regular "work"

Like most folks in my position, there's gotta be a regular job to pay the mortgage in the winter month's, and I've not yet given into the idea of moving somewhere's to guide year round quite yet. Maybe when I'm 50. So in the meanwhile, I'll continue on with working with my hands. I'm a handyman for all intents and purposes, although I prefer craftsman. I've learned enough over the years to be proficient at just about anything but haven't yet admitted to myself that it's what I should be doing. Having spent 9 years or so behind a desk, albeit in a very good working environment, I'm destined to carve out my own niche, win or lose. This work, like a lot of my guide gig's, comes word of mouth. It's nice when folks are pleased enough to recommend you to family or friends. I've been on a bathroom remodeling tear, Ben dubbed it "pimping the crapper", I think I need to turn that into a cable TV show.

Today I went to a funeral, for the father of my good friend Ingy. Ingy had the misfortune of finding his father dead in his easy chair on monday morning. In her rememberance of hre father, Ingy's sister told an interesting story about an old scottish tradition whereas when a person passes from this life, a window is opened to allow their essence/spirit to pass through. She thanked Ingy for opening the window for his father. I was pretty moved by this, Ingy is a pretty private guy and it was a nice little insight into his thoughts. Be well brother Ingy.

Plans are being laid for the Alaskan adventure, which is getting to be just around the corner. I must admit to being a bit nervous, despite having traveled well in my day, Ive never been away from home for such a long period of time. However much I miss my gal's, Jennifer & Elsie, I know it's an opportunity I can't miss. Curt is looking forward to the time together and thinks I'll work out well as a deck hand or tender captain, I think I'll do just fine and come back with all my fingers. The added bonus of winter king fishing near town will quell my hook and line jones....

really not much fishing to report and it looks like were going to get a full on freeze with subzero highs on monday and tuesday, I think I'll stay indoors.

bloody icehole

Note to self, leave cell phone in truck when ice fishing. Yep, I dropped my phone down my ice hole yesterday, watched it most of the way to it's new home in 14' of willow river water. I was pissed of course, but I had to laugh after a while knowing it would give everyone else a good chuckle. I'll just add this to the list of items lost including keys, hats, many many sunglasses, fly boxes, tools and who knows what else. On the other hand, it was a pretty good year for catching who knows what. I seem to recall a tea-pot, muscle shirt (perforated 80's style), women's panties, numerous dock lines and a Ken doll, which I never actually got in the boat (he was tough!) but saw bobbing away, head up, steadfast...forgot my damn camera too, I laughed hysterically.

So I've finally got some pike on the brine. The pickling season has begun and the aroma of spices and vinegar will soon be permeating the house. The pike fishing was decent over the weekend, I think all told I got 8 flags, landed 3 and lost another at the hole. Saturday was brutal, 30mph winds and 10 degrees. My ice buster tip-ups were getting ice over and I missed a couple fish as a result, no flag action. The panfish bite is pretty good and the size seemed to be up a little as well. Fred joined me last night and iced some nice gills and a couple crappies, all of which are being pickled as well. I need a couple more nice pike to satisfy my obligations for Christmas gifts and such.

more to come.

few images

Flags Down

For many folks across the land, fall means harvest time and I'm no different. My thoughts turn from catch and release to release to the grease. While there's still good late fall musky fishing to be had among other things, locally my options are panfish and pike. Those of you who know me well enough, know I make a mean pickled pike. It's my grandfathers recipe and if the early ice pike cooperate, a dandy homemade x-mas gift, best I've had...seriously. So that's what's been happening. I did manage about a week or so of good walleye fishing on the St. Croix in early november. Oddly enough, it was a trolling bite on the shoreline breaks, not exactly a late season pattern on the river, and I never did find the fish deep in the usual haunts. Either way, harvested a couple limits and will be set for a month or two.

Client and good fishing buddy Jim Hirsch was back in town a couple weeks ago. He had a couple days of fishing with Brad on the Chippewa. He's a persistent sun of a gun and it paid off with a nice 38" muskie. It was the start of the cold stuff and most of the small bodies of water were getting iced over, but I had he and Dave on saturday, for something, open water somewhere....We'll we got totally stymied. Took a drive up to the apple to see about Riverdale Flowage, iced up. Drove over to Cedar lake thinking maybe we could troll? windy and partially iced up. Hmm, back to the croix? but these fellas want to cast a fly...Well needless to say, we ended up on pool 2 of the miss, trolling and enjoying a beer. total bust. that's late fall fishing for you.

So on comes the hard water. It set up really quickly, the state park already has a good 5-6" of nice ice. I've been out twice now and done as well as I expected. They cut the panfish limit back to 10 total, so a lot of sorting is required when they are going but it's fun. The terms of ice fishing are coming back to me..."Flags down, Shack back, crappis". I have a love-hate relationship with ice fishing. I adore eating panfish and pike, but the slog out, the shack back and just staring at the vex get old too fast. So far no Pike, although I did get a small largemouth on a tip-up.

So it looks pretty solid that I am going to Alaska for a few months starting in January sometime. A dear from from Hudson is a commercial fisherman in Cordova, been there for years and now has a family and a home that needs remodeling. If weather allows, I'll be joining Curt for the early part of the 2009 Halibut season in Prince William Sound as well. Curt's been on me for 20 years to come up and work and although the timing's not perfect (I'll miss my lady something fierce!) it's good in that I can make enough $$ too make it worthwhile, and one hell of an adventure. Cordova is an amazing place, no roads in and surrounded by mountains and glaciers. It's been years since I've been there so the opportunity is not to be missed. I'll return just in time for early trout season, sometime in april I suspect, all depends on the fishing.

Ben Fuego is off to Costa Rica this week on a "vendor trip", off shore billfishing at Crocodile bay. I remember those "vendor trips", nice little perk for having to sit behind a desk all day. There should be one a week.

Brad is coming down this weekend with Jen, not sure of his plans yet but I'm going to try to get him on the ice somewhere, if not just to have more suckers down for pike.

I'm off to clean the garage, wish me luck.