2008-08-10_NorthBranchRootRiver
The paddle out was more than the distance we paddled to the camp site. We stayed up too late last night and it was too early to paddle. It was a sunny day. We made it to the take out. We took time for lunch at a waterfall that leaked out of a crag. This [...]
2008-08-09_NorthBranchRootRiver
Canoeing in August. Our friend Ass is back from her stint in the Peace Corp in French Guinea, that Africa for those who don’t know. So with two dogs and two boats we headed to the North Branch Root River to paddle to Highway 16. Hatch didn’t ride in the boat the first 10 miles. [...]
2008-08-07_MississippiRiver
Tonight Mikey and I sat at the Levee in a spot other than our usual spot because a half a dozen people had our spot. the word must’ve got out that there are fish there. I wonder if they were disappointed to only catch Drum and Redhorse. Mikey an I would’ve loved to catch something [...]
2008-08-05_MississippiRiver
Mikey and I have fished everyday since last Friday. We met up with the Wenzel’s and fished a wing dam off of the main channel near Fountain City. We caught Drum, Catfish, and Walleye here. We fished the mouth of Garvin Brook in 20 feet of water. We anchored on an eddy of poo and [...]
2008-08-03_MississippiRiver
We launched at Verchota Landing in the Upper Mississippi River Wildlife Refuge at Minnesota City and headed to Straight Slough. We caught heaps of Sunnies and ran out of crawlers which required us to run to the Fountain City Kwik Trip to get more.
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.
2008-07-24_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 [...]
2008-07-18_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.