So we’ve read about the high water, fast current, drunks, bad boaters, etc. Now, how about hearing about the good outings? Our group had a great trip with pretty good success. It was our first year and we can’t wait til next year. Who knows, I may have to make the trip once again this year.
Catch’em Fast!
We had a great time!! I will try to post a report tonight….
It was great seeing everybody up there again this year 
ps: and a big THANK YOU to Wigwams Resort for the great accommodations as always 
.
I’m going to go so far to say it was the best Excursion I’ve been to!
Family bonding…the FW actually held a sturgeon without crying..the FD caught her first eel pout and many great friends along with some new ones…and Chappy!!
The award and drawing photo’s will be coming tonight…Stay tuned!!
Our group also have a fantastic time. It’s hard to go up there and not have a good time. As Tuck said, fun is what you make it, and we had a blast. We moved around a lot and got into some nice fish. I will say the numbers were down for us this year, however the last few years were really good, so I think we just got spoiled. The thing that I really enjoy about this trip is seeing all the people that I met right here on IDO. This site truly is about the people, and there are a lot of really good folks. Getting together in the evening, sharing stories from the day, and learning more and more about these old fish that fight like a freight train is really what its all about. The last two years we have had a rookie in our boat, and watching them lock up with a big fish is more fun for me then actually catching them myself. “How long do you have to fight these for” has been a common thing in our boat in the last two years, and I love it!
Myself and the five guys I brought were all rookies and repeated all of those words many times. We didn’t know what to expect and were in awe when we heard everyone stating how tough the bite was this year. I think you are correct about being spoiled. And we can’t wait to be spoiled next year. Brian, this is Aaron from Dave’s, it was a pleasure seeing you and it sure is a small world.
Catch’em Fast!
It was not a hot bite, but there were enough fish being caught, and just being on the water makes my day. The old friends, and new friends I met and talked with was the icing on the cake.
Thanks to all the IDO guys who make this trip what it is. I again had a blast. A big thanks to BrianK who does a bunch of work getting this off the ground and planned every year. 
You will see the Farmboy clan again in the future
Two thumbs up from our group. We have been up for a few years now. The water was high, but the fish were still biting. Weather was overall pretty good.
Its great seeing the other IDOers in person to put faces with the web site postings.
Its great to see how many people have started getting into this adventure.
If your even remotely considering giving this a try, put it on the calendar. You won’t be disappointed.
I agree with Larry, but I wouldn’t just put it on the calendar…call, email or PM Wigwam because the cabins and rooms are again being booked NOW!
I’d have to agree with what has already been said, it wasn’t fast and furious. The heavy current made anchoring and even the fishing challenging at times. I never do real well up there but this year for me it was awful: one Sturgeon, a few Suckers and a Pout. I wish I understood what I was doing wrong when it comes to the fishing. On the other hand, it’s a long weekend with my brother who I don’t spend enough time with. We had a ball. Lots of laughs, good memories. And I had a the priviledge of netting Bob’s new personal best, this 55 incher we caught right before we left Sunday morning. Way to go Bob!
Rootski
I had a blast as usual. We had boat problems, anchoring issues and the weather wasn’t perfect. Oh the fishing was a bit slow for us too. Guess what, I had a blast.
Thanks to the Wigwam for providing a great place for us to rest our heads and a very nice place to get a bite to eat and enjoy a cold one with friends after.
Thanks BrianK for a ton of leg work to set this up along with the Wigwam staff.
Thanks team Snosuit for letting us anchor right on top of you. It made for a very enjoyable day.
Thanks Burbob for finally putting the champ in retirement.
I’m sure I’ve missed a few, but it was a great weekend for me!!!
Oh lastly, thanks to the MN DNR officer Robert(I think). He was very professional when checking out our boat. Next time we won’t leave the boat landing in such a rush. However, in my defense, I had been waiting to use the facilities most of the day. 
I’m glad that all of you had a great time…it was a pleasure meeting all of you and I can’t wait to see all you guys again soon. I hope it’s before next year though 
!!!!
Happy fishing to all, and to all a good day!
For having not been to a Sturgeon Excursion before, We had a GREAT time!
Before we even left town things were falling right into place. The crawlers arrived as they were supposed to, Everybody had all their stuff ready to go when they were supposed to. just perfect!
We started out with a group of 6 guys. as the date approached people started to slowly drop-out because of various reasons. (wedding anniversaries happen every year, who would get married the week of the sturgeon excursion?)
Now the group is down to myself and a college roommate of mine. Just the two of us. We were on the road at 5:15 Friday night and headed north. Around about 10:42 (to be exact) Beltrami counties finest stopped us from getting in too big of hurry just north of waskish (sp?) He was nice enough to let me off with only a warning though.
Bright and early Saturday morning we awoke to the sun shining, birds chirping and crawlers crawling. Hit the water and fished with the pack since it is our first trip. Moved around a little bit and finally settled out in the bay. Waiting impatiently for the rods to jiggle we talked with a couple groups around us and everybody was very nice and more than willing to share what was working and what wasn’t.
All day we only caught 2 fish. After getting off the water my co-pilot looked at me and said “that was the best day I have ever had on the water” It was just awesome. Nice weather, nice people.
Sunday morning we encountered a lot fewer boats but more bites. We picked up another 2 smaller sturgeon and some suckers.
All in all we will be back up next year and hope to have some more time to mingle. We were pretty beat from driving up so late Friday that we hit the hay pretty hard Sat. night.
Sad to hear that some peoples trip was spoiled but not ours. We WILL be back!
This is what it is all about:
Dad and I had fun. Brian K got to hear me scream like a12 year old girl when I caught my new pb 59″er. We ended up with 12 for 11/2 days and all over 40″ and 2 over 50″. Brian it means alot to here praise from you thanks.
That was you!?
I wish I would have been video taping you from start to finish!
From the fish coming out of the water to your voice going 4 octaves higher to the AWESOME release!
You two are obviously experienced Sturgeonairs!
I dont think the mic would have picked up the sound it was kind of high pitched
How many times have you two fish Sturgeon before?
The Favorite Wife and Daughter saw her jump. I knew what happened by the sounds the two of them made. It’s the same every time… “OH MY GOD!! DID YOU SEE THAT!???
When I looked up all I saw was the splash and the two of you get real serious…well, as serious as two 
12 year old girls can get!
I love watching big Sturgeon get caught!
That was our third year up and my 5th trip. I went solo twice but it’s not as fun with out my dad. That’s the second time that a monster has came out of the water for us so cool! 
Our group from Canada had a great time at this year’s event. The bite was slower than years before. And there were a few loogins on the water. None from the IDO group.(No, Kooty didn’t qualify for that badge…..yet!).
The IDO dinner and gathering at the Wigwam was alot of fun. I reconnected with some good friends. Good to see the boys and meet some new faces that I see online. Thanks again Francis. An invite to you catters to come up north this summer for some Red River hogs. Thanks for all the work getting this together. We’re already planning for next year.
It was the 4th year for our group this year. We had a blast. We had a great time re-connecting (1 from Mankato, 2 from North Dakota and 1 from Iowa). Fishing was off compared to other years. However, the Wigwam and Brian K did a great job. As I mentioned earlier… we had a blast! We’ll be back next year.
It was my first excursion and I had a blast. It was great to meet all of you and I will definitely go again. Thanks to all involved on setting up the weekend
Our group had a GREAT time – wouldn’t miss it!
Great to meet new IDOers and to see some old friends!
All 8 of the sturgeon virgins in our group did well and want to come back next year 
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
