Are they still open? Thinking of going out on Friday and will need minnows/crawlers. Does the gas station in Bayport still sell bait?

I sure hope it stays a bait shop. I was in there often enough that he probably recognized me. Not the world’s best service or info, but not bad either. It would be nice if someone would buy it and run it like Lundeen runs his place on Mille Lacs. At least weekly internet reports on the bite. I can’t believe more shops and resorts aren’t online w/ info, sales etc. Hell, I’ve even had Lundeen take me to the map on the wall point out some specific structure and say use this. We caught fish based on his advice and every time I go to that side of the lake I stop at his place for bait and tackle. I’m sure it’s a tough business, but the little details make all the difference. Bret

Check your local library for a repair manual, whether it’s chilton’s or some other manual, there will be a chapter on impellor replacement. I needed to look at that before I did it on my old 9.5 Johnson. Getting things apart and the new impellor installed was a snap, but getting the shift lever shaft lined up and reattached was a little tricky. Still, it only took me about an hour. I could do the next one much quicker I’d guess. I would replace mine every 4-5 years at most. Every other is excessive for me as I don’t get out near as much as I’d like. Hope that helps. bret

Waterfowler,

We were out there two weekends ago. Saw more birds than I have ever seen. Hard to get close to those birds w/o blockers on the public land. Good luck. Have a good time and a good Holiday.

Bret

Waterfowler,

We were out there two weekends ago. Saw more birds than I have ever seen. Hard to get close to those birds w/o blockers on the public land. Good luck. Have a good time and a good Holiday.

Bret

Because those older used 14′ don’t have a lot of value left, some guys won’t put them in the bigger papers because it’s too expensive. One exception being the Pioneer Press thrifties section of the want ads is pretty cheap. I’d keep an eye on that as small boats do pop up on there regularly, as well as smaller local papers where running an ad for a $500-700 boat/trailer isn’t too expensive. Resorts will sometimes get rid of their rental fleets too, so call around to some of the bigger resorts and see. Of course, be careful there as some used rental boats are in good shape and some are beat real bad.

One of my biggest concerns if buying this time of year is that you couldn’t put the boat in the water and make sure it’s water tight. You do not want a leaky aluminum boat, that’s one mistake you only make once trust me. But if the boat is clean and looks tight and the owner says it doesn’t leak, I might be ok not water testing it.

There are lots and lots of 14-16 aluminum boats in MN and most don’t see the water very often. That means there’s plenty of nice ones out there, just be patient. Also, if you can stretch your budget to $750-1000 it will more than double your options. My buddy bought an older 16′ Lund at a garage sale w/ a new trailer under it for $700 a number of years ago. The boat is a retired rental boat, but it doesn’t leak. he had to put in new wood for the bench seats, but other than that and a coat of paint it’s had no maintenance and no problems. With only one person it will plane out w/ a 7.5 hp motor and gets around ok w/ 2 people. A 15 hp motor makes those 14-16 footers just about fly. Good luck. Bret

I used to work at a hunting/fishing type store and if I remember correctly, the base they use to fit over the edges of the sled for the seat is pretty basic. They use plastic, but what it looks like is a 2×8 or 2×10 board with 2×2’s channels at either end that fit over the the edge of the sled. It would be simple to make and cost you less than $10. You could also then get 3/4″ pin pedistal base and mount for the seat, but that would add about $20. Of course then you already have the hardware you’ll need for your boat. The board would be mounted across the sled and just drop in over the edge of the sled. You’d need one board for each seat. You could try and mount something lengwise, but at least on my Otter II sled, the front is higher than the back. I think you’d have to permanent mount a board set up that went lengthwise then and I don’t know if I’d want something permanent mounted. Just a couple thoughts. Bret

Nice looking dogs Crossing eyes. I have to keep my English cocker shaved short too, actually we keep him that way most of the time to keep the shedding around the house down to a minimum. Yours look just like mine, except a little taller and bulkier. Mine is about 30# and can go all day, though is slowing a little w/ age. It’s amazing the thick stuff they can go through, under and over that cause bigger dogs problems. Good luck w/ the rest of the season. Bret

Nice looking dogs Crossing eyes. I have to keep my English cocker shaved short too, actually we keep him that way most of the time to keep the shedding around the house down to a minimum. Yours look just like mine, except a little taller and bulkier. Mine is about 30# and can go all day, though is slowing a little w/ age. It’s amazing the thick stuff they can go through, under and over that cause bigger dogs problems. Good luck w/ the rest of the season. Bret

Crossing Eyes,

Are those springers or English cockers? They look just like my English cocker. Sounds like a good trip. Hopefully my trip to SD in a few weeks won’t get snowed out. That’s my only worry for planning late season pheasant hunting trips, as you can deal w/ the cold but if it’s too snowy to get anywhere it’s a problem. Liked the picture. It seems like I make a trip to the vet almost every year like that, although as the dog is getting older he’s smarter and a little slower so no trips to the vet this year (knock on wood) Bret

Crossing Eyes,

Are those springers or English cockers? They look just like my English cocker. Sounds like a good trip. Hopefully my trip to SD in a few weeks won’t get snowed out. That’s my only worry for planning late season pheasant hunting trips, as you can deal w/ the cold but if it’s too snowy to get anywhere it’s a problem. Liked the picture. It seems like I make a trip to the vet almost every year like that, although as the dog is getting older he’s smarter and a little slower so no trips to the vet this year (knock on wood) Bret

sign me up.

I really like the guys at Maplewood marine, if it’s anywhere near you. They work on OMC and suzuki motors. Their number is 651-776-0645.

I started keeping a log book in 1999. I got a day planner calendar from Office Max with a page for each day of the year. It is small enough I can bring it with on trips and record each days’ events while they’re fresh in my mind. I use it for all my hunting and fishing trips. It is useful to have the raw fish catching info handy, but I think nicer to have a journal to record the special parts of each trip (who you spent the day with, sunrise,sunset or fall colors etc). Nice to look back on all those trips and remember them with more precision because of the notes that were taken. By what ever means, start keeping a journal. Bret

I would start at Lake City and hunt around. The access at the park just south of downtown (I think it’s Rochen Park) is one of the nicest access/parks/wayside rests around. Plenty of parking, two ramps, and several miles of riprap to work right near town. I think it even has a fish cleaning shack there, but can’t remember.

If you prefer to drift, I’ve done real well there drifting w/ rigs and jigs and usually leeches. If the walleyes are going on the trolling bite, drifting just south of the access and next couple points down from there always seems to put a few eater sauger in the boat for me with an occasional walleye thrown in. It’s not a hard area to learn to fish effectively and you don’t have any current to contend w/ just wind and waves. Good luck. Bret

PM me John. You know that’s not my area, but I may be able to give you some ideas and maybe a name or two. Bret

Didn’t see that Jeff had already started a post on this topic the other day. Sorry. Anyone been out there? Bret

I’ve got the fish easy 2 and can’t say enough good things about it for a $130 locator. The detail is great @ 240 vertical pixels by 160 horizontal. Also, I seldom lose signal at speed, which was a problem w/ my old one. I thought it would be nice to have the X-51 with the built in memory so that it always comes back to your customized settings. But the Fish Easy 2 in standard format is just about exactly how I’d set it up anyway (fish id off, it has auto sensitivity adjust that actually works, so I find that I don’t really monkey w/ that anymore either). All in all a great unit for anyone on a budget or a second locator. Hope this helps. bret

Thanks for the response guys. Just had to check my new locator/gps as I didn’t quite trust it as I had a few problems with it on Sat. Think I need to reinitialize it or something. Gotta reread the owners manual. Thanks, Bret

I sent you a PM about the motor I have for sale. Bret

Thanks for the tip Dirk. I just called them and ordered several 1000 yd spools. At that price you can’t go wrong. I love that solar for jigging, lindy rigging and 3 way. You always know where your line is and what’s going on down there. Thanks again. Bret

I’ve caught a few both in Red Wing and at the St. Louis river in Duluth, and they always go right back in the water. The fish don’t seem to mind those growths, but I sure ain’t eatin anything that looks like that. I suppose it’s a harmless growth, but it don’t look good. Bret

Thanks for the replys guys. I guess I’ll have to try them naked a little more this season. I tye my own and have a bunch of new colors and patterns to try, so I guess I just need to have a little more faith in them. Hard to break old habits and ways of thinking though. Thanks again. Good luck this spring, that is if the snow ever stops coming. Bret

I have a 7′ med. IM8 that I use mostly for rigging and like it very well. It compares to my St. Croix premire in sensitivity, but the action is not quite as fast. I work at GM part time so I get plenty of time to handle many different rods. The GM IM8 rods compare very well to others in that price range and slightly above it. The GM IM7’s are ok too, but I’d much rather have the IM8 for $10 more. I wouldn’t buy the IM6 GM rod. Just my opinion, and you know what they say about those. Bret.

I’ve got a small boat too, and have thought about livewells, but just can’t justify the expense and hassle in my little boat. I typically use a cooler instead, with ice if it’s very warm. I put enough water in the cooler to keep the fish fresh and cool. Once I have decided it’s going in there, there’s no sorting, don’t know if that’s really legal anyway. Next step is to drain water for transport home and clean fish once home. My fish are always fresh for the table and usually still more than lively when I clean them. But I don’t fish tournaments either, it would be pretty humorous though to see me in my 12′ Lund w/ 9.5 Johnson at a tournament. Good luck. Bret

You could also call the US Army Corp of Engineers library and order one of their map books for the whole upper Mississippi. They are a bargain at less than $15 I think. They don’t give you fishing hotspots, but shoreline detail including riprap, wingdams and navigational aids are all there. They are a nice reference to have. Hope that helps. Bret

I work at GM, actually w/ Waterfowler, and own one of the IM8 rods in 7′ med. action. They are pretty good rods for the money, and much better than the GM IM6 or IM7’s. I have a 7′ St. Croix Premier ML action and can’t really tell much difference between the two in terms of sensitivity, though the St. Croix does have a slightly faster action. The GM IM8 does not and will not compare to a St. Croix Avid. That’s like comparing a Corrolla to a Corrvette. At any rate, it doesn’t seem to bother the walleyes and saugers any when I stubble across a few. They are a good value, especially when they are on sale at $10 off for $50.

You might want to look and see if the GM near you has any Gary Roach IM7 lightning rods left. We’ve had them on clearance for $39.97 for some time now, so selection is thin. Have the price scanned on them even if they’re not marked as clearance, they may not have been marked.

You can find some good deals on open water rods now if you scrounge a little, though you might not have many rods to scrounge through. Hope this helps. Bret

Hey Waterfowler,

How’d you do Sat. Thought about you as cold as it was that a.m. Sorry I didn’t get to see you at the store Sun, sounds like you had a cart full. We also bought more than our fair share. If we don’t get some ice soon, I’m gonna have to take advantage of these nice days and hit the river one or two more times. Talk to you later. Bret

JK

I’ve got to work all next week, except the fourth. It was all I could do to get away yesterday for an entire day. My wife and I may go out on the fourth. Can’t decide if I want to deal with all the crazies out there on the 4th or not. See you at the store, I work tonight and Sat. Bret