Column: News of geese slaughter a shock after weekend trip north

Staff

Published Saturday, July 31, 2004

By Dick Hefindahl, Outdoors Writer

After returning from an extended weekend up north I was saddened to hear about the large number of geese that were ran over by someone who obviously has no regard for our natural resources or life in general. I had just written about the numbers of geese that we have in our city, so hearing this story was a real shock to me.

I had just mentioned, in my last column, the instance when a large number of these geese were crossing Front Street right at noon hour. Even though it was lunch hour the people sat patiently in their cars waiting for the geese to finish crossing the street. These are the kind of people that live in our town and make me glad to call it home, not the 1/10th of one percent who do dumb things like destroy wildlife.

I am sure whoever did this thought they were really being cool, or maybe using the word thought is giving a little too much credit. It takes some form of intelligence to generate a thought.

I can only hope the person who did this is caught and pays dearly. I sometimes think the penalties levied against the people who take too many fish or illegally take game are not stiff enough. People caught with hundreds of fish over the limit are not only breaking the law but are taking something that will take years to replace.

On a little lighter subject, my grandson Trevor and I went north last weekend for an extended weekend. We had a great experience and just enjoyed the outdoors to the fullest.

They say you're never too old to learn. Well, Trevor proved that statement to be true. He reminded me of a lot of things that I have found myself taking for granted. I in turn taught him some things about catching fish and also took him to Spider, my favorite lake. That evening as we were anticipating getting ready to rise early and head to the lake I told him what lures we would catch fish on. Knowing a lake is a big advantage to fishing. I knew what had worked at this time of year in the past and where the fish would most likely be active. This knowledge teamed with a large amount of luck actually made Grandpa look like he knew what he was doing.

We also saw a lot of wildlife and Trevor has such a keen eye for spotting things it's almost uncanny. While going from one fishing spot to another on Spider Trevor started yelling over the sound of the motor and I slowed down and asked what was wrong. He just pointed towards shore and said, "Baby moose!" As I turned, sure enough, there was a calf moose climbing out of the weeds along the shoreline and heading for the woods.

I have seen a lot of wildlife on that lake over the years including beaver, eagles, deer and a bear swimming from a peninsula to an island (that's the first time I realized

bears could swim) and now a moose.

Later that afternoon we headed back to our place and after supper went down to sit on the dock, wet a line and relax. Relax we did. In between catching an occasional perch we watched the resident loons and the beaver that has a hutch directly across the lake from us. He was busily swimming back and forth in front of us just playing and once in a while slapping his tail to let us know who he was. There was also an eagle that has taken up residence in one of the trees on the lake. It was fun to watch as he would swoop down and snatch an occasional fish to take back to the nest.

Trevor taught his grandpa a lot about spotting different birds, plants and wildlife. He also found a wild strawberry patch and another place where the wild raspberries were ripening.

Looking back on my younger years, I also used to notice many of these things but I had developed a tendency to look right past them in haste instead of taking the time to savor the moment. I can remember the time when I, like Trevor, used to marvel at the finding of an old abandoned hornet's nest or at the beauty of the wildflowers or the antics of a chipmunk. I think that in these days of hurrying to go nowhere fast some of the things that used to matter to us are getting overlooked.

In between the enjoyment of all this we did manage to squeeze in a little exploring on the last morning there. We drove around and found some really neat little lakes that we will definitely be checking out in the future. Along the way we saw some deer and of course Trevor had to take the time to wet a line at a couple of the lakes.

It doesn't get much better than this - some fish to eat, unlimited natural resources to enjoy and most of all some really great company.

- - -

Here are a few fishing reports from around the state:

ALEXANDRIA - Walleye action sporadic with Reno being the most consistent producer followed by Mary. Bass action best bet on the Chain with fish caught in or near the weeds. Ida producing good bass catches as well. Seven-inch turtle back Gulp worm a good producer. Panfish continue to bite in 8-14 feet with sunfish up in the weeds. Crappies locating next to the cabbage beds.

GRAND RAPIDS - The summer fishing patterns seem to be the answer to catching fish right now. The bass are right up in the thick soup and weedless is the way to go. The Moss Boss and Jawbreaker spoons are good. You could also try Buzz Baits and soft plastic lures like the snag-proof lures. Some walleyes are holding in or around the cabbage weeds. We like to use a rig and leech here and if it is real thick, a bobber helps. The deep fish are holding on the 17 to 25-foot bars or humps. A crawler or leech with a 5-foot snell, red hook and green bead is deadly on the active fish. Spider Lake has been giving up nice northern and bass. A 7-pound walleye was caught in Turtle Lake. Muskies are getting more active with the heat. Deer, Moose and Northstar all have produced. Panfish action average.

HACKENSACK - The water has warmed to the 70-80 degree range and the fish are in their summer patterns. Leeches and crawlers are hard at work, but the fish are finicky. The fish can be seen but don't want to bite. For those that troll you need to go deeper. A nice northern came off of Webb, and reports of big walleyes caught and released on Stony. The bass that are being caught are smaller even though larger ones can be seen in the shallows. Muskie fishing is in full swing on Leech with a 51-incher caught.

ELY AREA - The walleye are on the reefs in the evenings. Leeches and crawlers have been best. Bear Island Lake anglers rewarded with walleyes fishing in about 15 feet. Plenty of success with the crappies and bass along the shoreline. For pike, trolling a jig and a leech producing best results.

BATTLE LAKE - Still getting walleyes on Ottertail, some on leeches and some on small suckers. Bass fishing is best on Star. Elbow Lake sunfish have been hitting in 8-10 feet right in the weeds on waxies and a jig.

Until next time, "Good Luck and Good Fishin.'"

- - -

Remember the brave men and women serving our country today.

---

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SHARE THIS STORY?

---