Column: Woods & Water, by Dick Herfindahl

It just doesn’t seem possible that the Freeborn County Fair is already in the books for another year, and Labor Day weekend is looming on the horizon.

In looking back a few years before we had our cabin up north, we had our camper at Best Point on Lake Tetonka near Waterville.

Once school starts, it seems to send the message that the summer season is over for another year.

I recall many Labor Day weekends when the fishing on Tetonka was good to excellent on or after Labor Day. I remember one particular time when I was fishing on Tetonka with my brother-in-law, Mike, and we caught a lot of nice bluegills and bass one Sunday afternoon in September.

Mike had a bass boat that I believe was 20 feet long with a 215 horsepower motor. I used to tease about having that big fast boat just so he could be the first one to the spot where the sunnies were biting.

In all reality, I actually liked that boat and enjoyed fishing with Mike out of his big bass boat. Although, I can’t remember if I actually ever told him that.

Fishing Tetonka Lake in the fall could be very rewarding, and it was actually my favorite time to spend at the camper. I liked going there during the week when a person could very often find himself all alone on that big lake.

Those were special times: little or no boat traffic, no water skiers or jet skis to contend with, just the peaceful challenge of finding fish on a fall day.

There was one particular day in October when I was at the camper alone and decided to do a little fishing.

When I arose earlier that morning I spotted a bass boat passing by the campground heading west.

Curiosity had gotten the best of me, so once I was on the lake, I scanned the horizon and soon discovered that the boat was at the spot where the Cannon River flows into Lake Tetonka. I didn’t get all that close to it but I could see that the fisherman was working that area for bass pretty hard.

It was a couple of weeks later when I read in Outdoor News where the state record largemouth had come out of Tetonka on that day. I have a feeling that this is about as close as I will ever come to a state record.

Yes, those were good times with some great memories and good folks sitting around a campfire at night swapping fish tales.

You couldn’t ask for nicer folks than Jerry and Linda Miller, the owners of Best Point resort where I had my camper for about eight years.

Fall is probably about the only time of the year that I really miss having a camper there. When I reflect back and think about fishing that lake and having it almost all to myself it brings back good memories.

Now that I have a cabin up north I can experience those times of having a lake all to myself pretty much any time and I don’t even have to wait for fall.

Fall is by far my favorite time of the year to be on any lake; especially when the colors are changing. Picture this: a cool crisp morning sitting on a quiet little northern Minnesota lake with the colorful fall foliage reflecting off of the mirror-like surface of the lake. It just doesn’t get any better than that, unless you throw in the bonus of catching a few fish.

 

Small game hunter survey results released

With the exception of ruffed grouse hunters, fewer game bird hunters took to Minnesota’s fields and forests in 2014, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ annual small game survey.

In 2014, the number of pheasant hunters was 57,590, representing a decrease of 7 percent from 2013.

An estimated 75,170 people hunted ducks, a decrease of two percent from 2013.

Ruffed grouse hunter numbers were estimated at 83,020, an increase of 11 percent from 2013.

Statewide estimates show small game hunters harvested about 152,800 pheasants (down 10 percent), 699,620 ducks (down 11 percent), and 301,190 ruffed grouse (up 4 percent) in 2013, with margins of error in the results of between 10 and 14 percent, which means there has been no statistically significant change in these numbers since last year.

Individual hunter success rates were comparable to 2013. Pheasant hunters harvested an average of 2.7 pheasants in 2013, which was the same as 2014. Duck hunters harvested an average of 9.3 ducks in 2014 compared to 10.2 in 2013. Ruffed grouse hunters harvested an average of 3.6 grouse in 2014, which was also unchanged from 2013.

The DNR annually surveys small game hunters to make estimates of both hunter numbers and harvest trends. For the 2014 season, 7,000 small game license buyers were surveyed of which 3,451 surveys were returned and usable.

The complete report is on the DNR website.

Just a reminder: the early Canada goose season runs from Sept. 5 to 19. The archery deer hunting and the small game seasons begin on September 19.

The small game season includes: rabbits, squirrels, sharptail grouse, ruffed and spruce grouse and Hungarian partridge.

Until next time, just keep in mind that although hunting may be foremost in your minds this time of year there is still plenty of fishing to be enjoyed.

Please remember to keep our troops in your thoughts and prayers because they are the reason we are able to enjoy all the freedoms that we have today.

Dick Herfindahl’s column appears in the Tribune each Sunday.