ends, you only have until this Saturday, April 14, to get in on the fun. Be prepared for HUGE crowds at the boat ramps and short patience for many. It’s like a gold rush and people get a little goofy at this time.

Another safe bet on Minnesota’s grand opener will be Upper Red Lake. There are plenty of fish in this body of water and it will be Minnesota mayhem at its finest. It’s amazing that the large parking area at the Tamarac River can fill up so fast. I’ve found it best to leave here around 10:00 am and arrive up there around noon, when many anglers have already gone home with their limits and parking spaces are more available.

Speaking of the Tamarac River, Marilyn and I headed up there, many years ago, on opening day and the river wasn’t posted off limits, which meant walleyes were exceptionally easy to come by. It didn’t matter where you cast or what you were using. After catching 60 fish by noon, we went home. The river was posted the following year and every year since then.  

While I don’t really care if there’s going to be ice or not for the opener, I do feel sorry for the many resorts that have to deal with this situation. There’s going to be a lot of cancelations, postponements, and money lost and that’s never good.

I must go now. I hope my Vexilar is charged up and ready for another day on the ice.

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guidlines" April 4, 2018

"Cool mornings and brisk breezes kept me at bay, off the ice and staying home. One could have easily gone fishing, as it certainly was a lot warmer than the dead of winter, but I’m pretty much in the “no shelter mode” now, traveling light and standing out in the elements. The truck is rigged for that style of fishing and there’s no going back now.

Holed up and watching television, I enjoyed a couple ice fishing shows featuring eel pout fishing. My, where have we gone?
One was Larry Smith Outdoors, who was doing the nighttime eelpout bite with good friends of mine. It’s always entertaining and fun to watch, when you know the people involved.

Larry’s first stop was at Vexilar’s headquarters in Minneapolis, where key players of this fantastic company were featured. One was Steve Baumann.

Baumann, inducted to the Minnesota Fishing Hall of Fame in 2004, started out working for Vexilar back in the 70’s and is now the owner. A creative mind, Steve designed the first digital fish scale for Rapala and had a whole lot to do with the popularity of Vexilar’s FL-8. I remember when it first came out. It was so effective at helping anglers find and catch fish that there was talk of having it banned.

Jumping ahead to present time, Vexilar’s FLX-28, the cream of the crop, was worked on for ten years by Baumann before being released to the public.

You can check out more on the history of Vexilar, by going to Larry Smith Outdoor’s YouTube channel or Facebook. It’s quite a story.
Out on the lake, Smith teamed up with the likes of fishing guides Jason Rylander, Matt Breuer, and Jason Durham. I think we can all “blame” Rylander for the pouts gaining popularity, as he fishes for them regularly and is very good at what he does. I’ve fished with him a time or two and must say “he’s a hoot.” You just never know what he going to do next.

I do have to agree with all pout fans that they really are beautiful creatures. The leopard-like colorations are something to behold and they come in several contrasting variations. They make for great photos, if you can straighten them out, as they love to curl.

I had to chuckle during both shows, when they were releasing them back down the hole, as they curl up and won’t go back without a little help. It’s hard to make a smooth-looking release for the camera, when they twist up and lay at the top of the hole. Ha ha.

Sometimes called “poor man’s lobster”, I’ve had them for lunch before and it was “okay.” However, the only meat one can utilize from these prehistoric looking creatures comes from a “back strap”, which almost seems like too much waste. I’m all for catch-and-release fun with these guys.

It wasn’t that many years ago, when piles of them were left on the ice. Treated like trash fish, ice anglers would just toss them in a pile and leave them there for the scavengers. At one point, dog-sledders were picking them up to feed their dogs.

Thank goodness Jason Rylander came along, as these Rodney Dangerfields of the fish world are finally getting a little respect.
The show featured a lot of 4-5 pound fish, which are always fun. My biggest ever was a 10 pounder, caught on my birthday, December 7, on Lake of the Woods in Manitoba many years ago. It was released. (I didn’t know what else to do with it.)

Longtime fishing buddy, Brian Griffith, caught the pout of all pout while fishing on Little Winnie several years back. He was trying for a few walleyes in front of the Little Winnie Resort, when he tied into the behemoth.

He landed it and was busy straightening out the mess it had created, when he noticed it sliding back toward the hole. It wasn’t trying to get away. It was just so slippery that it was slowly sliding away on a thin film of slime. Trying to grab the fish was futile, as he couldn’t get a firm grip on it, and it made it back down the hole. Brian said the fish was a solid 20 pounds if it was an ounce.

He may have had the state record in front of him, as the current record is a solid 19 pound 10 ounce fish that came out of Lake of the Woods in 2016.

Good luck, be safe, and have fun. Go catch an eelpout!

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guidlines" March 27, 2018

Snow cover has finally settled and as of last weekend, there was plenty of ice for vehicle traffic on most lakes, with most of it measuring in the 24” range, but this is a time of the season when extra precautions need to be taken.

River mouths are extending their reaches so it’s always wise to keep a safe distance. Moving water can make things deteriorate in a hurry.

Out on the lake, you’ll notice areas starting to open near shore, due to springs or runoff created by warming temps. Also, many of the accesses are starting to get a little soft, forcing one to use atvs or foot travel but this all depends on the body of water you are fishing.

I’ve been fishing a couple different lakes that offer good fishing, a short distance from the access, which is perfect, as one has strong current nearby and the other is a carry-in only. Both waters have me loading up a 6’ tote sled with the essentials and walking out to the fishing area. It has proved to be safe and very efficient.

Plan accordingly and you’ll be surprised at how quick and easy it is to reach your spot with all the tools needed for a great late-ice outing.

A large cooler fits perfectly into the sled and is filled with most everything needed (wax worms, camera, tackle, hand warmers, ice scoop, tools, fishing towels, extra gloves and hats, etc.). I even store a couple of short fishing rods inside, when I travel through brushy areas, so not to break them. The cooler is even used for sitting on, if you find that one hot hole.

Also, on the sled is Vexilar, placed inside a bucket, which can also be used for hauling fish off the lake.

The only item carried is a K-Drill electric auger. This thing is a life-saver, when it comes to late-ice fishing and you’re walking, as it only weighs nine pounds. It’s light and fast, quickly re-opening holes from the day before with ease. A spare battery is also stored in that cooler.

For a drill. I’ve been using a ½” brushless 18 volt Milwaukee and it’s performed flawlessly.
You can use any cordless drill brand you choose, as long as it meets the following minimum requirements:

*Side Stabilizer Arm (for a secure two-handed grip) *1/2” Drill Chuck
*18 Volt/4 Amp Lithium Ion Battery (or higher) *Brushless Motor Design
*500-750 RPM with a minimum of
*Minimum 725 in/lbs or 820 UWO of torque

Drills officially approved for K-Drill use are: Milwaukee Models: #2703-22, #2704-22, #2810-22, #2709-22 and DeWalt Models: #DCD997B, #DCD991P2, #DCD996P2, #DCD997P2-BT, #DW124K

I have the 6” model, which has worked perfect for early and late ice. Early ice means thin ice and walking out and punching a bunch of holes is made easy by using a K-Drill. Late-ice offers thick ice but I’m usually only re-opening holes during this time. How sweet it is to open a dozen holes in a matter of a minute or two.

I normally use an 8” gas-powered auger all winter (for when that ice is 2-3’ deep) and will again next season, with one exception. The auger unit will be an 8” K-Drill, as it will easily slide onto the shaft of a power auger. This will give me great cutting speed and the best of all, it will be extremely light.

But for now, we still have a couple weeks left of the ice season and things are going well. The ice is great, as is the fishing. Be safe, have fun, and good luck! - Greg Clusiau, Greg's Guidelines

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guidlines" March 19, 2018

It’s the time of year when outdoorsmen are more-or-less dancing around weather/lake conditions and doing whatever Mother Nature allows. This means venturing out on various waters in search of panfish until the ice gets too soft, heading north to Lake of the Woods for better ice and good walleye fishing, heading south to fish the shores of Lake Superior, or just plain attending sport shows. Yes, it’s all happening now (you have no excuse to sit home).

A trip to Lake Vermilion two weeks ago had us (me, Kris Clusiau, & Blake Liend) looking for a little tullibee action and we found it by hooking up with local angler Lance Pete. Kris received a new smoker for Christmas and was anxious to put it to work.

We didn’t spend a whole lot of time there, as it didn’t take long to achieve our goal of ten tullibees. That was more than enough for the smoker. A big thank you goes out to Lance for his assistance.

Once home, Kris had them all cleaned up and soaking in a brine. The next morning, while doing a little research on different types of wood, that are best used in smoking fish, he noticed a post about Lake Vermilion tullibees and decided to check it out. 

It was from an angler saying that the Lake Vermilion tullibees were wormy. Kris decided to take another look at his fish and lo and behold, he found some worms. Needless-to-say, that batch went out the window, more-or-less.

A week later, a truckload of us headed to Leech Lake for some more tullibee action and hopefully, cleaner fish this time. I’ve caught plenty of them out there before. The fishing can be very good and usually is.
We had everything along for a long, fun day on the ice but needed to stop at a convenience store in Remer for sun block. It was going to be a warm day and this time of season is tricky. You can go home with a bad sunburn, if you’re not careful. Having had skin cancer removed two times, so far, I needed my sun block, as I couldn’t remember where I left it at home.

The cashier said “no, I’m sorry, we don’t have any yet. You’re the second person to ask this morning.” She recommended checking out the Dollar General store, only one block away, and sure enough, they had a nice selection. We were good to go.

Once at the lake, I turned on my Humminbird graph and followed a previous trail that led to good “tullie” fishing only a month prior. Staying on a plowed ice road, out of Anderson’s Horseshoe Bay Resort, I was surprised to find someone parked in “my” exact spot. Slowing down, as we drove by, I noticed the “Fish of the Gitch” sticker on the truck and realized it was my buddy, Lorin LeMire.

Lorin, a Lake Superior charter captain, and I, had fished this same spot a month ago. It was odd that we would both end up trying it again on the same day.

While chit-chatting, he mentioned that the weather was going to be nice and none of his crew had any sun block. I told him of our stop in Remer and what the cashier said to me, saying someone else had asked for some earlier. “That was us” Lorin said, “she never told us to go to the Dollar General”. What are the odds?
We left him to fish an area that had quite a few anglers scattered about, agreeing to remain in contact, regarding our success. Then we would both team up in the best area.

Well, to make a long story short, Lorin and his crew only caught one tullibee and we never caught any. The lone fish they did catch was full of May flies. Hmm. Maybe that was the reason? Many of them were still alive so, naturally, we tried using them on our tiny hooks but that didn’t even help. It was just one of the days, which was too bad, as I had two of my granddaughters along, hoping to catch their first tullibee.

I remember tullibee fishing on Leech Lake 30 years ago and the fishing was stellar. What fun. I also recall some “out-of-staters” catching and cleaning on the ice. It looked like a commercial operation and surely could have been.

They had four guys catching and two cleaning on 4x8 pieces of plywood. They certainly had it figured out. This was back in the day, when there was no limit but that changed shortly after. I honestly think this had something to do with it, as they had more than anyone could possible use.

There is no state-wide limit on tullibee (cisco), except on Leech Lake, where it’s capped at 50. Whitefish, which run much larger, is 25.

There’s still plenty of ice out there for panfish anglers but please use caution. It can deteriorate in a hurry. It’s also good fishing!

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guidlines" March 13, 2018 " Slush Fun"

As of last Sunday, I’ve still be using my old Bearcat to get around on the lakes but that almost came to a screeching halt, when I visited a small lake up north, looking for crappies. Motoring out from the public access, I ran into deep slush and was lucky to make it out of it.

Squeezing the throttle for all it was worth, I slowly spun my way to “higher ground.” Glancing behind the snowmobile, I found a real surprise. My fishing shelter, which wasn’t sporting a travel cover, was filled with slush and water. I couldn’t even see any of my gear.

First things first. I unhooked the shelter and plotted a path to harder ground, which wasn’t all that firm in the first place. Going for it, and hoping I would make it there, I once again “pinned it” and found myself sitting high and somewhat dry. Now to retrieve the fishing shelter.

Walking back, I found myself plodding in deep slush and snow, sometimes measuring up to 18” in depth. It made for rigorous hiking but was something that had to be done. Off the beaten track and alone, as usual, I hoped I wouldn’t be needing any assistance, as cell phone coverage was non-existent.

Reaching the shelter, the first order of things was to remove all gear, which had to located by using a small shovel. Once everything was out, wiped off, and placed in orderly fashion on the ice, I tipped the shelter over and watched what looked to be about ten gallons of water come pouring out.

Then it was time to pull the shelter next to the snowmobile. I wasn’t looking forward to this ordeal, as I always take much more gear along than needed. Surprisingly, things went fairly-smooth and within minutes, I was fishing.

I should have packed up and left right there but figured “as long as I’m out here.” I fished long enough to catch four smallish crappies and lost another before attempting to make it back to shore.

Steering clear of previous holes, all went well and that seems to be the key now during this time of season. If you’re going to use a machine to get out to that favorite fishing hole, avoid areas that have been drilled out, as slush, more-than-likely, will be there to challenge you.

Some lakes, however, receive a good deal of traffic and these trails usually are okay for traveling. Some even allow truck traffic, up to a point. Hopefully, these conditions will be reversed in a week or so, with the predicted warm weather helping us out.

Making it back home, everything was emptied out of the shelter, re-wiped down, and readied for the next trip, which would take place later in the afternoon. This time, I would be going to the “beaten trail”, where I knew I wouldn’t be stuck.

Fish Body Language – It’s amazing, when you think about it, at how one can tell what type of fish are below you, when ice fishing. While angling for sunfish, which had a lot of small perch mixed in, I had one fisherman ask me “how do you know what those are?”

For the most part, the little perch were remaining close to bottom and would quickly rise up like a small gang, upon me dropping my lure down to them. At this point, I would pull my bait back up and out of their reach, so they wouldn’t pick away at my waxworm. They would, however, sometimes chase it all the way up to within 5’ of the surface. Pesky, little things. It would be different, if they were true jumbos.

The little perch, if spooked, also zip back down to the bottom, as fast as they rise up to inspect your bait. We’ve all seen this.

So, if I see a 4-5 fish near bottom, they more-than-likely are going to be perch. See only 1-2 larger “bands” on your electronics and they’re probably sunfish, which aren’t as speedy, when it comes to inspecting your bait.

They’ll cautiously rise up, ever so slowly. When you see this, you’re pretty sure it’s a bluegill. This is when you leave your lure within close striking distance and don’t overwork it.

Fish coming into the cone-angle halfway down are a pretty good indicator of crappies.
However, there are times when you can throw this all out the window, as I am usually surprised most every outing. You just never know for sure.

Big Winnibigoshish Public Meeting – Big Winnie’s water clarity has jumped in recent years from 6-7’ to 14’ or more, thanks to the zebra mussel. The Minnesota DNR will be hosting a public meeting on Big Winnie’s ecosystem, March 20, 7-10 pm, at the Mn. Interagency Fire Center, 413 SE St. Grand Rapids. The meeting is free and open to the public.

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guidlines" March 6, 2018

"Yay! It appears the heavy snowfall stayed south of us. That’s the last thing we need, when it comes to being able to get around on the lakes.

Over the weekend, I tried a couple seldom-fished waters up north and experienced very poor travel conditions. Using a snowmobile, I found deep snow and slushy areas where someone had previously fished. It was a mess and I made sure not to stop.

Walking about, testing open holes was a chore as well, with deep snow making it difficult. This had me thinking. For those that try to keep fit by going to the fitness club, there’s no need for that if you’re walking around in deep slush and snow, carrying around an auger. Even after all the hole drilling is done, return trips to each hole, looking for fish with a Vexilar, gives one a pretty good workout.

Although I stayed local, some have traveled to the west, where snow cover isn’t as bad as it is here. That’s always an option. Otherwise, head to the resort roads. Sure, you’ll have to drag your shelter off the beaten track a short distance, so you don’t flood the road, but at least you’ll be able to wet a line.

During last week’s travels, I witnessed several anglers removing their permanent shelters before the supposed storm hit. For those that are waiting it out, you have until Monday, March 19 to get the dreaded task done. Pick up your trash as well, along with anything else you may have brought out there (blocking, etc.).

Most people around here are pretty good but take a visit to the big waters, like Upper Red Lake, and it’s a sad sight, especially when the snow melts. Wow. The junk left out there is incredible. What’s the matter with people. They may be fishermen but certainly not sportsmen.

The majority of my fishing, this winter, has been done for panfish, which is no surprise, but I did notice that most of my fish have come via a wax worm or plastic. For some reason, and maybe it’s just the waters I fish or “the day” but I haven’t done well at all when using spikes (larvae, maggots, etc.). That really surprises me, as they normally produce very well.

How many have had auger problems, mainly cutting a hole? My auger, an 8” Edge, was getting the job done just fine, when it slipped out of my hand and had the auger blades hitting the ice (obviously, this was before the snow cover). The next hole drilled was nearly impossible, but I limped it out for the remainder of the day.

Driving home, I stopped in at Fred’s Bait and picked up new blades, as I had a guide trip the next day and wanted to be well-prepared. Imagine my surprise, when the new blades didn’t help at all. The auger just spun around, creating a dusting of fine ice. Luckily a spare auger carried me through the day.
What had happened, and this was new to me, even after all these years of ice fishing, was the auger bit had hit the ice hard enough to get it “out of pitch.” One wouldn’t think that to be even possible, as it’s made with some heavy steel.

This could easily be solved by buying another drill unit but do you think I could find one? No way. Thank goodness for Thousand Lakes Sporting Goods, who sold me one, taking it off one of their augers. The thing cuts like a “mad chicken” now, whatever that is, and I am awfully cautious when switching hands. Lesson learned.

So now I have new blades affixed to an auger bit that is out of pitch and totally useless. At least I have spare blades, when needed. I did, however, find out that these drill units can be re-pitched for a small fee. I’ll just have to bring mine along, on my next trip anywhere close to Big Lake, home of Strikemaster.

I had to chuckle at a couple I took fishing recently. Prior their arrival, I had everything set up. The Ice Runner “Expedition” was in place, heater on, and “Precision Noodle” rods ready to go. All they had to do was step inside and get to fishing.

They were almost horrified that they wouldn’t be using a float, saying “where’s the bobber?” I said “you’re not going to be using one. You’re going to catch fish like this” and went on to give them a crash-course on using the Vexilar.

They were a little skeptical but by days end had a nice pile of sunfish and were wondering how much a Vexilar would cost them."

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guidlines" February 27, 2018

"Well, it’s that time of the year again. Just in case you happened to forget, your angling license expired last Wednesday, February 28. Shelter licenses are good through April 30, 2018.

Glancing through the DNR fishing regulations, I learned something new and that is “portable shelters only need licenses when left unattended, which is defined as all occupants being more than 200’ away.” Keep this in mind, if you’re thinking about leaving your shelter and running home or back to the resort for something.  

February 28 was also the end of the walleye, sauger, northern pike, and bass seasons so don’t be bringing any of those home unless you happen to be fishing border waters, which all have their own regulations.

Snow depth on the lakes is quite high and most vehicle traffic has come to a stand-still. I’ve been taking my snowmobile out on the ice and have witnessed several 4-wheel drive trucks just spinning away. I’ve gone that route and don’t want anymore of it. I’ve done enough snow shoveling around the neighborhood the way it is.

One of my back-in-the-bush fishing trips had a friend requesting that I check on his cabin for him, as he thought he may have left the door open, when last there, two weeks ago. Driving as close as possible, I parked the truck and headed back into no-mans land with my Bearcat.

The cabin was another ¼ mile away and I wasn’t sure I was going to make it. Snow was deep enough that it was rolling right up on top of the hood. That’s one thing about the Bearcat. It’s a great ice fishing machine, with a 20” long track, but get it stuck and you are STUCK. I don’t care if it has reverse or not. The doors were all shut.

I’ve been fishing for, and catching, more bluegills, as of late, with the occasional crappie coming near sunset. Thus far, all fish have been released but that’s going to come to a screeching halt, as we’re due for another fish fry. We don’t eat fish all that often and rarely do I have any fish in the freezer, like now.  

I’ve been using Tuned Up Custom Rods new “Fusion” ice rod a lot, recently, and it’s fast-becoming a favorite of mine. It’s has a slightly heavier action than the lightest “Precision Noodle”, “Bullwhip”, and “Quicktip” but is still sensitive enough to feel a light-hitting panfish bite. It’s the perfect rod for small spoons, such as Northalnd Tackle’s 1/16 and 1/8 ounce “Forage Minnow Spoons”. Just tip with a wax worm and you’re in business.

Every once-in-a-while, I’ll have someone contact me regarding which TUCR ice rod would be the best for them. The first thing I do is ask what they like to fish for and what is their favorite way of going about it, meaning what type of presentation do they normally use. I’ll post a photo showing all the ice rods and what weight lures are recommended for each. It’s very helpful.

It’s been my experience that tiny, light lures are often best fished with a “Precision Noodle”. It has a super-sensitive and forgiving tip, which is perfect for those light-biters, especially when “dead-sticking”. I prefer the PN, when using small tungsten jigs (tipped with a wax worm or spike), for fussy panfish, many times just laying the rod down (or in a rod holder) and watching for that tell-tale sign of a bite, when the rod-tip slowly starts to bend. It’s almost like using a bobber.

Out on the ice, I usually have all TUCR panfish rods available to me, as you never know what you’re going to run into. If you’re curious about the rods and would like to try one out, by-all-means flag me down and I’ll let you borrow one for a few hours. The same goes for the Vexilar FLX-28 and anything else I use.

I’m hoping the recent, little warm spell will drop snow levels on the lakes but until that happens, use a snowmobile or “track machine” to prevent needless shoveling. Good luck, be safe, and have fun!

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guidlines" February 19, 2018

Monster Lake Trout! A huge CONGRATULATIONS goes out to my fishing buddy, Andy Walsh, on his mammoth lake trout, caught last week, while fishing Clearwater Lake in Manitoba. The big fish, caught on a Northland Tackle bucktail jig, measured 42” long and had a girth of 28” and was estimated at 35 pounds. It looks like the 12-hour drive north was worth it, no matter how much equipment broke down.

Crappie Talk - Is it just me, or does anyone else think several of our local lakes are boasting better size and numbers of crappie this winter? No, I’m not talking big slabs but 10”ers (or slightly under), which for me are the smallest size I care to bring home for supper. Any smaller makes it hard to get enough meat to make it worthwhile.

I prefer releasing the larger fish, 12” or more, but that’s just me. To each their own and when you get right down to it, I think the perfect size crappie for cleaning/eating is an 11”er.

Thinking this over and doing a little research, if there’s an abundance of 9-10” crappie swimming around in our waters, we must have had excellent spawning results about five years ago.

Here's an example chart of the estimated gropwth rates of panfish in Minnesota; Just something to think about.

Editors Note: No it's not just you that's noticed the small fish phenomenon Greg. On January 24, 2018 Jeff Sundin wrote; "Remember how good the Crappie fishing was a few winters ago? The very strong year class of 2010 did not occur only in one lake, not even just a handful of lakes. It was an area wide bubble of beautiful fish and it came on the heels of a couple seasons where there were tons of little ones. This reminds me of what I'm seeing this winter, these small fish seem to be everywhere I go and ..." Read >> "Predicting The Predictible January 24, 2018"

Tullie Time – I made a trip to Leech Lake last Saturday and joined friends for some tullibee action. I’ve guided for them, out there, before but never fished for them on the south end, going out of Anderson’s Horseshoe Bay Resort. A plowed ice road lead us to the fishing grounds, which was an expansive area, covering several acres. People were spread out, all over the place. I was surprised to see so many trying their hand at catching a tullibee.

I usually do the best by fishing next to some type of structure (like when fishing Big Winnie) but fish were being caught, randomly, while sitting out in a deep basin area. If you were lucky enough, you’d see a few and maybe catch a couple but it wasn’t easy by no means. In typical tullibee fashion, they’d be there one minute and gone the next. Best baits varied but the top producer for our group was a small tungsten jig, tipped with a wax worm. Some were caught on small spoons but the little jigs did far better. “Dropper rigs”, featuring a spoon with a 12” leader attached to a small jig did well too. They’re always fun to catch and great table fare when smoked.

Bernardo the Brazilian – Joining good friend Lorin LeMire on Leech Lake for the tullibee fishing had me meeting a young man from Brazil. Yeah, of all places?
This all took place because of a chance meeting last summer in Alaska, when Lorin and Kevin Friehl, coming off a fishing trip, had a flight delay and found themselves with an extra day to walk about Anchorage.

They bumped into Bernardo, who was vacationing there, taking a break from schooling at the University of California, Berkeley. Bernardo had never been ice fishing (gee, imagine that) and the rest is history.

He flew in the day before and joined us on the ice and within minutes had his first fish caught through the ice, a nice, chunky tullibee. He went on to catch a 24” walleye, later in the afternoon. I wonder if he’ll be coming back?

Blinded by the White – Travel on our local lakes has just become a bit more difficult, with the recent snowfall. Up until last week, I was able to drive around on most of our lakes but that came to a screeching halt last Sunday.

Checking out a local crappie fishery, I had trouble in finding my way out to the fishing hole because of a near white-out. Fishing was poor, so I decided to get off the lake but couldn’t even see the trail. Needless-to-say, I got stuck four times in my efforts to leave the lake. This required shoveling down to the bare ice and slowly backing up in four-wheel-drive. 

Once on the highway, it didn’t look too bad, so I decided to try another lake on the way home. Again, it was almost impossible to see but I made my way out there and caught a few small crappies before throwing in the towel. It was ridiculous. Luckily, I had my Humminbird graph sitting next to me, with the lake map on. At least I could follow my trail back to the main road. Looks like it’s snowmobile time until the next thaw.

Ray’s Sport & Marine Grand Opening – Ray’s Sport & Marine in Grand Rapids will showcase its flagship store this week February 22-25. Stop in and talk boats, fishing, or anything that comes to mind. I’ll be there on Sunday.

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guidlines" February 12, 2018

"The local bar contest took place last Saturday on Blue Lake and I was amazed at how few northern pike were caught. I don’t have an exact count but the six bars involved must have had well over a hundred entrants. I heard DeNucci’s Saloon had forty anglers sign up at their place alone.

I spent a few days on the big reservoir, prior the contest, looking for that little hotspot but came up empty-handed, not catching a northern. How is that even possible? Fishing there in the summer has one catching a fish about every hundred yards or so. It’s crawling with them.

One day, I had a couple of fish fly into the Vexilar cone and hammer my jigging bait but both got off. At least they were aggressive, a good sign. However, after checking out the same areas in the days that followed, I couldn’t even get a strike?

I do admit that I can get easily sidetracked, especially when seeing a lot of panfish activity below me. Dropping down a rather large jigging spoon attracted quite a crowd. You’d think a large bait like that would scare smaller panfish away. Not on Blue Lake.

The next thing I knew, my pike pole was put away and I was jigging away for sunfish, of which I caught a lot of. Most, however, are of the small variety but fun anyway.

One day, I put out a tip-up and watched that thing for a couple hours, while I played with the sunnies. Not a strike on the big bait. Odd?
Thank goodness there’s a nice network of plowed roads out there. One can drive most anywhere you need to. Take caution though. I recall fishing out there many years ago, in the dead of winter, when I spotted a large, open hole, about 25’ across. The steaming, black water was an eerie sight.

The day of the event, I started things out with two tip-ups, as did my partner, Andy Walsh. It wasn’t long before I couldn’t take it anymore. It was like watching paint dry.

Pulling one of my tip-ups, I started jigging, using a large spoon, tipped with a piece of minnow. My thought was 1) it’s a great presentation for northern pike and 2) at least it would generate a little interest and if they didn’t hit the spoon they’d at least take a hard look at my nearby tip-up, which dangled a frozen cisco. Nope that didn’t work either.

I jigged the spoon until I got a little too close to the bottom and that was the end of it. Once snagged, you’re usually done out there. I always joke that if I owned a local bait shop, I’d be telling customers about the great success of trolling deep-diving crankbaits out there for northern and walleye. I figure after a couple seasons of selling lures at $17 apiece, one could retire. Luckily, I’m already retired so don’t worry. That bait shop won’t be starting up anytime soon.

The contest ran from 10 to 2, with me spending the last hour of it, fishing one line for panfish, while keeping an eye on my tip-up, which never budged the entire time. Neither did Andy’s. He has more patience than I do and watched his for the entire four hours, with nothing to show for it.

We did have a little excitement and that was when the game warden checked us out (we were bored and welcomed anything to break up the monotony). I could see him checking others, while working his way in our direction, so I was well-prepared upon his arrival.

I greeted his arrival with “you’re scaring all of the fish” and handed him my license. Thank goodness he had a sense of humor. We passed the little inspection with flying colors but I’m sure he wrote a few tickets on this day. When dealing with a large crowd, as was on Blue Lake, it’s pretty much the law of averages. Somebody’s going to mess up somehow.

One thing I noticed, when fishing there for panfish on the next day, was the amount of litter left behind. Pretty sad. These are sportsmen?

Yes, Andy and I, along with most out there, went “flagless” during the event but there’s always somebody who ends up catching a nice fish and on this day it was Jeff Nelson. Congratulations to him for his 17 ½ pound northern pike, which weighed slightly over 18 pounds on the lake.

The weigh-in took place at Bernie’s Main Dry in Keewatin, which is only two blocks from my house, so after returning home I walked over to check things out. Fish were being weighed and registered outside and a nice buffet was set up inside the bar.

Not a whole lot of fish were weighed in, which still surprises me, but it looked like everyone had a pretty good time, as there were plenty of fishing stories to go around.

The Keewatin Legion took home top honors and the traveling trophy, thanks to the big “kicker fish” caught by Nelson. Always fun.

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guidlines" January 30, 2018 "The Ice Ride" (Part VI)

"In an effort, to put together a first-ice safety video with Terry Wickstrom Outdoors, it was my duty to find “something to walk on” and it wasn’t going to be easy, seeing how we would be filming on Thanksgiving weekend. The weather had been unseasonably warm and good walking ice was scarce.

Terry grew up in the Grand Rapids/Hibbing area and his faithful videographer (and wife), Karen Kullhem Wickstrom, was from Bemidji. It was an excellent opportunity for them to touch base with family and to get some work done as well.  You know what they say. “The show must go on.”

Now, keep in mind, Karen has been in some very dangerous filming locations throughout her illustrious career. She’s dealt with everything from grizzly bears, alligators, musk ox, rattlesnake pits, and more but never looked so scared as she did on the day we filmed on the thin ice waters of Wolf Lake. Yes, that’s all I could find. It was that bad.
I don’t advise anyone to test exceptionally thin ice, but Wolf Lake was the perfect location to do so, as if you did break through, it would only be up to your waist, at worst. We weren’t all that far from shore.

We still joke about that day. Karen was inching her way out there and the ice was cracking below her feet. The look on her face was priceless. What a gal!

In the following years, I did a few more ice fishing shows with some of the top guides in the Midwest.
One was on Upper Red Lake with Tyler Brasel of Bear Paw Guide Service. Again, it was during first-ice but Karen didn’t have too much to worry about on this day, as we used snowmobiles and wheelers to reach our location. Although, looking back on it, she did look a little nervous.

Walleyes were our quarry, with a couple of tip-ups set out for northern pike. It turned out to be a pretty good show and a chance happening with the legendary Dave Genz worked out well, as he joined in on the fun.

We teamed up with another high-caliber “ice man”, the one and only Brian “Bro” Brosdahl, for a shoot on Big Bowstring and Round Lake. Bowstring offered good crappie fishing and Round gave up true jumbo perch. After our shoot with Bro, we made the next day count by filming a big bluegill segment on Bass Lake near Cohasset.

More big bluegill action was captured on ice in the Bemidji area, when a show was filmed with Matt Breuer of North Country Guide Service.

Terry and I co-hosted the “Angling Adventures” television series and did many shows together. However, there were times when I had to go solo because Terry was unable to fit it into his hectic schedule.  Such was the case with Matt, which worked out wonderfully, as he’s a class act and been a friend of mine for many years. It was just “another day at the office.”

One of my solo trips was on Lake Fork, Texas, where I did three shows with three different guides. One was for big panfish, where I caught crappies up to 15”, another was for catfish, where I caught a 35 pound flathead on a trot line (illegal to use in Minnesota so that was fun), and another for largemouth bass, where I boated a 7 pounder.
I know this is summer related but had to bring this up. Always an early riser, I’d be up and about before sunrise, for hours.

That one morning in Texas, it was pitch-black out and I was outside, walking around, when I remembered what our catfish guide said. “Stay away from that tall grass, there might be a rattlesnake in there.” It must have looked like a cartoon, with me practically running on air back to my room. I thought the snakes may be warming themselves on the cement sidewalk on this cool morning. Yikes!

Once back inside, I made coffee and waited for Karen, who was in the next room. It seemed like hours but was probably only 30 minutes or so before I went outside and knocked on her door. Now that was a mistake.

My clock was off and she’s one that loves to get a good night’s rest, unlike me. If looks could kill! I think I rousted her out of bed at 5 am. We still joke about that event. At least, I think she’s joking?

These events lead Terry into asking me to host a largemouth bass show in Mexico and although most anyone else would have jumped at the chance, I wanted no part of it.

On a past and very successful trip there, Terry caught several big fish and the resort wanted him to come back. They did, however, need to travel with armed escorts to get there because of local banditos.
Nope! Not me. Send me north for big lake trout or someplace where’s there’s ice. (to be continued)

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guidlines" January 16, 2018 "The Ice Ride (Part V)"

My very first guided ice trip took place thirty years ago and I really wasn’t quite sure what to expect. So, with that in mind, I asked my son-in-law if he wanted to come along to help, if needed.

Things went well and the only real concern to me was the fact that we would be leaving a “footprint”, meaning that evidence of exactly where we were would now be there for all to see. Would my clients come back to the same spot on their own?

Back in the working days, Monday through Friday, most of my fishing took place on weekends and on my return trip to the same lake, the following Saturday, I found the same group, fishing the same spot. You couldn’t blame them. I didn’t own the lake but it was definitely of some concern to me.

Exchanging pleasantries, we drilled a few holes next to them and checked it out with our one and only Vexilar, looking for fish. Wouldn’t you know it? There wasn’t a fish to be found in this area.

We explored other areas of the lake and found a good bite, unlike our hapless friends, who remained in the same spot, trying to catch a few crappies in pretty much fish-less waters. I think they learned a valuable lesson on that day, being “go with a guide or buy a Vexilar.”

I don’t know if it’s my imagination, or not, but it sure seems like we had a lot more snow and cold weather back then. Trying to reach some of my favorite fishing holes wasn’t easy, as I didn’t have a snowmobile. Countless hours were logged, pulling my one-man Fish Trap all over the North Country. Sometimes it meant wading a mile or two through snow too deep for a four-wheel drive pickup truck. Hey, a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.

GPS units weren’t available yet so anytime we found a good bunch of fish, landmarks were pinpointed in hopes of returning to the same exact spot. Sometimes, discreetly positioned “snow mounds” or a small tree branch was left to show us the way.

Minnows were used most of the time, although waxworms and maggots eventually made their way into my arsenal of baits. When guiding fairly steady, a regular shipment of bait came to my doorstep, ordered from Vados Express Bait. I still have an account there and use it from time-to-time.

It took several years before I had “all the right gear”. Having a snowmobile and hand-held gps unit opened up several options. Now I could fish those little hard-to-reach honey holes that only a select few were visiting.
The “Ice Team” was founded and I was honored to be a charter member, along with a handful of others. Terry Wickstrom, formerly of Hibbing, now living in Colorado, was one of them. We now had access to the best information and products in the business.

Guide popularity opened several doors that lead to television shows and some of the first were with “Outdoors Minnesota”, based out of St. Cloud.

I recall we had a good bite going on Big Bowstring (yes, I fished this lake many years ago and it’s still a favorite today). OM came up for a shoot and things weren’t going well at all, as fish were really tight-lipped and hard to come by.

I could tell the hosts, Tom Brandt and Jerry Carlson, were getting a little frustrated, as they had a bunch of money tied up in this thing, hiring a cameraman, etc. I suggested packing up and going to another lake. They were all for it but a little reluctant when I told them it was an hour away, just north of Nashwauk. Yes, we were going to Crooked Lake. I don’t think there’s ever been another show filmed on that body of water. LOL.

It was late-ice and easy traveling with vehicles. We drove out of the “piling landing” to a spot that I had only recently discovered. I sure hoped the fish would still be there.

Imagine my surprise, when the fish were biting even better than on my most recent visit. Many of the fish, crappie and sunfish, were even larger than I was catching beforehand.

It turned out to be a good show but the funny thing (well, maybe not funny) is that I haven’t done well in this spot since. Incredible (incredibly lucky).

Teaming up with Terry Wickstrom, who had now started the Mt. States Fishing television show, based out of Colorado, I did another show on another little lake north of Nashwauk, Little Buck Lake.

It was first-ice this time and Terry had arrived in Minnesota to attend the new and up-coming St. Paul Ice Fishing Show as part of the Ice Team. He wanted to do a show and the ice was sketchy, at best, but I knew we could get it done.

With the help of Jerry Waldvogel as cameraman, we made it happen and it turned out to be a pretty good show.
Now here’s the funny thing. We attended the St. Paul show and people were amazed that we had already been on ice, as the weather was really warm. So much, in fact, that when we filmed the show, we had to get off the lake, as the ice was getting very soft and almost disappearing below our feet.

After the St. Paul Ice Fishing Show, I returned home to find Little Buck Lake had opened back up. Waiting for it to freeze up again, I made it back out there and can proudly claim to be one of the very few to fish “first ice” twice on the same lake in two weeks. That doesn’t happen very often, if ever.

(to be continued)

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guidlines" January 9, 2017

Yay! Finally, a reprieve from Mother Nature. The recent super-frigid temps kept me off the lakes for a few days and I didn’t even mind it. Imagine that. Back in the day, when working fulltime, I’d pretty much force myself to go, no matter what the weather, just to “get my licks in.” However, now every day is “Saturday” for me. How sweet it is!

The recent warm spell has fish cooperating very nicely. I think they’re happy with the warm-up as well. At least they’re biting a lot better than before.

I’m finally driving out onto a few of the lakes but still taking a good deal of safety precautions. My most recent adventures have been on Big Bowstring Lake, where ice was measured at 21-22”.

When it comes to checking ice thickness (and safety), I drill a hole, shovel it down to the ice, and use a tape measure, to get an accurate reading. It’s a secure feeling, knowing exactly what’s beneath me but, then again, ice is never 100% safe so I always keep that in mind, especially when nearing pressure ridges, etc.

I’ve been going out of Geiger’s Trail’s End Resort on the north end, as Bill has a nice network of plowed roads to travel on and he always tries to go within a short distance of prime fishing areas. A lack of snow cover allows one to travel “off the beaten path” but I did come to a stand-still a few times, when encountering crusted drifts that gave way to the heavy frontend of my truck (bring a shovel, just in case).

Some anglers have struggled in their catching and I believe most of the problem lies with their ability to stay mobile. If I’m not seeing many fish, I don’t stick around. Often, fishermen will see a lot of fish and try to catch them, as they slowly come up off the bottom but many times these are small perch and a move is required. Don’t waste your time, especially if the moving is easy.

“Fishing memories” often limits anglers in doing well and I’ve been just as guilty as anyone of this. I always check out past hotspots, just to see if anything is happening there and most of the time it’s not.
Many of my memory spots are waypoints on my graph and have names of fishing partners. How can one not fish areas like “Joel 1” (brother Joel), “Jack 2” (uncle Jack), and “Bills” (Bill Olson).

On most lakes, there are hundreds of places to fish. If the fish aren’t cooperating (or can’t be found), don’t hesitate to drive another ¼ mile, ½ mile, or even 2 miles or more.

Fish aren’t always relating tightly to structure. You may want to stop out in the “middle of nowhere” to try your luck. I’ve done this several times and every-once-in-a-while you just happen to find the Mother Lode.

Usually, these random spots have fish there and then gone, as there’s nothing to hold them, other than forage and that’s why they’re there in the first place.

Now you run into the decision of “do I sit tight and wait for them to come back or run around and try to find them?” I usually let the fish tell me the answer. If they’re in a real aggressive mood, chasing around, here and there, it may be best to sit and wait for the next flurry. Sometimes you only need to wait for 15 minutes or so.

However, if the weather is nice and you have several drilled holes at your disposal, you may want to go with the “run and gun” approach. That’s all up to you. I recall many a guide trip when the customer was older and preferred to sit and wait them out. They did well. Go with your gut feeling.

When it comes to live bait, I usually have a very nice selection of most everything. My usual offerings are waxworms, colored maggots, and small crappie minnows but the best presentation last week has been a small jig and plastic.
It was a little bit of a stubborn bite, when I noticed some white plastics that were left behind from a recent guide trip, where Wisconsinites Marques and Scott really did a number on the fish. They were both using a Freedom Baitz “Hellcat”.

I stuck one on the end of a small tungsten jig and the result was overwhelming. What a difference that made. Fish were rising up in a hurry to engulf this long-legged presentation. Needless-to-say, I finished the day with it and realize I just may need to make a small order.

Have fun, be versatile, and stay safe!

Greg Clusiau, "Greg's Guidlines" January 2, 2018 - "The Ice Ride" (Part IV) Read Parts 1 thru 3

Another memorable event, from “The Masters”, was with the hired help.

After a couple of very successful years hosting the Masters, I decided to hire someone to keep an eye on the cabin while we were out fishing all day and had the perfect guy in mind. We’ll just call him Rip.

Rip was one heck of a cook. As a regular member of our Little Bear Lake deer hunting crew, I got to witness this firsthand. The man was incredible. All he had to do was keep the cabin warm (we had a barrel stove for heat), serve up a piping hot breakfast, and have dinner waiting for us upon returning to “base camp” each evening.

The first year went smoothly, with delectable appetizers being served before each meal, which was always something special and often a complete surprise. One time, we ran out of propane, so Rip prepared everything on top of the barrel stove and managed to have peach cobbler, pies, and a five- course meal waiting for our cold and hungry bodies. I couldn’t believe it.

Now, lets talk about the following year, shall we? I had a number of guests that I wanted to impress (that was a part of the fun) and everything was going smoothly, which started out with a fantastic breakfast.
It was cold out and we fished right until dark. I could hardly wait to get back to a warm shack and have a hot meal.

Surprise, surprise. Now, I should mention that Rip liked to have a little “nip” once in a while but I didn’t expect him to do it on this day (we talked about this beforehand). I noticed something wrong as soon as I opened the door. The cabin was cold and there was Rip, sleeping, with his head on the kitchen table.

While guests were standing around, wondering just what they got themselves into, Terry and I took control and quickly got the cabin warmed up and started cooking. Thankfully, Rip had the food prepared so all we had to do was heat it up (I’m a terrible cook).

Rip had a big beard and could have filled in at anytime for a ZZ Top band member. As a matter-of-fact, he said he hadn’t shaved since he graduated from Hibbing High School, many years ago. I remember looking at him, passed out, and contemplating cutting that big beard off his face. Yes, I was a little hot. But I didn’t, thank God.
The next morning, we had the “breakfast of champions”, as Rip, licking his wounds, had really done it up right.
That memory is so etched into my brain that I can even recall the lake we went to, Gunnysack.

We fished a lot of local Itasca county lakes back then, many of which were the first to freeze, so you can only imagine where we went. The majority of the time, all fish were released but we did take thousands of photos.
Many say that it was the popularity of the Minnesota Masters of Ice Fishing gathering that lead to the big St. Paul Ice Fishing Show, along with others across the Midwest.

My ice guiding had taking off very well, with clients contacting me from all over. I believe I was the first to offer guided trips on a personal level, where everyone had their own heated shelter, Vexilar, etc. I had so much equipment that it was hard to take it all along, if I had a large group.

I recall one trip, in which I tried to talk my clients out of, was taken on the coldest recorded day in Minnesota.

Looking at the forecast, about a week before the trip was scheduled, I called my client and told him it was in their best interest if they canceled and tried for another date. Frigid weather was moving in and it wasn’t going to be pretty.

His response was “nope, we’ve been planning this for weeks and we’re coming”. Oh boy. Doesn’t anyone ever listen to their guide? Of course, this was back then, when I’d let the customer tell me what to do (my how I’ve changed).

They showed up and were staying at The Pines on Big Winnie. That morning (February 2, 1996), which has been recorded as the coldest day in Minnesota, I headed over, only to have the antifreeze blow out of the truck.
Luckily, I flagged someone down and brought most of my gear to the resort for them to use. There was no way I could guide them. They’d be renting a permanent shack on the big lake, which was really the only way to go under these circumstances.

I left them (total strangers) a four Vexilars and $20 worth of minnows. I returned a couple days later to pick up my equipment and never even got a tip out of the deal.

The coldest recorded temperature on that day was a hearty -60º below zero, Cook, Minnesota. (to be continued) ..." Read >> More Greg's Guidelines