Explore the Northern Wilds
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Two winters ago, I was lucky enough to visit Hawaii. After dozens of wipeouts, I surfed a wave for the first time in my life. While I rested on my belly on my board, I watched an old man standing up on his board and smoothly paddling out to catch another wave. He was smiling even more than I was. I asked around and learned that what he was doing was called stand-up paddleboarding or SUP.
The 85-year-old Virginia may look like a distinguished lady as she motors along the wind-whipped surface of Rainy Lake near Voyageurs National Park, but her life story teems with drama and secrets. She sank twice – for each of her three owners. It was said that during Prohibition she was sometimes taken to Canada, loaded up with liquor and steered back to a small island, where a speed boat would come and pick it up the illicit goods for distribution in the United States.
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About an hour’s drive northeast from Thunder Bay on Highway 11/17 is the town of Nipigon, which some people call the “Crossroads of Canada’’ because it is here that Canada’s major highways intersect, and where Canada’s two transcontinental railways join to travel a pair of bridges over the Nipigon River.
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On June 26, 2010, my friend Greg Petry and I were sitting in a Duluth hotel room watching the 10 o’clock news. The desk anchors on Fox 21 segued to a feature segment about a couple of kayakers.
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Points North: Fishing Home Waters on a Backyard Holiday
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.
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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.
more...
Points North: Sunscreen and Life Preservers Won’t Cramp Your Style
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.
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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.
more...
Points North: North of the Border, They’re Worried about Moose, Too
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?
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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?
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Points North: Fishing Opener Forecast: Ice Expected
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."
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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."
more...
Points North: For Trout Anglers, a Late Spring is a Good Thing
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.
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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.
more...
Points North: In Minnesota, bio-energy production is on hold
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.
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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.
more...
Points North: New Study Links Tile Drainage to River Degradation
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.
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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.
more...
