As the deer hunting opener fast approaches we seem to be mired in a bog of cold and damp. Although I can usually find a bright side to almost any kind of weather, sunshine always seems to give an extra spring to my step. If you’ve ever taken time to notice, a sunny day will change most people’s frowns into smiles and everyone just seems to be a little friendlier.

Looking back to my youth I guess rainy days were spent mostly in my room. Reading or re-reading a fishing and hunting magazine, a library book or a comic book that I’d already read many times over. These were great and harmless ways to spend a rainy afternoon.

There were times when I was allowed outside to do something with one of my neighborhood buddies. I am sure that my mother only consented to letting me go outside because she was getting tired of me being under foot even though she could pretty much count on me coming in covered with mud from head to toe.

One of my passions while growing up was football and whenever I had a chance to get outside with one or two of my buddies we were going to play football. On dry, clear days we were allowed to have a game in my Aunt Ruby’s yard which was right next door to our house. Her yard was larger and wider than ours was and there was plenty of room for a decent game. This, however, all changed when it rained — her yard was off limits because she didn’t want us digging up the grass.

If there were three of us then we’d play a game with one kid (usually the youngest) always the center and receiver for the other two. We never played touch it was always tackle. If we didn’t have that third player then we’d play catch. If it was wet and snowy or a little rainy it was inevitable that you’d have to make at least one diving, sliding, spectacular catch that would make you look like you’d been playing a real football game. I guess it was a boy thing.

Now, being kids and always trying to push the envelope we’d usually start a game in the rain in my aunt’s yard and we’d play until she came out of the house and ran us off. It took me a while to figure out why my own aunt could be so nice one minute and the next was yelling at us and running us off. I guess blood didn’t buy you anything when it came to tearing up her yard.

It seemed like a cold, wet, miserable day couldn’t deter us from business as usual. There were times when we’d hang out in someone’s garage devising a plan of action to follow in the event that the rain subsided. If you are under the impression that kids are short on patience and long on ingenuity then we were the poster children for that isim. Once we got bored we’d head out into the rain looking for a little adventure. The real adventure wouldn’t actually start until we showed up at home with our muddy clothes and all soaking wet. Usually we’d be wearing the five-buckle overshoe so our feet would be relatively dry.

Now if we ventured to the slough during an all day rain with our overshoes it could be a pretty fun adventure that was almost foolproof. The key word here is “almost”, because every once in a while a kid just wants to live on the edge. There was a little spot on the edge of the slough that had a willow tree and if you “hunkered down” under that tree you could stay fairly dry.

It was a pretty dry walk to that spot but as you probably know it’s a kids job to push the envelope. We’d try to see how far we could walk out into the slough before the water would start coming over the overshoe. The idea was to stop before the water got too high and then turn and go back to safer ground.

It seems like I had a hard time judging “too high” and would always try to go that extra step. Although the water was not to the top of my boot yet I discovered another problem. My boot was stuck in the mud. Now I had a problem to which there was only one solution — unbuckle the boot while standing on one foot and try to balance while extracting the other boot. It seems that if I was indeed successful in extracting the boot while balancing gracefully on the other foot there loomed more problems. Putting the boot back on and turning around was a challenge in itself but discovering that the foot you were balancing on was now also mired in the mud was a sure sign of disaster. I can remember being oh-so-close before losing my balance and falling.

Now here was a whole new set of problems! Wet boot stuck in the mud, wet feet and totally wet and muddy clothes. This was the end — as I stood there in my wet socks and shoes trying to extract the other boot from the mud I knew that my time outside was drawing to a close and another adventure would begin when I got home.

After one of these adventures we’d usually go back to the garage we were originally standing in for a little story verification. The funny thing about it is that this same garage that seemed warm and comfortable before our adventure now seemed cold, dark and damp and didn’t hold that appeal it did earlier. Standing there with wet feet, cold, wet and muddy clothes and with the realization that we’d have to soon face our moms who’d have many questions made things seem even more miserable.

At the end of the day I always seemed to weather the storm and after a stern scolding I was sometimes lucky enough to get a nice hot cup of cocoa with a marshmallow on top to warm up. What a great way to top off another rainy day adventure.

A few outdoors reports from around the state:

BEMIDJI

Anglers are heading to the Rainy River. A few guys are muskie fishing on Plantangenette and Bemidji with some luck. It’s been pretty quiet with the snow and cold weather. Good duck reports, some divers showed up the past 4-5 days. Deer registration has been average so far.

BLACKDUCK

Walleyes are being caught on Blackduck and Island lakes. Depths vary from 8-20 feet, fish are moving around, some days shallow, some days deeper. Most are using jig/minnow right now. Anglers are also heading up to the Rainy River. A mixed bag of ducks are showing up, bluebills, ringbills and redheads. A few hunters are doing decent on grouse.

BRAINERD / NISSWA

Walleyes are anywhere from 17-37 feet on Gull, Pelican, North Long, using rainbows, some redtails. Lindy rigging and jigging. Pike are in 18-24 feet on Gull and North Long using sucker minnows. Panfish are in 6-15 feet. Try Gull or Round with a nightcrawler or a waxworm.

CROSBY

Walleye fishing has been excellent on Rabbit, Serpent and Pelican in 23-28 feet, with jigs tipped with redtails or shiners working best.

There have also been some fish caught after dark in 6-8 feet on Serpent and Pelican on Rapalas and other crankbaits trolling. Panfish reports have been very limited. Trout action has been good, with fish coming from crankbaits throughout the morning hours on Pennington and Portsmouth and some brookies coming from along the shorelines of Huntington and Snowshoe. Bass and pike reports have been limited as well, with just a few reports from walleye fishermen catching them suspended in deep water and a few big pike from the pits as well around the flooded timber. Grouse hunters in the area have been reporting some success now that the leaves are starting to fall. Areas along the river seem to be a good walk for ducks/grouse, with some of the rice beds holding mallards and a mix of other puddle ducks. Duck numbers seem to be stable in the area, with mallards and ringnecks still making up the majority of the local flocks. Some geese are in the area as well, especially around the Mississippi River. Bow hunters have been seeing plenty of deer and have taken a few nice bucks, with some scrapes and rubs starting to show up in their areas.

RAINY LAKE

Despite a lot of cool and wet weather, the walleye bite remains strong on Rainy Lake. Some very sizable fish have been caught. The best bet is in 30 to 40 feet of water using a jig and minnow. However, walleye are also being caught in shallower areas near the windward sides of islands. Some spots mentioned include stubs shoals, blueberry island and the east end of Dryweed. Big pike and crappie are being caught in Black Bay. Rainy River is also seeing a strong walleye bite, there are also smallmouth bass lurking in the weedy edges, and they are also feeding aggressively. In the river, the preferred bait is a shiner minnow. Ruffed Grouse hunters must be grousing about the wet weather, but the cover is thinning and there are quite a few hunters flushing a half-dozen birds on a walk. Bear hunters have been having quite a bit of success and a few archery deer hunters have filled their tags too.

Until next time hunt safe, keep fish’n and, as always, take a little time to enjoy our great Minnesota outdoors.

Remember to keep our troops in your thoughts and prayers throughout the year.