2008-08-01_RootRiver
Mikey and I paddled the Lower Root to its mouth to meet up with the Roughfishopen crew in search of the mythical Shovelnose Sturgeon. The paddle took less than two hours and we made our way to a Maple river bottom to spend the night fishing. We caught a few Drum and watched as the [...]
2008-07-27_MississippiRiver
Mikey and I got out to Levee Park to drown some crawlers and catch the sunset tonight. We have been catching Drum here and that is what we were after. I got one Shorthead Redhorse, caught a spectacular sunset, and watched a barge work its way upriver to the Port.
2008-07-25_OleMiss
I went out for more Hex action. The bugs never really came out however I managed a few White Bass on dries while fishing near the Brownsville lookout.
2008-07-24_MississippiRiver
Dad was in town today for some Catfish action. We launched at the St. Charles boat landing and cruised down to Trempeleau for some Mud Cats. Finding none we headed upriver to try for some backwater pike however we hit a wing dam and took out the prop. We ended up still driving just above [...]
2008-07-23_CrookedCreek
Shell and I made it out for some trout tonight and ended the evening with some mating mayflies and unhookable Gar. Shell caught a trout on a crawler. I caught a few on streamers. The biggest 18-inches. Shell found some Monarch Butterfly caterpillars on the Milkweed on the banks of the creek. Although I had [...]
2008_07_20_Forestville
It is always a treat to go camping. This time we had the whole Sershen clan together. Shawn was back from Los Angeles, Mom came out, Tiff and her sons were even there. We made our annual pilgrimage to the Lanesboro fish hatchery where Aries got to see wow trout are reared. We fished Duschee [...]
2008_07_19_Forestville
We are all here. Sleeping in several tents in two campsites. The boys went to Mystery Cave. The men went fishing. A wicked thunderstorm rolled through at dusk, Shawn and I still fished. I caught a bluegill in Forestville State Park. It makes me think that I need some Bluegill streamer patterns to get those [...]
2008-07-18_Forestville
Little Bella sticks by us when we camp. She even ventured into the toilets when we showered.
2008-07-12_MississippiRiver
Shell, Shan, Mikey and I all piled into Mikey’s battle van with two canoes on the roof and headed south. I have been tracking the mayflies for the better part of four years. We stopped for a few photos at the bootleggers caves in Brownsville for my friends at Clear Creek. We also scouted Wildcat [...]
2008_07_11_MississippiRiver
I noticed the presence of the Hex this morning as I got back into my car after stopping at Kwik Trip to get a Kona Coffee and some cigarettes before work. For my lunch break I took a drive to the spillway to look for more mayflies. The mayflies hatched last night. I tied flies [...]
2008-07-10_Storm
I was teaching a class at University to students that were from places other than Winona when the Tornado sirens went off. I have lived here for nearly six years and the sirens have only ever sounded on test day around the first of the month. The storm was coming. I found Shell in the [...]
2008-07-09_OleMiss
Today I scouted a spot south and east of town in search of more Raspberries. I was treated with a bagful of berries, a Painted Turtle laying eggs, and a bunch of medicinal flowers blooming under a dead down tree.
2008-07-08_RaspberryHunting
Shell and I went to St. Mary’s University today to pick Raspberries. We found about a gallon of them. The best part about this hike and pick was that we were greeted by a young deer that stood only 15-feet away from us posing enough for me to take a few photos before it calmly [...]
2008-07-07_RaspberryHunting
Back to Prairie Island to get more Raspberries. Today the mosquitos were incredibly bad. I found a young song bird hanging in some Buckthorn. She posed for me to take several shots. Shell was happy with her bag of Raspberries and so was I.
2008-07-06_NorthBranchRootRiver
What a way to spend a weekend with some college buddies than to get a flotilla of canoes to go down the Root River? None. Today was day two. We were on the way out. We had a great night and great paddle yesterday while covering 15 miles of river. The crags were awesome and [...]
2008-07-03_RaspberryHunting
The berries are still ripe and here today. I have been hunting the same spots and returning regularly as the berries have ripened at different times. At this point its a battle with the birds as they are keen to eat the sweet berry fruit.
2008-07-02_OleMiss
More Raspberries means more Jam. I am allowed a five gallon bucket of berries a day in the refuge.
2008-07-01_OleMiss
The berries are here too. Hatch and I found a bagful at Prairie Island Park. We are lucky the no one else is picking here. Old Hatch headed straight to the River to cool off as I spent time picking berries. The day was hot and there were a few mosquitos about.
2008-06-29_SouthOf90
Today Stino and I set out to get to the South Fork of the Root River. IN all of my majestic knowledge I typically find it a struggle to end up in Choice as I typically forget that I need to go through Rushford and not through Houston. Today I went through Houston and we [...]
2008-06-25_BerryHunting
We have had some reports that the Black Raspberies are ready to be picked. We headed to Stone Circle in search of those berries. We found the berries at the base of the bluff to be further along than the ones higher on the bluff. The dogs enjoyed the climb up the crag in the [...]