This show was on the Discover Channel this morning. He is an old dude who lives in a shack on the backwater of the upper Miss. At one point, he wandered out trout fishing-so I was thinking lower MN somewhere.
They went through each change of season and the animals available for food as well as the changing stages of the river.
Has anyone seen this show or know him?
I’ve read his book, it’s a good read. 
I dont know Ken but i know his wife. she works for the dnr as an arist. she draws alot of the pics in the manuals as well as other things. they live out side Alma WI. somewhere (in a house) Ken does a lot of speeches around the area aswell.
I only caught the first part of it, but it peaked my interest.
I know “we” call anything above St Anthony Falls the upper mississippi…but the Coast Guard has another version of this. I think it’s pool 5 and up…but not certain. Even if it’s P3 there are trout streams dumping in to the sippi.
When they panned the backwaters, I was thinking of the Winona area(?)
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they live out side Alma WI
I was close. 
His book rotates around his life in the Whitman Swamp, a 6,000 acre swampland south of Buffalo City.
The diagram in the book show’s his stomping grounds are just north of the L & D #5.
VOYAGEUR PRESS in Stillwater, MN published the book.
Kenny has 2 books out. You can order them here.
Ken Salwey is an interesting person – knew him in the late 70’s and early 80’s before he was know as the ‘Last River Rat’. Went trout fishing a couple time with him and his nephew, and I grew up in Buffalo City, where he lived for quite a while. He’d come driving up to the gas station in his trapping vehicle, a hertz, which had a few people talking in a small town!
If you ever get a chance to talk to him, you should do so. Ken is very friendly and very knowledgeable, to say the least, about the outdoors.
I know Kenny fairly well and his story is an interesting one. In his younger days he was considered to be a less than model citizen for his lack of steady employment and disregard of game laws and other anti social behaviors.He’s a great guy to hang with and is very knowledgable about the natural world in our area but I do have to say there is more than a little ham in his public image
I saw part of the show also, just by accident – wish i had seen the whole thing. His books are great – the Last River Rat was hard to put down once I started.
Dang…wish i could have saw the show..But I was on the river fishing 
…if anyone hears when or if they replay it please let me know…thanks…Jay
Had the chance to be at one of his seminars. He is a great speaker and is very interesting. His books are a very good read also. The last river rat is the best IMHO. I can never get one of his sayings out of my head, “black, boot sucking mississippi mud.” Just the way he said it every time was funny.
Great guy to talk with also
Interesting thread. You guys paint a pretty nice picture or him. Spending the last 7 summer in Alma I’ve ran into may locals that paint a much different picture.
I think most were operting on the “if you don’t have anything nice to say, say nothing at all” principal.
You and I must have talked to the same people. 
I really enjoyed the show. I was left with the impression that he might have some good stories but would be just as happy to shoot a slug across your bow if you got to close to him.
now your starting to catch on
Bump
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Ken Salwey is an interesting person – knew him in the late 70’s and early 80’s before he was know as the ‘Last River Rat’. Went trout fishing a couple time with him and his nephew, and I grew up in Buffalo City, where he lived for quite a while. He’d come driving up to the gas station in his trapping vehicle, a hertz, which had a few people talking in a small town!
If you ever get a chance to talk to him, you should do so. Ken is very friendly and very knowledgeable, to say the least, about the outdoors.
Odd that he ran a rental car.. 
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