I’ll start by letting you in on a secret. Minnesota doesn’t have 10,000 lakes. We’ve actually got 15,291. Something like 6% of the state is covered in water. Needless to say, lots of fishing is to be had. But instead of lakes, let’s talk about rivers and the exceptional trout fishing to be had. Minnesota trout fishing is largely divided into two areas: North Shore … Continue reading Fly Fishing In Minnesota
Always bring a tent. Even if you think you’ll sleep in your car instead. Even if you’d rather not set up said tent at 11pm. Even if you’re just lazy. I learned this lesson because mosquitos can squeeze through cracked windows, bite you in the night, and leave blood spots on the interior roof of your car when you rage-kill them all at 3am. Always … Continue reading Overnight Getaway
The longest days of the year makes for extended daylight perfect for long rides to a spot to watch the sunset. This was something I’ve wanted to do for a while. Ride to Mounds Park in St. Paul with a cooler full of beers and watch the sunset behind the skyline during Solstice week. A group met up at Angry Catfish at 5pm for pre-ride … Continue reading Angry Catfish x Surly Brewing Solstice Ride
Seven days out from race day, we had no snow. It wasn’t looking good. We had a January thaw that removed most of our snow. A deep freeze turned all the remaining snow into ice. Then there was a blip on the weather forecast. A storm appeared. The first model runs showed 5-8″. Optimism! Following models showed as little as 1″ and as much as … Continue reading Let’s Loppet
Or, Why I am Looking Forward to 2016. I started writing this post in the passenger seat of my Subaru on January 1 while speeding back to Minnesota from Big Sky, Montana. Now it is two weeks later and I’ve had more time to think about 2015 and the year ahead. We had a good year, 2015. A great 12 months. I fished in four … Continue reading 2015
We had a fake tree when I was growing up. My dad would bring the massive box up from the basement and he and I would remove its contents, matching up groups of branches by colored pain on their steel ends. Each branch was a series of wires, which could be shaped to make the tree appear more full. It dropped plastic needles on the … Continue reading Tree Hunting
Deep in the Superior National Forest is a tiny campground on the Temperance River. It has nine campsites, gets foggy when the temperature and dew point are just right and has some seriously spoiled chipmunks. This is where we stayed. With the exception of canoe-toting SUVs, the dirt road passing by the campground was quiet. We watched a storm roll in while playing cribbage and … Continue reading Temperance
The trip looked glorious when we were planning. Drive the bikes and fly fishing gear to Lanesboro, set up camp, load the bikes with fishing gear to fish the many river access points of the Root River State Trail and catch trout and sip on suds until nightfall, then do it all again the next day. As this trip showed Parker and I, things don’t … Continue reading It’s The Thought That Counts
The North Shore of Minnesota is one of my favorite places on the planet. How much do I love this place? AP Style says I shouldn’t capitalize it as a place, but I love the North Shore so much that I capitalize it anyways. That’s fucking love. We make a trip up from Minneapolis every few months to camp or visit Duluth. The fly fishing … Continue reading North Shore Sending Off
It’s great to write those words. Brookies for days. Most Driftless rivers, where I usually fish, hold mainly browns. Some have a few rainbows. Select pools in select rivers hold brookies. My latest trip to northern Minnesota was a trip away from my usual rivers. It reminded me why I love fly fishing so much. Not like I’d forgotten, though. The Baptism River flows through … Continue reading Brookies For Days
Birch & Flannel 