Backyard Birding- Better than TV

By Brad Durick

I have to admit I wouldn’t go out of my way to look at birds unless I was lying in a goose blind. I just thought of bird watching as kind of boring to be honest. I would rather go fishing or even clean the garage than go somewhere to sit and look at birds.

This attitude is slowly changing. Two summers ago we built a deck at our lake cabin. This deck obviously prompted us to sit outside more. While sitting drinking coffee one morning I couldn’t help but take note to a woodpecker pounding away on a nearby tree. This just seemed so cool at the time. As most of you know I grew up in a farm near Bowbells and it was very common to have many birds around but I can’t say I ever really took the time to stop and enjoy them simply doing what it is that birds do.

Back to my woodpecker story. I was so dumbfounded that morning watching that little bird beat the tar out of an old tree just for some bugs and worms that were inside. Over the entire summer I found myself waking up early to get a cup of coffee and slip out the patio door to sit a the table and take it all in. Sometimes as a treat we even had a family of deer that would walk up to the yard from the woods to enjoy some spilled seed from the bird feeders.

Until the past month I thought the visits from the deer were as good as it gets. Late last fall my wife and I bought a different house in Grand Forks. The reason this is even mentioned is because the English Coulee (an small channel to the Red River) runs through our new back yard. As the ice went out and winter became spring the coulee all of a sudden became a lively bird and critter-infested city.

The first of the animals to move in was a pair of mallard ducks. They swam around for a couple days before a cold snap refroze the coulee and forced them to leave again. A couple weeks later when the ice came off yet again they were right back. Now we have had three weeks of pleasant warm spring. We have been watching two pairs of mallards, two pairs of wood ducks, a pair of blue wing teal, numerous varieties of sparrows, blackbirds, coopers hawks, robins and other birds I can’t identify getting nests ready for the spring season.

The past week in particular going home from work has been so exciting because we want to know what the ducks will do today. It is like when we were kids and couldn’t wait to get home from school to see what Scooby Doo was going to do next. Over the past days we have watched one set of mallards start setting up shop in a clump of cattails on the other side from our yard. The hen crawls in to work on the nest while the drake sits outside and guards from any other greenheads that may want to intrude.

With all this excitement going on right in the back yard two popular items that make a home on the kitchen counter have been my binoculars and our digital camera with a zoom lens. The chairs on the deck are strategically placed for better viewing to the coulee, and the screen has been removed from the bathroom window to allow for better viewing to the neighbors bird feeders.

I am pretty sure I’m not going to be traveling to state parks for the birding any time soon but this spring the birds (ducks in particular) have been more entertaining than any show on TV. (This coming from a TV salesman) I do have a greater appreciation for the nature that is going on around me and look forward to what the rest of my bird watching summer with offer.

Until next time get outside and make some memories

Skippin and Pitchin the Summer Away

By Travis Sorokie

One of my favorite ways to catch bass in the summer months is to skip and pitch lures in, around, and under docks. This form of casting takes some practice, as accuracy is key; but once you have some confidence in your ability, your fishing success will go up as well. In the following article I will discuss many of the little tricks I have learned over the years ~ from the basics of the cast to some of my favorite lures and fish positioning on the docks themselves. Hopefully, you will be confident enough to try this technique on one of your favorite bass waters this summer.

Bass will move shallow towards the start of the pre-spawning season. Some of the bass will remain in the shallow water area all season long, others will move back and forth from deep weeds, inside/outside weed edges and shallows chasing forage. Docks provide great cover for bass to ambush their prey. As well, some are located close to an inside weed edge or deeper water…an added bonus in my opinion. In Central Minnesota there are hundreds of lakes that possess these characteristics. In my experience the best times for applying either of these methods are the first few hours of daylight and the last few hours of daylight.

Boat positioning is critical in fishing docks. I will almost always work the boat into the wind with the bow mount trolling motor on a slow setting and start at a mid point of the dock on the inside. With skipping and pitching it allows you, the angler, to keep your boat further away from your intended target. Some docks are better than others. I like docks that have multiple targets for me to cast to. A dock that is L-Shaped or T-Shaped will always get my attention for this method of fishing. As will a dock that has a boatlift attached or one that has some form of home irrigation system rigged up that is close by. The latter is usually located away from the dock, but provides another excellent location for bass to ambush their prey. They are almost always anchored with a large boulder or cement block and extend well out from the shore. Pay attention to your line, as often you will see it ‘jump’ before you feel the strike with your rod. One thing I pay particular close attention to when fishing docks is how the fish acts once it is hooked. More often than not, if I get a strike and the fish is swimming away from the dock I know from experience there is more than one fish on that dock. How many? Well I know on more than one occasion I have caught between 5 - 8 fish off of one individual dock.

Pitching is a rather simple technique used to get a lure right on your intended target with a soft, quiet entry into the fishes target zone. Pitching to me is like throwing a softball underhand only with less loft. I start with the lure about three-quarters down the rod, the bail open with my finger on the line and my casting forearm rather stiff and wrist loose. I slowly swing the rod back and let the line release from my finger once it is out in front of my body. Allow the lure to fall naturally on a slack line, watching for any sudden movement of the line. Work the lure for a few feet then recast to your next target. Some targets are worth more that one cast: that is up to you, the angler, to decide. It takes some practice, which you can do, from your home by setting up an ice cream bucket or cardboard target of sorts. Start in close and practice until you are confident you can hit your mark at 25-30 feet. My favorite rod/reel to use when doing this is a 7’ medium to medium-heavy spinning real with 8-12 lb. test line. My lure of choice is a 1/8 oz. - 3/8 oz.-jig/pig combo (my favorite being a pumpkin colored Bitzy-Bug with a Chomppers garlic scented 4” grub pumpkin in color as my trailer). I use the pitch cast to target outside dock locations such as: support posts, tires, boat lift cross-members, a ladder that may be on a dock and if a boat, particularly a pontoon is tied up to the dock…my favorite target of all, that area in and around where the boats engine is in the water. Why there, you might ask? It’s always the deepest part around the dock because of the prop washout when they start up the boat and free from weeds. I have caught several 5 lb. plus bass over the years off of that one particular location, including my largest to date 6lb 4oz.

Skippin’ is a bit harder to master but worth your efforts once you learn how. Skippin’ allows you to get back under your target several feet into the shadiest, less targeted areas. These areas include the main dock and that area between the boat lift (with boat on) and the water way back underneath. The cast is comparable to skipping rocks. Start with your lure of choice about halfway down the rod, keep your forearm stiff, your wrist lose and your rod tip lower to the water. With a quick snap of your wrist release the line from your finger towards your intended target. Some great ‘skippin’ lures are jig-n-pig combo as mentioned above, tubes and perhaps my favorite, the 5” Senko salted plastic rigged Texas style with a 2/0 hook (white being my first color of choice). You can really get those back under structure a long, long way. Skippin’ works equally well around downed trees that are in the water or low overhanging trees coming off the shore.

Hopefully with a few of the above mentioned techniques and a little practice you will gain enough confidence to try this proven method of fishing on your favorite bass waters this season. I know every time I’m out on the water targeting bass I always find an hour or two to do this very thing. When the timing is right, this can be a phenomenal way to catch bass. One of my favorite memories of pitching docks came during a local bass league a few years back. My partner and I caught a 6 fish limit of bass between 19”- 20 1/2” during a 3 hour event. Some absolute hawgs.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Travis Sorokie is an avid smallmouth bass fisheman who calls the Mississippi River of Minnesota home. Travis also drag races on his time off. www.oldhabitsracing.com

Dress For Success

Dress for Success
Dressing right for the cold can change your trip for the better.

Winter is here. Are you ready to enjoy the great outdoors to its fullest? Winter in the north country provides many outdoor activities. Ice fishing, snowmobiling, skiing, and some hunting are huge draws to keep the sanity during the short days and cold nights of winter.

To enjoy these outdoor activities to the fullest it is imperative that people dress correctly for the elements. It is very common to hear people complain about the cold and blame their staying in the house all winter on the cold. Most of these people need only two simple things to help them solve this problem. First is quality outdoor gear and second is how to use that quality outdoor wear properly to get maximum warmth.

Base Layers

Base layers are the layers that go under your outdoor gear to keep the core of your body warm. These layers are as important to keeping you warm as anything you wear.

The first item you need for outdoor dressing and one of the most important is a high quality pair of socks. These socks can be 100 percent wool or a wool blend of some sort. The wool will help wick any moisture from your feet and keep them dry, hence keeping them warm. This is one of the most important pieces of the puzzle you will need, because cold feet make for a very long miserable day in the outdoors.

A superior set of long underwear is also a key to staying warm. When purchasing your long underwear look for a set that also has good wicking power. Like the wool socks, you want an undergarment that is made to pull moisture away from your body to keep you dry and warm. Most outdoor stores provide a chart to help you choose the best weight and warmth to fit the activity you plan to partake in.

Now you have your skin covered. At this point you should simply dress as you normally would. A pair of blue jeans or sweat pants to cover your legs and mid section are always good options. Depending on whether you tend to be a naturally cold-blooded person or a warm-blooded person will determine what shirt you will want. Most of the time a sweatshirt will be perfect to cover your upper body. A hood is a nice touch in case there is a wind and you find yourself needing an extra layer to cover your head and ears. If you tend to get hot, a long sleeved t-shirt might be enough to do the job for you. Likewise you may want both for the really cold days. You can always remove a layer if you get to warm.

Outer Layers

The outer layer is the clothing that will be directly in touch with the elements.

Once you have the proper base layers, the outer layers will work that much better. There have been outstanding strides taken over the past few years to make the outdoor sportsman more comfortable, the ice fishing enthusiast in particular.

It used to be to stay warm you had to have a heavy down-filled or wool suit in the coldest of conditions. There is nothing wrong with this, but one common complaint is that it is heavy and hard to move in.

Today’s space age technology has made it much easier to find and afford lightweight yet warm clothing that is manufactured specifically for the sport you wish to participate in.

Ice fishing has become such a mainstream sport in the north country that the marketplace has answered the call for better cold weather clothing. The newest additions to the cold weather suits that are made specifically for ice fishing are the Cold Snap suit by Vexilar and Ice-Sentials by Strike Master. These suits are manufactured by companies that specialize in the sport of ice fishing so they understand what it takes to be warm and comfortable while ice fishing. They are not only comfortable and lightweight, but also water resistant and they have padded knees to protect ice fishermen who are up and down a lot during the day. As an added bonus to being comfortable they are designed with plenty of storage in the pockets for small tackle boxes, gloves, or whatever you will need to carry with you.

Now that your body’s core is warm it is time to keep the extremities warm. Growing up your mother always told you to keep your hat on so you don’t catch cold. She was part right. You lose most of your body’s heat through your head. A stocking cap or facemask is a must to keep that heat from leaving through your head.

To enjoy most outdoor activities your hands are the most important part to keep comfortable. Gloves are a matter of opinion as to what you are going to choose. Some people like gloves while others like mittens. The main goal of gloves or mittens should be to keep your hands warm yet dry should you get them wet. There are waterproof gloves and mittens on the market that are made to be totally waterproof. Most people who ice fish don’t like to wear gloves while fishing. Whether you choose to wear them or not, you should have them with you.

The last part to the outerwear equation and by far the most important is a quality pair of boots. For someone who plans on fishing in all types of winter weather, the warmer the boot the better in most cases. A boot that is waterproof and rated for 100 below zero or more with the pocket for the optional foot warmer is a can’t go wrong choice. When choosing a boot, make sure that even with your wool socks you can wiggle your toes. This will allow for a warm layer of air in your boot to help keep you a bit warmer and more comfortable. After all if your feet aren’t happy, you aren’t happy.


Putting It All Together

You now have your socks, long underwear, sweatshirt and jeans. You have your outerwear, hats, gloves, and boots. Once you have all of your gear on you are ready to venture outside to enjoy the outdoors. Everything is layered right so no matter what the weather you are ready. If it is blistering cold you are protected from all the elements, yet if you step into an ice shack you can take off your jacket and be comfortable until you go back outside. If the air temperature happens to rise and the sun comes out, simply start to remove layers until you are comfortable.

Dressing correctly for the outdoors will not only keep you more comfortable on your outdoor adventure but it will help make the whole outdoor experience more rewarding and memorable because you will be able to remember more than just being cold.

Ben's First Fish

By Brad Durick- Why-Fish.com


A couple of winters ago Cathy (a co-worker) walked into my office and just out of the blue asked if I would take her four year old son Ben fishing for an afternoon. My first question was “Why doesn’t your husband take him? After all, you have a cabin on a lake that’s full of fish.” The answer was just because you go to the lake every weekend doesn’t mean you go fishing. It was explained to me that the lake was for water skiing, and relaxing. She also told me that the last time her husband tried to fish he dropped the plier in the lake trying to get his fish off the hook when it wiggled in his hand. He then tried to cast and threw the rod in the lake.

With an explanation like that, what could I say? I guess it was my duty to take a kid fishing since I tell the audience of my radio show to do it every week. I agreed to take him out on the Red River some time during the upcoming summer. I figured the Red would be the safest for me because it was right in town and if he didn’t have any fun or got crabby I could have him home in just a few minutes.

At least five months passed from the initial request without hearing anything. Then one day last August the question came again. “Are you going to take Ben fishing?”, Cathy asked me. As luck had it I was free that next Sunday so we made plans to take him on his first real fishing trip Sunday afternoon. One stipulation, mom would be joining us.

The Sunday I picked was sunny, about 90 degrees and no wind whatsoever. We met at the local boat landing and headed out for our fishing adventure. Since I’m not a walleye guru on the Red River and I thought catfish might be to big for a four year old, I decided to target goldeyes. A goldeye is a silver colored fish that ranges from 7-14 inches in length and has gold eyes (imagine that). Most people just hate catching them, but for someone who fishes catfish they are the ultimate baitfish.

We pulled the boat into a clump of trees along the edge of the river to begin our adventure. I got Ben’s brand new Spiderman fishing rod all rigged up with a hook and bobber tipped with a bit of night crawler and he was fishing. After making a few location changes and not catching any fish, I pulled into a known goldeye hole. By this time I knew Ben was starting to lose interest and I had better find fish fast or that would be the end of his illustrious fishing career. I baited him up and threw out the lure - BAM!! Down sank the bobber. Talk about a frenzy in a little boat, his mom was scrambling around the boat trying to get the net while I’m cheering him on “reel, reel, reel” as it came to the boat I grabbed the fish out of the water. It was a tiny cute seven-inch goldeye.

Ben was just squealing with excitement as we handed him his very first fish. After taking a picture and a bit of pleading to get him to put the fish in the cooler and not hold it, I re-baited the Spiderman rig for a second fish. Only a few minutes passed when Cathy and I were cheering again “Reel Ben Reel.” This repeated for another four or five fish before it was decided to call it a day.

After a productive afternoon of creating a life-long fisherman I reflected back on the day. I realized that Ben’s first fish was not the ever-popular walleye, perch, or sunfish, but rather a goldeye. His first fish was one that is considered by most as trash, but he didn’t care. All that mattered to him was catching the fish and having fun doing it. His mom tells me that to this day every time someone comes to their house he grabs the framed picture of that seven-inch goldeye and shows them his very first fish. He also tells them that next time he will catch mom’s fish for her because she doesn’t know how. I guess that means he is a true fisherman already bragging about his catch and talking like an expert at the ripe old age of four.

June 3rd and 4th is free fishing days in North Dakota. This offers the perfect opportunity to take a kid fishing or even experience it once again for yourself. Just pick one of the many fishing waters in North Dakota and enjoy. You just might make a memory for yourself or create a lifelong fishing partner.

Until next time get outside and make some memories.

Old Technique Big Results

By Brad Durick - Why-Fish.com


Every winter scattered across the prairie lakes of the north you will see houses and their people fishing on the hard water. Some fish for the excitement, others fish to help the long cold winters go by just a bit faster, while more fish just for the love of fishing no matter what the season or the temperature.

Today, thanks to the ice fishing movement of the past decade, we see more and more of the “fish on the fly” method. Find the fish rather than wait for the fish to find you. For all practical purposes this is the best way to catch fish through the ice, but there is also a simple technique from decades past that is a proven method to catch fish.

Fishing with tip-ups is nothing new to the world of ice fishing. In fact, for many it is the preferred method for catching northern pike. Over the past few seasons we have seen great advancements to the technology involved in using tip-ups to catch fish. The classic wood style tip-up has been given a facelift in the form of a stronger plastic tip-up. It is also available in an insulated design to cover the ice hole and protect it from freezing up in extremely cold temps. The latest invasion to the tip-up world is the light and/or siren that attaches to the flag notifying the user of a strike.

With all of the new advancements, it might be time to slow down the new fast paced approach to ice fishing and give the tip-up a try. Step back and enjoy the fruits of what a little scouting and a technique of old can produce.

CHOOSING YOUR TIP-UP

Rigging a tip-up is a simple task. The first and most important ingredient to this fishing method is a quality tip-up. There are two styles of tip-ups that are on the top of this list. Frabill has always had “The Classic” tip-up and recently introduced the Arctic Fire tip-up as the newest of the standard style tip-ups. The Arctic Fire is a rail style tip-up that is made of an easy to see green poly that can withstand the punishment of years of use and abuse. The other style also made by Frabill is the insulated “Pro-Thermal” tip-up. This style covers the hole preventing snow from blowing in. It also insulates the ice hole preventing it from freezing shut on the coldest of days. Once you have chosen the style of tip up you are going to use, spool it up with a coated tip up-line of at least 20-pound test and tie on a snap swivel. Once your tip-up choice is complete and it is spooled with line, you are ready choose what fish you’re going to target and get ready for some flag fishing.

TIP-UPS FOR PIKE

If your intention is to catch northern pike, the tackle required to complete your set up will be a steel leader that is at least six inches long and a size 1-4/0 hook. The type of hook that you choose comes down to personal preference. Most people choose to use a regular j-hook while others prefer a treble hook or even a circle hook.

Since you already rigged up your tip-up so all you have to do now is attach the steel leader and hook. Once the leader and hook have been attached it is time to find the pike. A classic place to search for winter pike is in shallow water near points. Devils Lake fishing guide Jeff Dosch recommends that setting up in shallow water will increase your chances of catching numbers of hungry pike. The fish are roaming these areas looking for an easy meal. When they find what they want to eat they will chase it up to the corner where the ice meets the lake bottom where the baitfish has nowhere else to go but into the pike’s jaws.

For really big roaming pike set your tip-ups just off the steep break lines where walleyes, perch or other fish tend to roam. Your bait will wait for that hungry fish to swim by and strike for an easy meal. Using this method will usually not equal great numbers of fish but a flag will tend deliver a large pike.

Bait selection for tip-up fishing pike varies from state to state depending on local laws. The preferred bait for many Minnesota anglers is a big live sucker of creek chub hooked through the tail or the back so it will thrash about causing a commotion so an eager northern in the area will swim by for a fast dinner. In states like North Dakota, which limits legal baitfish, the best northern baits are frozen smelt or herring.

TIP UPS FOR WALLEYE

Targeting walleyes with tip-ups requires different tackle than do pike. You will need a two to three foot piece of six to ten pound mono or braided line with a number 1-1/0hook tied on one end. Once you have the hook fastened to your lead, attach the other end to the swivel on your tip-up line. Add a small split shot about 12 inches up from the hook to help get your bait sink into the strike zone.

When choosing locations for walleyes with tip-ups it is obvious that you would set up near traditional walleye structure such as points and sharp drop offs. Eric Closser, a Southern Minnesota tip-up expert who fishes walleyes thru the ice about 50 days per year states, “Places I start looking are shorelines, bay mouths and corners of bays.” He also says, “Weed lines are good places. I have even caught them right in the thick weeds.” Another type of structure that may be over looked but can pay big dividends is flooded timber. According to Jeff Dosch of Dosch’s Guide Service in Devils Lake, North Dakota, flooded timber can prove to be excellent structure to look for walleyes. Dosch explains, “Flooded timber in 7 to 18 feet of water tends to work the best.”

Finding the right spots on or near structure can take some time, but will be worth it in the long run. The best way to figure out what break lines, points or weed beds look like is to drill holes and use your Vexilar or underwater camera to gauge what is below the ice. According to Closser, “These spots are better if they have access to deeper water.”

Bait selection for walleyes is typically a minnow on the hook left to swim around until a feeding walleye hits. Be sure to check your local bait restrictions to make sure you have legal minnows for the sheet of ice that you have chosen to fish.


NIGHT FISHING TIP UPS

One common complaint about tip-ups has been they are tough to use in low light or night applications. Some people keep a vigilant eye on the tip-ups with a flashlight to see when the flag is standing and the fish is on. Eric Closser has constructed a homemade flag made of molded plastic and reflective tape. “This way it takes little light to see the reflective tape,” says Closser.

The past few years have seen many tip up lights or buzzers hit the market. Most of these systems work wonders for knowing when a fish is on. New for 2007, Frabill is introducing the Arctic Siren. This product combines the best of both worlds. It provides a blinking light and a loud strike alarm to notify you that your trophy awaits. You can choose whether to have just the lights or both the siren and lights on. This addition to your arsenal will put tip-up fishing at night on the top minds making you even more effective as the moon rises.

Tip-up fishing is really nothing new. It has always been a wonderful way to catch fish and big fish at that. Technology has not forgotten this staple of ice fishing techniques. Now is as good of time as any to get out find that weed bed or shelf in the lake, set up a tip-up spread, sit back and enjoy the thrill of flag fishing.