glenn57 wrote:

not really dutchy……that trip i explained earlier….i fish was landed in that manner…..had i not been there i wouldnt of believed it either!!!

I did it as a kid. A couple of still days of hot Aug. weather would get Tullibees dying off. Then north winds pushed them down to the south end. I had saved up fish cleaning $$ and had a big old spoon. Rather than try to use a Mitchell 300 spinning reel or my old man’s Johnson Century Grandad used his canepole. Sometimes he wound the line up around the tip. Some times he just pitched the pole and his grandsons had to bend into the oars.
Used a .32 revolver as a net.

I am in Wahkon Bay. We are pretty sheltered but I have seen docks north of Izatys on Otto’s point twisted up and rolled. I have a mix of different brands of aluminum. Each section bolts to the next and all are on wheels. I got tired of wrestling steel & the wood stuff from when I was a kid 60 yrs ago is long gone up in flames.
Are you going to be handling the install & fall removal your self? 2 son in laws & a 20 something grandson are my crew, Also relatives close by. Lots of guys around that do it. I could give you the name of the guy out of Isle.
Boat lifts, vertical only IMO, are another thing.
Can you pull you gear straight out with a truck or a tractor?
Drive along 18 & see what people have sitting in their yard.
Welcome to the lake!

A couple of points from 56386
The local band usually has maybe a dozen netting permits issued. Now the NE MN band & the WI bands a far east as Bad River (Ashland} are far more active. there has been several instances of pickups pulling into field roads and dumping gut piles & intact carcasses of walleyes, pike & muskies, & a few SMB. the east side accesses {Cedar Creek & Liberty Beach I have seen with mt own eyes) will have LEO on site at the entrance to turn non-tribal members away. Dunno about Malmo, Wealthwood, Garrison, Casino, or Cove. CC & LB are very active.
Last spring there was a net / trap out on the south side of Meshegan Point. Basically out in front of the weed bed of the houses / cabins on Lakeshore. A guy who lives on the other side of the point asked me if I had any idea what it was about since I had clear view. When I saw a big Jonboat going out there & vehicles at the city park, I hustled over to the park. The biologist leading the team is based out of Garrison & said it is a trap ne to strip female muskie of eggs the are then fertilized with pike sperm to thenn be stocked in Metro lakes as tigers. Old ML just keeps giving!
We talked for quite a while and he was very interested in my fall night bite. It was good and the #, size & healtyness of 25s & up was exceptional. He said that they had been way off in their modeling.
I’m okay with this reg for this year. Hopefully it will help businesses. Beachside is a couple doors over & Ben & his crew had a lot of traffic on the ice.
Guides are getting their clients on big Muskies. Especially in the fall.

I think a took kit is a worth while add.
In my experiance on the trails one thing I try to have is windshield clearing stuff. The
“Sissippi” hole back on the Redtop always seems hold water and the loop has lots of waterthis year.
Solana has some long water stretches.
I’ve had to load up relatives 4 wheelers from parking areas going out to the NE from Wahkon. Thus a cell phone can be a great help.

Look at the “neighborhood”.
North Star is on Wigwam Bay. There is a reason the places south of there on 169 have roll down shutters over the windows.
I think a resort on MN 18 between Malmo and Garrison (1st place out of Malmo. Dredged harbor w/ campground N of 18) looks like a mosquito farm.
Castways may have places & Fischers.
Geo Nitti may have something. Both at Hunters and the old Wharf.
Finally Mille Lacs Island west of Wahkon on 27.

Good luck finding 18″ to 20″ fish.
Last year when it was 20 to 23 I would say 75% of my cstch was in that 3″ slot

Oh wow.
I can’t even imagine the pain you must feel.

Do Boathouse just north of Isle is on the lake.
Castaways just south of Malmo has phenomenal broasted chicken.
Bayview inCove bay has great pizza.
Wahkon Inn is a “townie” place & huge portions.
Mugg’s in Wahkon has great burgers & a very nice decor with ML theme. Our go to place.
Casino? Never go there. Most anyone who lives around here stays away.

Pequot Lakes store told me over the phone they are different entities.
Back when there was a store in Fridley south of 694 on the east side of Univ Ave I was treated very fair.

Brad Dimond wrote:

My 12 1/2 year old Springer is in decline. Thinking about the next dog. I’ve had Springers sine 1985. Considering a Small Munsterlander for the next dog. Anyone have experience with the breed?

No Small (or Large for that matter) Munsterlander experiance but I ran a string for both AKC and FDSB field trial dogs back in the 80s & 90s. I also worked personal birddogs.
In my experiance the more “exotic” the breed the less the odds are that the average guy will get a decent dog. Buy a GSP from NAVHDA or gun dog AKC trial stock to start. Then ONLY SHOOT POINTED BIRDS. You should have a reliable dog by age 2. I’d also consider a field GWP but they can be a little “carnal” and may have a certain sharpness. Pudelpointers are another breed to look at.

Big mayflies being blown off the lake this evening.
Fish flies drove me off on Friday. I got nothing going so far but I have only tried longlining cranks.

I never had a call back as an option offered.
2 hrs & I got approximately half way through the queue. That was enough wasted time for one day.

I didn’t expect Lowrance to warranty the units.
A 2 plus hour wait to talk to a human is crazy.

At one time, like 20+ years ago Porter Cable had a cordless drill that had enough torque to drive a 3/8″ lag, sans pilot hole. I had a framing outfit & a bunch of Dewalt stuff then.
I used some Makita 4 amp drills & impacts at a refuel / EPU at Monti. Picked up a set at HD and like them yet.
Went with a Milwaukee 18v Fuel drill / driver set a couple of years ago. A year ago I found a deal in 18v Fuel hammer drill.
Hilti is good stuff but frankly my Milwaukee drill are more than capable of breaking a wrist or knocking out some chicklets.

Right after, “Where & why were you in Canada?” “Fishing”
The next ? is, “What are you bringing back?”.
When I replied, “No fish, cannibis, & alcohol.” I got a welcome back to the US.
It took 90 seconds.

I’ve caught them on stick baits, both long lining and trolling plugs behind boards. Over 40″ is a beauty.
Many times I have had my 9’or so crawler harnesses get hit HARD and I have only a couple of feet of frayed mono left. Gators are the culprits.
As to muskie recruitment, I have a friend and neighbor who had a grandson catch a 20″ muskie this spring. There must be some natural reproduction going on.

Turtles need to eat.

Jon is spot on about Mille Lacs. If you are willing to go to the leeward side wind should not be a big deal.
There is a reason Bass Masters loves the lake.
McQuoids is a nice hotel. It is a couple hundred yards up a river from Isle Bay. It is not a lakeshore place.
I’ll throw out Island View Resort by my place in Wahkon. On the lake (You do have to walk across a road to the dock) in a small town. 2 places walking distance for food & drink. Convenience store another 200 yards from the bars. Cabins to stay in vs a hotel. Wahkon has maybe 300 summer residents.
Tim, one of the owners lives on site in the summer & is on top of things.
PM me if you want more info.

Get them out on a reef pulling cranks on a warm Sept full moon.
The 1st time they feel one of those hogs dynamite their bait!!! HOOKED!
With any kind of luck a Gator will also be in the mix.

I’d say 5 hrs north east of I-Falls. There is a fork in the road before you get to Sioux Lookout. West End is where the English River leaves and flows down to Kenora / LotW.

Lac Seul. As good as it gets without flying.

This time pf the year 2.5 is a good start.
Start slower in the fall.

I just used mooring type line that you get at Fleet or Menards.
Made a big enough loop to thread it through a cleat and around a horn of said cleat. Used a metal “clincher” from the hardware aisle to hols the loop vs a knot. Tied overhand knots to center bucket between outer and center pontoons. Then just duplicated for the other side.

Pontoon trolling is as much a social event as fishing. I use itwhen I have too many people who want to fish. I tried using the “big boat” last Oct full moon when we had 4 guys. I quit fishing right away, to hard to steer. Eventually oldest S.in L. also quit and he netted for his future S.in L. & father. I won’t back troll (That will really cut your speed and improve control) or pull in-line boards at night.
Back trolling messes up other boats reference to you & boards at night are not needed.

I find it hard to believe a properly deployed 36″ bag only dropped you less than .5 mph.
I use two 5 gallon buckets with holes on my tritoon. I have them rigged on a common single line but set so each one is seperate and between a ‘toon.
Besides reducing speed it also gives me some thing to use as leverage for control.
Pontoon is another word for “sail” in a trollers dictionary. Contour following is just a wish on these barges.

Spoon Minnow might have stock in a wire leader material producer.

I make no bones about it, I’m a Mille Lacs walleye guy thru and thru. Back in the ’00s to the ” no keeping any walleyes” on the lake I had just pulled into my lift and was sitting in my boat reflecting on how things had gone. I look down and see a ULCC bass hunkered down between a dock wheel and the frame of the lift.
Having some crawlers left and not wanting to put them back into my refrigerator crawler “condo”, I dropped one down right in front of the big girl. GULP! She goes and it is gone. I do this 3 more times with the same result. I then grap a rod with a small circle hook and thread a crawler on to. Big Azz Momma Bass just watched that one fall and when I twitched it a bit I got the same result.
Fish bite when they want to bite, but if they are neutral or negative then one best have the presentation as subtle as possible.

Parents + minibike = no fun zone.
I think most parents would wonder, “What’s the catch we dontknow about?” When asked to sign a waiver.
Have them wear helmets is the thing .

Having a minor sign a waiver?
Why bother.

Those 21″ to 23″ slot fish last fall were mighty tasty.
I have been too busy around the place to wet a line yet this year.

When I have received this type of a call I say “Thanks, I’ll now follow up by calling the card issuer.” I do and have not had a problem.

Jeremiah Lapinski
In Isle on the left side of 27, after 47 & the funeral home, between the highway and the trail. Last time I looked he had a “rock” warning bouy along side his entrance. Bobcat & stuff in yard.
320 382 1582