Dick Herfindahl, Woods & Water

Where has the time gone? Maybe a better question is when did we have spring? It seems like the fishing opener should be in the distant future, but in all reality it&8217;s only a week away.

I&8217;m not panicking yet, but all of a sudden I&8217;m thinking of a lot of things that need to be done before I head out for the fishing opener.

Whenever I have a fishing trip planned it seems that I always have a lot of things to get done. We haven&8217;t opened up the cabin yet (see 48 inches of snow in a week) but I will be there next week. Going there for the first time since fall is just like a big mystery. Has everything survived the winter? Are there downed trees blocking the drive? These are legitimate questions because I&8217;ve actually had to chop my way in on more than one occasion.

Once all these questions are answered I&8217;ll have time for a little fishing. I love spending time in that part of our state and with the many small lakes in the area to be explored it is always an exciting time.

Over the years I&8217;ve spent my share of time alone on a lake just enjoying the whole experience and of course trying to outsmart the fish. Sometimes I win and sometimes the fish win but just being there always makes you a winner.

For years we went north for our vacations and we&8217;d camp at Spider Lake and for the most part it was all fishing but at night we&8217;d be relaxing by the campfire enjoying hot dogs and smores. The boys like to fish and so does my wife Jean so we always had a lot of fun. Brian, the oldest was the early riser and he went out every morning until about Wednesday and then he decided that sleeping in was a good option because he&8217;d still get in a lot of fishing during the course of the day. My youngest son Brad had this figured out from day one.

I didn&8217;t have a fish locator then but I studied the lake and knew the places that were productive in years past. I don&8217;t think that there is any substitute for time spent fishing a lake. There is no better way to get to know a lake than just fishing it. We did a lot of trolling for northern and would fish walleye in early morning and in the evening it was walleye and crappie.

We always caught fish and the owner of the resort, whose name was &8220;Bid&8221; once told me that no matter how slow the fishing was he knew that I was always going to go home with my share of fish. We would keep northern, walleye and panfish and the bass were strictly catch-and-release. I have never tried to fool myself into thinking it was a skill thing. Patience, persistence, experience, time spent on the water and the luck thing are all key ingredients that pay off in the end.

When the kids were small there were mornings when I&8217;d be the only one that wanted to go out fishing early, probably because I liked to hit the lake before the sun made it&8216;s appearance. I always challenged myself to be the first boat out in the morning and if I&8217;d hear a fisherman from another resort buzzing past us heading to his favorite hot spot, I&8217;d almost feel like I was missing out on the best fishing time.

I don&8217;t think that coffee ever tastes better than the first cup you pour from the thermos that you&8217;ve brought with to take away the early morning chill. If you could bottle the feeling you might put Starbucks out of business.

There is a certain feeling of fulfillment that I get from being the first fisherman on the lake in the early morning hours and if for only a small period of time I can have the lake all to myself – then life is good. I can almost feel the cool damp of the morning fog that hangs along the shoreline just waiting for the sun to make its appearance over the tops of the trees. While sitting in the boat, the lake is so calm that it looks like a mirror and it seems that every sound you make wants to echo across the lake forever. As you cast your lure towards shore the quiet is disturbed only by the plunking of the lure and the sound of a fish jumping nearby. That sound almost makes you want to reel in your lure and cast towards the ripple that was left by the feeding fish. This is when fishing is good and the catching – well, that&8217;s just a bonus.

Muskie talk

Southern Crossroads Chapter 54 of Muskies Inc. and the Southern Mn. Darkhouse and Angling Assn. are holding a public information meeting regarding the Minnesota long range muskie and large northern pike plan. It will be held on Thursday, May 8th at Bullheads Bar and Grill, 256 Main St. West in Waterville, Mn. at 7 PM. The Minnesota DNR will be attending to answer questions and to receive public input. The plan is to guide the management of muskellunge and northern pike in Minnesota.

Until next time, take a little time to enjoy the outdoors &8212; good luck and good &8220;fishin&8217;.&8221;

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