Glenn, I read those wolves are more into Elk antlers. However that is debatable..

BigWerm, I have been hunting metro again for two years now. We had a big kitty walking around here on the east side of town last fall. Never did get it on camera. Only found tracks but was 100% a big cat.

The DNR site is funny when reading about cougars. They imply there is no population in MN. Just some individual cats from ND/SD that show up time to time on a trail cameras. I half believe this but they sure do downplay the frequency of sitings IMO..

Happy new years boys and girls! Looks like we are going to freeze back up for a bit here on P2. I was happy we got a break from the weather in December. The last 4 weeks has been good. Numbers for me were low but size was great. Caught quite a few over that 28 notch.

Here are a couple photos. Not great pictures. I was fishing solo a few nights and trying to get photos with the phone while alone is tricky.. Looking forward to 2025. We have a good year class of big fish going into the new year.

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I do not use fluorocarbon anymore. Honestly I have more luck with Berkley XT for leader material under 20lb test.

Red Eye wrote:

Wonder how the tribe’s input will factor in?

Sounds like it already had an impact. They said there were “political issues” in the Red Wing plans. I am assuming this was related but only a guess.

Gitchi Gummi wrote:

For me, the cost of a quarter of beef is only one part of the equation when deciding if its worth it. Quality of the beef compared to store bought meat makes it a no brainer. From time to time I will eat store bought beef and get reminded again why buying local raised beef is far superior. It’s not even close. You get what you pay for.

Agreed, this goes for pork as well. Our family raises two pigs every year. The cost is actually higher than going to the store and we process ours at home. But quality is no comparison.

BigWerm wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Gitchi Gummi wrote:</div>
if its not access to firearms, why are school shootings so much of a problem for the US but not anywhere else?

How about if it is access to firearms, why doesn’t Switzerland have the same issue as the US? And why didn’t the problem exist in the US prior to the 90’s?

I am sure this will be an echo to most people here. I had access to firearms my whole life. Just about every one of my friends houses were the same way. Our parents and thiers would let us grab the shotgun anytime we wanted and use some of their shells. We never had this problem when we were young (80’s-90’s) I guess I will stand by the idea that the guns are not the problem. Blaming the gun is just an excuse.

I really dont know why this exist now. Wish we did! I am sure there are multiple reasons that are not similar to eachother. I just know it is not the guns that are to blame. Thats all. We have some way bigger issues that need to be in the spotlight and I have no idea how to identify and correct them.

recordhunter wrote:

Pulled out of Lions Saturday morning and after I got on plane and rounded the first buoy I hit something under water

Were you heading upstream or downstream? I would guess you were going upstream. Up past the 1st bouy they had material for mooring equipment from the last spill at the refinery. You would have had to been up inside the dam to find it though.. Going downstream outside the cans has been clean. Super clean this fall. Just curious if it was up or downstream of the launch.

Reef W wrote:

North Pole Restaurant in Newport I think. It’s not that big though, you might have been smaller

Even cooler is a catfish he has mounted in the drug store connected to the restaurant. If you walk into the drug store there is a 44-45 inch flathead mount on the wall facing the restaurant.

Advanced Sportswear is the store in that little stip mall selling sweatshirts.

Hunting up at the family farm was pretty good for our crew. We filled 2 of 4 buck tages. My brother inlaw and niece both got 3.5 year old bucks. Best part of the weekend was my niece and nephew. They hunted together for the first time on opener. 7:25am they had her deer laying in the field ready for us to pickup. Was great to see them work together and sure they will remember it forever. I head back up on Wednesday and hope to bring a doe home if a mature buck doesnt show up.

This deer with the goofy rack was so beat up from fighting. It was incredible how many wounds he had on that left side of his face, ears and neck. Its hard to see in the photo but he looked like a pin cusion when we took the hide off.

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B-man, thats funny. I am usually up in Trego and Minong the weekend after thanksgiving as well. Not hunting but my brother is in Trego and family cabin is up on the Minong Flowage. Always thought about hunting the state property across from our place but never have. Hate to ruin someones hunt is my worry. We usually fill necessary tags before going up after turkey day at the farm.

I shoot Remington Core Locks. 270 win with 150 grain. Have no reason to change. Been happy with this hunting in WI. I never have to shoot out past 200 yds either.

We are super fortunate to have our family running a dairy farm. I process my own pork and venison at home. All of our hamburger comes from young steers that they raise with the ladies at the farm.

However even though we have a freezer loaded up we still consume some commercial meats from restaurants, fast food and the grocery store. So will consider my family an independent hybrid consumer.. HAHA..

I am down in Cottage Grove and been the same here.

They started popping up last week. We have see 4 different bucks since last Thursday. Nothing big yet but they have been on the move seeking. Always fun to see.

I went a year without a net in the boat on P2.. It was more of a superstition than ritual. But wouldn’t allow a net in my boat that year. I would just tell guys I forgot it instead of explaining it.. Taught them how to hand land a fish with a #5 shad rap in the front of it.

Randy Wieland wrote:

I’m just over 400fps and shoot the TP – Center Punch Alpha-Nock Premium Carbon with a fixed DRT head. I’ve punched double front shoulders and BLOW through.

Randy, I like the sounds of this!! I am not worried about a few extra bucks for a half dozen bolts.

There is a chance I damaged this bolt at the range too. Thats possible but if I can move into a better product I will on this one.

waldo9190 wrote:

Are you sure it broke due to the rib on the ENTRY side and wasn’t because of being stuck in the far side on a running deer?

Arrows/bolts shot into game SHOULD be considered a consumable, with one being able to be reused just being a bonus.

I thought the same at first but after inspection of the internals and inside rib cavity it was clear that it broke at impact. The broadhead turned about 45 degrees and ran inside the skin down to the leg. The broadhead made it well over 20 inches past entry and the bolt never went past the fletching at entry. This was a direct broadside shot. There was zero damage done to the rib cavity on the opposite side of the entry. It was weird.

I always used 3 blade muzzy fixed on my main bow but with the cross bow I have much better grouping with this hybrid at longer range. I was happy with the blades. just the main shaft of the bolt that has me scratching my head. I understand the speed in a crossbow is different so just curious how others have done with their bolts.

B-MAN

I was wrong. I used Mckenze product on this last hide. I liked this stuff. Pickle and tanner are safe and easy. Cost a little more but not bad if you just want to learn this style process.

here is what I have. I accidentally ordered too much tanning oil so if you need some for softening a hide let me know. I can send you some!

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Bearcat89 wrote:

I’d call a bow shop and talk with some one. Call full draw and talk to one of the guys there. Very knowledgeable.

I was going to call up to Bwana here in Little Canada. They have always been great. I was just curious what others have had good or bad luck with. I am new to crossbows and was surprised to see a bolt blow up from a center hit on a rib bone.

Was also surprised how much damage the broadhead still was able to do. So I am giving the bolt 2/5 stars on this deer and the broadhead take 5/5 stars for the kill.

Here are a couple photos of a hide I did using NuTan.

Pretty soft. Not as good as commercial but pretty close.

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B-man. Randy is correct with the orange bottle. It will get stiff.

I have done a couple now and moved away from the orange bottle right away. That works but best for mounts where a hard hide wont make a difference.

Once you get done salting it can go into a pickle. You can keep it in a pickle bath for months and will not hurt the hide. this is if you wanted to use something different. I can take photos of the stuff I used last year when I get home and post it up. Its called NuTan. You can run the orange bottle this year and if you dont like it you can give this stuff a try.

Fleshing and thinning the hide is important. You look like your doing a good job with yours there in the photo. I usually do not tan the neck. Just the back/sides. The neck is much thicker than the balance of the hide and requires a lot of thinning to allow it to get soft.

Also very important is the finish. You need to stretch and stretch that hide a few times a day as it dries. It will whiten as you stretch it. There are some great videos on youtube about this.

crawdaddy wrote:

2 in two days, you’re beating the average. I’m just glad joe posted a picture of a real fish.

Yep, we had two spots where we would have to clean out these darn green carp before the baits would get down to waldo… It was kind of fun. Some big ones in there to help make sure my knots were tied good.

I was running the rapala elites this year pretty heavy. 5.5 and 7.5 size shad raps. Mostly the 5.5’s. They are great!!

I have a couple 5.5’s that have caught well over 100 walleyes each and they are still running. I had to replace hooks on one and the other got a bit waterlogged from the exterior finish getting tooth holes. But they still run good! These baits have wire through construction from front to back. Thats a big help!!

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Matt Moen wrote:

There is so little flow it’s hard to get the sticks to wobble in the current. Best bet was to give them a couple pops then let them rest for 5-10 seconds. Most of the strikes came on the pause.

This is my second favorite bite! Usually just a tick but sometimes they cream it!!

My first favorite bite by far is the “thunk” when tossing big swim baits.

10-15 seconds on the pause is a good start. But experiment and they fish will tell you

There are a few things to unpack with fall baits….

Water temperature and flow and clarity are key factors. There is a huge difference between now and Thanksgiving.

A HJ14 is a great example of why. Right now, when water is in the 50’s a SR7 is great. Standard retrieve and contact with bottom are a winner. However, when we get below 45-degree water this no longer be a thing. There are reasons some people do not have luck with HJ’s.

45 degrees and below is when HJ14’s shine. Mainly because of the action of the bait when retrieved and that it suspends. I don’t care if you are tossing a #12, 14 or any style stick bait. It has to SUSPEND! And if you’re not allowing that bait to pause motionless on the retrieve then you’re missing out. This is no joke. Most guys don’t have the patience to allow that bait to sit there. I have made people put the rod in the rod holder after 1/3 retrieve and just stop touching the rod. Every one of them were surprised what happens!! I have to do this myself every year as a reminder to slow down!

Also, it is crucial that you tune your stick baits. Make sure they suspend flat and run straight. Tuning is necessary with any crank bait. Stick baits especially. You can bend and tweak the nose of that bait up or down to get a different wobble/depth/action out of it.

Honestly this will be a better weekend for you. the water was a bit warm yet and that wind last weekend would have kept you in the bar.

Gitchi Gummi wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>buschman wrote:</div>
I cannot believe people have so little in their lives that they have to pick at problems like the name of a bird and trying to change it.

I honestly feel bad for them.

What’s worse? The people who get offended with bird names? Or the people who get offended when the other people get offended with the bird names?

I will go with option A.. Pretty simple question to answer and happy to help!

I understand people fed up with cancel culture and the weak people within it.

I cannot believe people have so little in their lives that they have to pick at problems like the name of a bird and trying to change it.

I honestly feel bad for them.