Northern Wilds - Full Feed

Points North: Fishing Home Waters on a Backyard Holiday

Shawn Perich — Fri, 17 May 2013 17:00:21 UT

Kadunce Creek was kind to me. The big rainbow trout we call steelhead, newly arrived from the depths of Lake Superior, were unwary and willing to bite. In a half hour of fishing I hooked three of them, even though the water temperature was an icy 34 degrees. It seemed a good omen for a five-day fishing holiday.

Points North: Sunscreen and Life Preservers Won’t Cramp Your Style

Shawn Perich — Fri, 10 May 2013 18:00:48 UT

This spring, I’m shopping for a new hat. Like many hunters and anglers, I’ve always worn ball caps. Now I’m looking for a wide-brimmed hat that will shade my oh-so-sensitive face, ears and neck from the sun. You might say I’m following doctor’s orders.

Points North: North of the Border, They’re Worried about Moose, Too

Shawn Perich — Fri, 03 May 2013 17:00:10 UT

John Kaplanis wants to meet Minnesota's moose biologists. As the executive director of the Northern Ontario Sportsmen's Alliance, Kaplanis, of Thunder Bay, Ontario, has what he calls a "million dollar question" for the state's moose experts: If biologists knew 10 years ago what they now know about Minnesota's moose decline, would they have changed their management strategy?

Points North: Fishing Opener Forecast: Ice Expected

Shawn Perich — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 18:00:42 UT

Up here at the tip of Minnesota's Arrowhead, the fishing opener seems far, far away. Sure, DNR officialdom says it will be legal to cast your lines on Saturday, May 11, but Mother Nature has the last word. Throughout April, her only word has been "snow."

Points North: For Trout Anglers, a Late Spring is a Good Thing

Shawn Perich — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 17:00:24 UT

On recent evenings I've gone walking with the dog on a frozen river near my home. The deep snow is dense and glacial, so you can walk upon it without sinking in. Trout season may have opened last Saturday, but you could walk, ski or snowshoe the length of this stream from its headwaters in the hills to its mouth at Lake Superior without getting wet.

Points North: In Minnesota, bio-energy production is on hold

Shawn Perich — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 15:39:42 UT

Last weekend, I smugly retired a ragged pair of Carhartt pants to the trash can. The pants were grimy with sawdust and bar oil, because I’d worn them all winter while cutting firewood. Now I no longer need them, because the task of putting up next year’s wood supply is now complete.

Points North: New Study Links Tile Drainage to River Degradation

Shawn Perich — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 20:45:21 UT

On the intensively farmed landscape of southern and western Minnesota, about the only natural habitat you'll find is along waterways and river corridors. Even there, the heavy hand of humanity is evident. Rivers that once ran clear and teemed with native fish and mussels are now muddy, phosphate-laden flows infested with nonnative carp.

April/May 2013

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 17:11:33 UT

Points North: Invasive Species Control? History Suggests Otherwise

Shawn Perich — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 19:00:18 UT

Once again, Minnesota legislators are debating the best way to battle an invasion of the dreaded Asian carp. The topic this year is whether to close Lock and Dam 1 or install a bubbler system to prevent the carp from migrating further upstream in the Mississippi drainage. Either option is expensive and not necessarily foolproof.

Thundering and Wild: Kakabeka Falls & Its Cozy Country Village Next Door

Elle Andra-Warner — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 16:15:00 UT

A 20-minute drive west of Thunder Bay takes you to Ontario’s second largest waterfall, thundering Kakabeka Falls, one that many have said is more spectacular than the famous Niagara Falls. Canadian painter Paul Kane wrote in 1846 that not only was Kakabeka Falls more splendid than Niagara but that the "scenery surrounding them is infinitely more wild and romantic."

Rose Falls by an Unusual Approach

Adam Mella — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 16:09:30 UT

Rose Falls has the feel of an ancient place — if you touch one of the massive cedars it might awaken from a long sleep and say something profound in an eerie voice. Here gravity pulls water out of Duncan Lake through a narrow cut in the rocks, cascading 136 feet closer to our planet’s center. All of us have access to this rare, raw power.

All in the Name of Trails

Javier Serna — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 16:00:45 UT

Martin Kubik, who formed the Kekekabic Trail Club in 1990, doesn’t mind playing hardball when it comes to his passion. While he is but one of hundreds of volunteers who help maintain trails in the Superior National Forest, his contribution to trail building here is bigger than most.

The Accidental Gardener: Join a CSA and Eat Fresh

Joan Farnam — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 15:54:16 UT

Locally grown food is so wonderful — it’s fresh, it’s delicious and, more often than not, it’s organically grown and chemical-free.

Many gardeners in the Northern Wilds know this very well — their backyards provide them with lots of fresh vegetables every year.

Smelt, a Spring Taste Treat

Shawn Perich — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 15:50:02 UT

To say everything I know about smelt I learned in kindergarten might be an overstatement, but my memories of the small, silvery fish begin there. One sunny April day, Mom and Dad picked me up at school when kindergarten got out for the day. We drove to the Lester River, on the eastern edge of Duluth.

The Madam of Cook County

Barbara Jean Meyers — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 15:45:54 UT

Margaret Matthews, who operated a brothel at the end of the Gunflint Trail more than 100 years ago, was known for her generosity.