LAKES COUNTRY
2020
2021
A MAGAZINE FOR AND ABOUT OUR REGION'S OUTDOORSMEN
775 Miles BIG BEAR HUNTER Nimrod man's a record-setter
Minnesota's North Country Trail is a walk in the woods for expert backpacker Dennis Olson
FAMILY FISH TALE
Try their dad's pickled northern recipe
WOLF SONG Nevis couple creates a living legacy
PLUS:
The Detroit Lakes grad who discovered the world's oldest fish, the Park Rapids doctor who sketches from the seat of his kayak, and MORE, INSIDE! FLANNEL SHIRTS 2020
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Heartwarming adventures. We didn’t shovel the driveway before dawn. Or rearrange the car about 12 times to make sure everything fit. But with the crude oil we transport, we did help create the winter items that make the season exhilarating. When the energy you invest in life meets the energy we fuel it with, winter fun happens.
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FOR AND ABOUT OUR REGION'S OUTDOORSMEN A PUBLICATION OF:
A special supplement to the Wednesday, September 30 Detroit Lakes Tribune and Park Rapids Enterprise, and Thursday, October 1 Perham Focus and Wadena Pioneer Journal.
CONTRIBUTORS RosaLin Alcoser ralcoser@perhamfocus.com Nathan Bowe nbowe@dlnewspapers.com Robin Fish rfish@parkrapidsenterprise.com Shannon Geisen sgeisen@parkrapidsenterprise.com Vicki Gerdes vgerdes@dlnewspapers.com Michael Johnson mjohnson@wadenapj.com Lorie Skarpness lskarpness@parkrapidsenterprise.com MAGAZINE EDITOR Marie Johnson mtjohnson@dlnewspapers.com PUBLISHER Melissa Swenson mswenson@dlnewspapers.com PAGE DESIGN Chris Johnson cjohnson@bemidjipioneer.com
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Cover photo of Dennis Olson by Marie Johnson / Flannel Shirts
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INTO THE WOODED WILD: Expert backpacker and North Country Trail ambassador Dennis Olson, of Detroit Lakes, has hiked thousands of miles in his lifetime, camping out in the snow and coming face to face with black bears FAMILY FISH TALE: A Park Rapids family shares their lifelong love of fishing -- and their late father's recipe for pickled northern PADDLES AND PAPER: Park Rapids doctor, kayaker and artist, Dante Beretta, sketches what he sees from the seat of his "mobile nature observation deck" BIG BEAR HUNTER: Jesse Koskiniemi, of Nimrod, has become the go-to guy for bear hunting advice after setting the state record for largest black bear shot with a firearm WOLF SONG, A LIVING LEGACY: Nevis couple, Alan and Kathy Olander, have preserved their 420 acres of abundant woods and wildlife with a permanent conservation easement FISH FACT FINDER: Detroit Lakes graduate Alec Lackmann has made a career out of studying fish, and has discovered the world's oldest living freshwater fish, a Bigmouth Buffalo found in Crystal Lake in Otter Tail County WOODS AND WATER: Current and upcoming hunting and fishing seasons, with info and tips from local fishing guides
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Into the
Wooded Wild After overcoming a painful leg disorder, Detroit Lakes man Dennis Olson is now an expert backwoods hiker and a young ambassador for the North Country Trail. BY NATHAN BOWE For Flannel Shirts
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I just yell and wave my arms. They’re more scared of you than you are of them. -Dennis Olson, on coming face to face with black bears on the trail
Marie Johnson / Flannel Shirts
Dennis Olson, of Detroit Lakes, has hiked about three-quarters of the 775-mile North Country Trail through Minnesota, and he says he will hike that again next year, along with the 180 miles he hasn’t traveled yet, to hike the entire trail through the state. He's pictured here at the Highway 34 trailhead, about 10 miles east of Detroit Lakes.
W
hen Dennis Olson was 17 years old, he faced an agonizing decision: risk getting an experimental surgery, or have his leg amputated. He needed to fix a painful syndrome called “miserable malalignment” that had plagued his childhood.
“My kneecap would pop out all the time,” he says. Miserable malalignment syndrome is an abnormal rotation of major leg bones -- the femur, the tibia or both. The bones can be rotated inward or outward. In most cases, the cause is unknown. Olson traces his back to the side effects of being hit by a car while biking in Dilworth when he was 7 or 8 years old. “It was a hit and run, while I was on the way to the pool with my sister (Alicia Olson of Detroit Lakes),” he says. The condition crept up on him slowly. It typically causes knee pain, but also can cause hip, ankle and back pain. Miserable malalignment syndrome is difficult to diagnose FLANNEL SHIRTS 2020
because the legs can appear normal on X-rays. Olson opted for the experimental surgery. The procedure was done at the University of Minnesota Medical Center. A long steel rod was inserted into his leg and later removed. After an 18-month period of healing and physical therapy, Olson says, it was clear the surgery did what it was supposed to do: “I could go for long, long walks.” Now 30 years old, the Detroit Lakes man has never stopped taking those long walks. Over the years, he’s grown into an expert backpack hiker, traveling all across Minnesota, along lengthy stretches of the North Country Trail. 7
about four and half weeks. He plans to hike that again next year, along with the 180 miles he hasn’t traveled yet, to hike On the trail, Olson has come face to face with Minnesota the entire trail through the state. black bears seven times, without any problems. It won’t take as long as one might think, since Olson aver“I just yell and wave my arms,” he says. “They’re more ages 37 miles a day, and is working to get that up to “the midscared of you than you are of them.” to low-forties” by next year. Good thing, too, because he likes to travel light. That How far and how fast a hiker travels depends in large part means no guns and no big knives, just a smaller knife for use on the terrain: Olson says he can travel 40 or 45 miles a day on the trail. on hard ground, while soft or muddy ground “will slow you Olson once had to walk 13 miles to the nearest road to find down.” His record is 53 miles in one day, road-walking in medical help after suffering a nasty cut from a broken bottle, North Dakota. but he says the only time he was really alarmed was when he When it comes to hiking, Olson doesn’t mess around: had to hide in the woods for about 90 minutes from a group It took him just three days to complete an annual challenge by of men in a passing van -- they spotted him backpacking and the North Country Trail Association to hike 100 miles chased him down a hiking trail near Naytahwaush. in a year. Olson has hiked about three-quarters of the 775-mile North During hiking season, he generally wears out a pair of hikCountry Trail through Minnesota, which he says took him ing boots in one month.
HAZARDS ON THE TRAIL
(Left) Olson picked these morel mushrooms while hiking just outside of Detroit Lakes. He later brought them home to cook and eat. (Right) This spot off of County Highway 25, near the Pickerel Lake Ski Trails in Becker County, is one where Olson often hangs out. It's also where he teaches a class on backpacking with a hammock, or sleeping tent, which keeps hikers warm, even on cold winter nights.
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This light, homemade, alcohol-fueled stove made by Dennis Olson can bring water to a boil in three minutes.
PRIME HIKING TIME IS NOW
Fall and winter are Olson’s prime hiking times -- the trail is too muddy in the spring and the bugs can be bad in the summer months, he says: “In the summer, I do more kayak camping.” To deal with biting insects, he wears long pants, a longsleeve shirt, and a hat with mosquito netting that protects his face. When you’re carrying everything you need on your back, he says, you learn to pack light. Serious trail hiking means camping, and Olson sleeps in a lightweight hammock (with mosquito netting) instead of lugging along a tent. There are primitive campsites about every 7-10 miles along the North Country Trail, he says. In the winter, he fortifies his hammock with an underquilt protected by a Gore-Tex cover, and a top quilt for warmth, which is lighter than a sleeping bag and keeps him warm: He has hiked and camped in 37-below temperatures (with 47-below wind chill). For safety’s sake, “we don’t go way, way out there in the winter,” he says. Winter is the only season he brings a hatchet along and builds fires. He has a thin but very warm Patagonia down jacket, and when it's really cold, he wears a military base layer, made with a special microfiber that holds heat. The only problem with that is it gets too hot, he says with a laugh. For cooking, he uses an ultra-light, hand-made, alcohol-burning stove -- just big enough to boil water for Folgers coffee (which now comes in tea bags) or Mountain House
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Olson has traversed this 1,000-foot boardwalk along Tamarac Lake. dehydrated meals. He carries two bottles of water, one full and one empty, and has a Sawyer mini-filter to create drinkable water out of lakes and even puddles, if necessary. It’s much better than the add-a-few-drops-of-bleach system he used when he first started hiking. He also advises new hikers to do some research and buy the right gear the first time. When he first started, he bought a backpack and other gear that turned out to be too heavy for serious hiking. Experienced hikers like Olson know things that newbies might not think about, like eating a few miles outside of camp, to keep the bears away, and allowing for “zero days” on hikes over 200 miles. A zero day means no hiking that day, he says: “You can use them when you’re in a really cool area and want to stay there for a while, or if you’re tired from hiking.” His longest hike so far covered 430 miles.
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IN LOVE WITH THE NORTH COUNTRY TRAIL
Olson, a welder at Minnesota Metalworks in Detroit Lakes, has hiked trails across Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin, but now focuses on hiking the North Country Trail. “I’m a North Country Trail advocate,” he says. He’s involved with the trail association and spoke to the Minnesota Trail Users Association last October about the Next Generation Coalition -- a peer to peer network of young North Country Trail supporters. Olson has been involved in NextGen since it was launched in 2018. That means being an ambassador for the North Country Trail system. In early January, for example, he’s going to hike and camp in the Paul Bunyan State Forest for six days with some guys from Kentucky who haven’t hiked in snow before. As an advocate, Olson is willing to get his hands dirty: Last fall, he and eight others built a 6.4-mile trail section in a day and a half. “There were supposed to be 40 of us, but only nine showed -Dennis Olson, on getting up,” he says. They used Pulaskis (hand tools) to scrape off anywhere started as a backpacker from a half-inch to 5 inches of soil, shaping the new trail so it drains properly. Some types of terrain make for easier trail-building than others, Olson says: “I really like making a trail through the pine trees -- you can fly through the pine trees.” He started out hiking solo. “The first couple of years I was on my own,” he says. Then he started showing photos to his friends, and they got interested, too. “You can’t drive to most waterfalls in this area,” he explains. “You have to walk there and sleep overnight.” Now he usually travels with friends or other hikers. His girlfriend, Keeley Sisson of Detroit Lakes, is also a hiker, and his A view of Lake of the Clouds, in Porcupine Mountains dog, Luna, a brindle-colored Lab-pit mix, loves to come along, Wilderness State Park in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. as well. Olson was born in Detroit Lakes, but moved with his family and graduated from Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton High School. He has lived in Fargo and Fergus Falls, and moved back to Detroit Lakes in 2007.
The first couple of years I was on my own.
SOME DAY, HE’LL WALK TO THE EAST COAST
As for hiking the entire length of the North Country National Scenic Trail (which stretches 4,600 miles across eight states, from Lake Sakakawea in North Dakota to Vermont) that will happen “when life works out and I can take a year off,” Olson says. Why a year? Because it took a little over a year for the last person to hike the entire North Country Trail. “There’s no trail in the Adirondacks,” Olson says. “You have to use GPS, and it can be 300 miles between towns.” There are
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MORE ABOUT THE NORTH COUNTRY TRAIL A beautiful and expansive trail system that stretches across thousands of miles in the upper United States, from North Dakota to New York, the North Country National Scenic Trail is the longest continuous hiking trail in the United States -- and it winds right through the Detroit Lakes area. In the works since the mid-1960s, the North Country Trail already has over 2,600 miles of finished trails that are open to public use, and new segments are still being completed. When it’s all said and done, the North Country Trail will span a remarkable 4,600 miles. Minnesota is home to 775 of those miles, characterized by rivers, lakes, forests and fields. From the North Dakota state line south of Fargo, the trail extends eastward before turning northeast and passing through Maplewood State Park. From there, hikers continue northeast to traverse a 150-mile completed section through the wildly scenic Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge, White Earth State Forest, Itasca State Park, Paul Bunyan State Forest and Chippewa National Forest. Detroit Lakes hikers can hop onto the trail in Tamarac, or at the even closer Highway 34 Trailhead just 11 miles east of town. The trail also goes right through downtown
Olson stopped to take this selfie last spring, after helping to clear brush from a 30-mile section of the Laurentian Lakes Chapter's North Country Trail segment, north of Detroit Lakes. areas where the trail hasn’t been built yet, and hikers have to walk on roadways: “At least a third of it is road-walking.” In the meantime, if Olson wants to stretch his legs beyond the North Country Trail, he can just keep going: the trail hooks up with the 2,200-mile Appalachian Trail, which runs from Maine to Georgia, and connects to the 1,000-mile Florida Trail. “Just think,” Olson says. Your local and independently “You can get all the way from owned insurance agencies North Dakota to Florida in the woods.”
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Frazee, which has the distinction of being Minnesota’s first designated North Country Trail Association Trail Town, in 2013. Those who want to continue on past the Chippewa National Forest can take the trail further north to the remote solitude of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Hikers here can travel the Kekekabic and Border Route Trails and see spectacular views of Lake Superior along the Superior Hiking Trail. At Jay Cooke State Park near Duluth, a trail suspension bridge crosses rock-lined rapids as the St.
Louis River plunges over exposed rock outcroppings of the Laurentian Shield. Over 200 public agencies and private interests are participating in the development and management of the North Country Scenic Trail; trail widths and surfaces, campsites and other support facilities, as well as regulations for using the trail, vary from one trail segment to another. For more information, visit northcountrytrail.org or visit the North Country Trail on Facebook.
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9am-dusk | $5 per gun Kids under 12 are FREE, must have a firearm safety class certificate and be accompanied by an adult.
For more information go to www.osagesportsmansclub.com find us on Facebook at facebook.com/OsageSportsmansClub or call Allen Belt 218-732-0978 or Al Winterberger 218-255-1722.
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‘FISH ON!’ Schmid family recalls a lifelong love of fishing BY ROBIN FISH For Flannel Shirts
Submitted Photos
Dacle Schmid Sr. (1935-2020) had an infectious love of fishing that he shared with his five children, 16 grandchildren and many of his 20 great-grandchildren.
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he fish aren’t talking, but the late Dacle Schmid Sr.’s family has warm memories of a man who always had time to fish. From his retirement at age 62 right up until his death this past February at 84, the Dorset resident went fishing once or twice a day, rain or shine, year round. Dacle Sr. and his wife Charlene, who died last year, had two sons and three daughters, who all fished with their father. “If you went with Dad, you didn’t come home until he was ready to come home,” says daughter Deb Anderson. “He usually fished until we got our limit, and the more of us he took with, the more fish he could get.” According to son Dacle Jr., the couple’s 16 grandchildren “all had the opportunity to fish with their grandpa.” “Some of them really liked to do it, but some of them only did it because it was with Grandpa,” adds Anderson. “My dad was always ready to go,” says Dacle Jr. “If you were there and you wanted to go fishing, he’d make room for you.”
LONGTIME FISHING Growing up on Blue Lake, Dacle Sr. learned to fish at an early age. “My dad would tell stories,” says Dacle Jr., “where they’d go to this creek and get a big old northern in the spring, and have it so big that they could hardly get it home with two of them dragging it in a gunny sack.” He told about how his dad and uncles would get in trouble for stopping to fish on the way to school, “and have to clean the fish, and then be to school late. But they would take that fish home, and that’s what they would eat for supper.” About his dad’s last 22 “good years of fishing,” Dacle Jr. says, “I’m not going to say he fished every day. He might have missed one or two a year.” In fact, he says, “Most days, he’d go fishing twice, because he’d have to come in and check with my mom, because she’d want to know that he was OK, and then he’d go fishing again.”
Great-grandson Marcus Kimbrough and the late Dacle Schmid Sr. proudly display their haul after a fishing trip in August 2008.
‘PUT ME BY THE WATER’
Oldest grandson Pete Anderson, who lives in Georgia, caught the fishing bug from Dacle Sr. “Grandpa’s love and passion for it really inspired that in me,” says Pete. “If somebody wants to know, ‘What do you want to do?’ It’s fishing. Put me by the water.” He recalls being excited on Fridays after school to ride the bus to his grandparents’ house, knowing he would go fishing with Grandpa on Saturday. “That was the time where I got to learn how to cast and work the jig and work the popper,” he says. “I think the biggest lesson I learned from him was patience – being able to let that popper sit and not just race it back to the boat, for that big bass to hit.” Pete said Dacle Sr. taught him to love not just the sport but also stewardship, and “even how to cook and clean. Of course, Grandma did the cooking. I don’t think anybody ever cooked better than her.”
THUNDER IS NOTHING
Son-in-law John Rutkowski remembers fishing with Dacle Sr. on Boulder Lake when it FISHING TO EAT was thundering. Never a catch-and-release fisherman, Dacle Sr. fished to eat. “Lightning wasn’t dropping out of the sky, so you know, “In the time that he grew up, you kept the fish you Dad was good with it,” he says. “Thunder didn’t mean anycaught,” Dacle Jr. says, “and if you couldn’t eat it, then you thing.” made sure somebody else could.” When it started hailing, Rutkowski suggested they pack it Many people in the Park Rapids area enjoyed fish delivered in, but Dacle Sr. says, “Oh, no, no! The fish will start biting.” by Dacle Sr. And he was right. “Very seldom did he ever give you a fish that wasn’t ready “We pulled in like three bass and about a dozen crappies, to eat,” Dacle Jr. adds. “He’d clean it, take the bones out, and almost immediately,” recalls Rutkowski. “I just remember you could have fish for supper.” laughing. It was painful fishing, but it sure was fun.” Dacle Sr. also perfected recipes for frying, smoking and During many trips to Pickerel Lake, dropping Bass Oreno pickling fish. plugs in the glass-smooth water at 5:30 a.m., “we never got “I miss the fish,” says Anderson. “I’m telling Dacle (Jr.) all skunked in all the times we went,” Rutkowski says. “Dad the time, you take so much for granted. We’ve had fish since taught me so much about bass fishing and everything.” He got choked up recalling a calm afternoon on a private we could remember. We’ve always had fish. Now, all of a sudlake, when Dacle Sr. said, “This is my favorite part of fishing den, my dad’s been gone and there’s no fish.” FLANNEL SHIRTS 2020
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Grandpa’s love and passion for it (fishing) really inspired that in me. If somebody wants to know, ‘What do you want to do?’ It’s fishing. Put me by the water. -Pete Anderson, grandson of Dacle Schmid Sr.
Dacle Sr. hoists a big northern he caught in June 2008.
– just listening to nature and looking at the scenery.’”
‘FISH ON!’
Toward the end of his life, Dacle Sr. often fished with Deb’s grandson, Tucker Kimbrough. “He was an awesome guy to fish with, and I wish I could do it again,” says Kimbrough, whose great-grandpa taught him to catch and clean a fish: “He was trying to teach me how to cook a fish, but I didn’t really get that.” While it was sometimes boring, Kimbrough says, “Every time we caught one, we would always say, ‘Fish on!’ and both of us would get really excited.” “A number of times, I’d say I was way too busy to go fishing,” says Dacle Jr. “He told me, ‘Dacle, you have to quit working all of the time. You have to make more time to go fishing.’”
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Dacle Sr. and two family members spread out their catch one day in July 2003 on top of a chest freezer – six walleye and 18 bass. 18
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DACLE SCHMID SR.’S
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Paddles Paper and
Park Rapids kayaker and open air artist, Dante Beretta, sketches what he sees while out on one of his ‘mobile nature observation decks’ Story and Photos BY SHANNON GEISEN For Flannel Shirts
Beretta carries a small sketchbook, pencils and ink on his kayak excursions, journaling about the sights and sounds. 20
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xercise, exploring nature, and art outdoors: Park Rapids man Dante Beretta calls it the trifecta of a kayak trip. Beretta and his family have lived on Long Lake for 11 years, recently making it their permanent home. A long-time kayaker, Beretta regularly paddles along the bays and points of the lake, observing the flora and fauna.
FOR A GREAT RIDE...
“With its nooks and crannies, Long Lake is perfect to explore by kayak,” he writes. Beretta shares his discoveries in his lake association’s biannual newsletter. He owns two kayaks – or “mobile nature observation decks,” as he calls them. And they have a distinct advantage over other ways of taking in the local wildlife. “Loons and ducks that normally would be scared away by a motorboat are easy to view on the open water,” he explains. “I can glide in near the shore to observe birds camouflaged in the trees.” Throwing an anchor out, he pauses to sketch “en plein air” – French for “in the open air.” “I have to contend with cramped quarters, rocking movement and occasional water splashes, but sometimes these lead to ‘accidents’ that add to the drawing,” he says. “I usually work with materials that are easy to carry – pencil, pen and ink, watercolor pencils and a small sketchbook.” Filling a small bottle with lakewater, he’ll brush some water onto his drawing for the watercolor effect. “Sometimes when I’ve been on a beach and doing a painting, I’ll incorporate some of the sand,” he adds. A physician by trade, Beretta says he is purely a hobby artist. He has only taken a few community education classes. “This is something totally different, mainly about relaxation, and a finished product you can throw in a frame,” he says. Beretta tends to kayak on weekend mornings, when the lake is quieter. “As the day goes along, the water gets rougher, generally,” he says. “Sometimes I’ll go out for a little exercise and quiet time on the lake. Sometimes I’ll go out and say, ‘Let’s see what
Beretta has sketched and written about winter birds on Long Lake, like chickadees, nuthatches and juncos, for the lake association's newsletter. 22
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Beretta prefers watercolor pencils over pastels. "They are very portable," he said. Carrying a small sketchbook, he captures sunsets on Long Lake from his kayak.
we can see as far as wildlife.’” Another advantage of a kayak is that you can grab-and-go, Beretta says. He owns two older models, one purchased 15 years ago and the other 20 years ago. Kayaks longer than 10 feet must have a boat license, he points out. His 12-footer has a rutter, offering speed and maneuverability. The 9-foot kayak has a flatter bottom for stability. It’s lighter, but also slower. According to the American Kayaking Association, there are five types of flat-water kayaks: sit-on-top, recreational, touring, inflatable and pedaling. There are four whitewater kayaks: playboats, river runners, creekboats, old school and inflatable. Kayaks hold up well over time, Beretta says, making them an excellent investment. In recent years, kayaking has become noticeably more popular. “It is a neat way to see the lake. You end up seeing more because you’re slower,” he says. Often while kayaking, Beretta hears the belted kingfisher’s “territorial call, a repetitive chattering. I don’t really understand bird guide books’ description of bird calls, but the kingfisher has such a distinctive call that you can quickly learn to recognize it.”
Jewelweed, or spotted touch-me-not, is a native plant. Beretta observes, "The tubular shape of the flowers is perfect for the hummingbird's long bill."
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The belted kingfisher is “a common summer visitor to Long Lake,” he adds. After noticing hummingbirds flitting amongst some orange-colored flowers on the lakeshore, Beretta has drawn and written about jewelweed, also known as spotted touchme-not. Native to Minnesota, the plant prefers partial shade and moist habitat, he learned, “so it does well on the shores of Long Lake.” The Berettas used to mow their lawn down to the water’s edge, but Beretta says since they stopped doing that, the native jewelweed has established itself on their shoreline. Last summer, a pair of loons raised chicks in front of the Berettas’ home. He observed one of the parents with a “baby on board,” hitching a ride on the adult’s back, during a kayak ride and snapped a photo. He looks forward to logging more miles on the water, and creating more sketches as he goes.
This pastel of Reese's Point on Long Lake is one of Beretta's favorites.
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I have to contend with cramped quarters, rocking movement and occasional water splashes, but sometimes these lead to ‘accidents’ that add to the drawing. I usually work with materials that are easy to carry – pencil, pen and ink, watercolor pencils and a small sketchbook. -Dante Beretta
Beretta, an avid kayaker, blends exercise with art by sketching wildlife on Long Lake in Park Rapids.
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Beretta drew this belted kingfisher, "a mid-sized bird with a large head and a distinctive mohawk crest." It is a frequent summer guest on northern Minnesota lakes.
Visit your local Husqvarna dealer to learn more. Most importantly, thank you for serving!
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Big Bear Hunter Record-setting Jesse Koskiniemi, of Nimrod, is the go-to guy for advice on how to bait and nab giant bears Story and Photos BY MICHAEL JOHNSON For Flannel Shirts
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his time of year, Jesse Koskiniemi becomes an elusive creature, often inhabiting the deep woods outside of Nimrod. If you do spot him, it’s likely he’s on his ATV, which is loaded down with boxes of soft and hard candies, trail mix, peanut butter by the bucket and Jell-O powder mix packets. You can smell him pass by, as he’s got spray bottles that emit the enticing aromas of bacon and caramel.
This past August, on the first weekend when bear hunters could begin baiting, Koskiniemi was miles from civilization with his son, Chase. The two dropped orange slice candies in a pile. Chase used a trowel to wipe peanut butter onto a tree trunk. They took turns spraying fruit spray and caramel scents into the air. Just feet from the bait station was a trail made by bears, and a broken tree with bear hair rubbed off on a snapped limb. “They’re probably listening to us right now,” Koskiniemi said of the bears. He thought they were likely just a couple hundred yards off in the sticks.
Jesse Koskiniemi poses with the bear skin from the bear he shot in 2017. The bear holds the record for largest Minnesota black bear shot with a firearm.
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You may think it odd, but bears come from miles around to visit the baiting stations Koskiniemi establishes annually in preparation for the bear hunting opener, which this year was Sept. 1. In the weeks leading up to the season, the hunter’s phone blows up with people asking him how they can bring a bear into their hunting grounds. In recent years, he’s become the expert in bear hunting for many Minnesota hunters. Koskiniemi has been hunting bears in the Nimrod area for 32 years. He’s successfully taken 17 bears in his career, and holds the state record for largest black bear ever shot in Minnesota. That record-setter was a 600-pounder he shot in 2017. It measured 22 and 10/16 inches, and had a skull that was 5/16 inches longer than the previous record. That might not seem like much, but most record bears are separated by just 1/16 of an inch. He recalls the hunt for that bear vividly, and welcomes anyone to pull up a stump to hear it again. “The first time I saw this bear, I was out making hay,” Koskiniemi said, gesturing to a massive bear rug hung in front of him on his living room wall. It’s so big the head reaches the 8-foot ceiling and the feet "spread out on floor." Koskiniemi said he had to stop the tractor and watch the bruin eating clover in the field, amazed at his size. After that, he said, “I went to work planning to hunt that bear specifically.” He recalls setting out three bait stations aimed at bringing the bear in, each about 2 to 3 miles apart. Every hunter is allowed to have three baiting stations, all registered with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. The bear began hitting one of Koskiniemi’s bait stations and kept coming back routinely just as the season began. Expecting the bear to show up before dark, the hunter headed Getting the goods to the baiting station requires out at about 1:30 in the afternoon, not wanting to get busted. buckets and several trips off the ATV trail deeper into the bear woods. Finally, as evening set in, he saw the large bear approaching.
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I’m in a 15-foot ladder stand, and I swear he could have sniffed my toes. He stood there for what felt like an eternity. -Jesse Koskiniemi, on hunting his record-setting black bear
“I could see him coming through this tall canary grass,” Koskiniemi said. “I couldn’t tell how big he was, but I knew he was big.” At 20 yards, the bear stood up and sniffed the air, looking straight at Koskiniemi. “I’m in a 15-foot ladder stand, and I swear he could have sniffed my toes,” he said. The bear was sucking in air through its lips, tasting the atmosphere. It made the hair on the seasoned bear hunter’s neck stand straight: “He stood there for what felt like an eternity.” Bears have some of the best noses in the woods, and Koskiniemi knew he had to cover his scent to fool the big bear. He had all his scent cover strategies in place. It was clear the bear still knew something was up. But eventually, the bear let his
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guard down, and it was then he was knocked over by a blow from Koskiniemi’s .375 H&H. The rest of the night and morning were devoted to carrying that giant bear out of the woods.
BEAR COUNTRY What works for Koskiniemi is his offering to the bears. He doesn’t just give them what they want, he gives them something they can’t get elsewhere. On top of all the scents, he puts out sweets and proteins that bears can’t get in the woods. “I’ve just learned tricks over the years,” Koskiniemi said. “It’s little things that make a difference.” Feeding the bears can be costly, but he is so addicted to the sport, he doesn’t mind the cost involved in getting him or
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someone else a good bear. Another thing he’s got going for him is location. Wherever woods meet prairie, or where woods turn into farmland, those are the places where bears find spots to hide, where there is limited exposure to humans and they have access to fields of food that keep them fed throughout the non-hibernating months. The abundance of food means these bears grow large. That’s no secret, considering five of the top 10 biggest bears ever shot in Minnesota were from the Wadena, Hubbard and Cass County region. All three counties are not far from the area where Koskiniemi hunts. “There’s a lot of food here, and a lot of good, thick, dense cover,” Koskiniemi said.
ALWAYS A BIGGER BEAR
While Koskiniemi holds the state record for largest bear, that bear is not the heaviest ever shot in Minnesota. The record-setter has the largest recorded skull size, and that’s what counts. Koskiniemi knows there are bigger bears out there. The difficulty is getting bears to cooperate, and getting a license to hunt them. Getting a license used to be easier, but a tightened quota means it can take about six years to build up enough preference points to get one. Even though he received no license this year (aside from a nuisance bear tag), Koskiniemi continued to bait for others looking to take a bear in the area. He said it’s not uncommon to see five to seven bears in an evening, and he feels the number of permits should be expanded, at least in this region, where bear numbers appear strong and bear/human encounters are not uncommon. (Above) Jesse Koskiniemi points to an area where he'll set up a trail camera near a broken branch with bear hair still attached. (Left) The bear skull that broke the record sits in Koskiniemi's living room.
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TIPS ON THE HUNT
Koskiniemi offers these tips to help you find more success in the woods this season. ones you don’t want It’s all about the smell. An alluring assortment of scents and to shoot.” The biggest bears are often baits will pull in bears from miles around. Bears have a better the last, most wary ones to sense of smell than dogs, according to the Minnesota DNR. When Koskiniemi sets out his bait station, he not only places come out in the evening. You’ve got to be willing to strong smelling bait, he also sprays his scents high into the wait for them. branches to catch the breeze blowing in the treetops. He preEvery year, Koskiniemi capfers a scent spray from Bear Scents of Wisconsin. tures bears on trail cameras “It’s all about getting scent in the wind. If they can’t smell and gets a rush out of seeing it, they aren’t coming in,” he said. each visitor to his sites. Using His secret weapon is a water cannon that he pulls cooking cameras allows him to know grease into and then sprays throughout the area of the who is visiting and when, baiting station. so he has an idea of what to expect before he heads to the woods. If it’s a sow and cubs typically hitting the bait, he’ll 1 look elsewhere until a big bruin makes an appearance.
1) STRONG SCENTS
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2) LEAD THE WAY
Koskiniemi wants to ensure bears go into a bait station the way he wants them to. He creates a makeshift path by placing dead branches and logs to guide the bear broadside to his tree stand.
3) BOATLOADS OF BAIT
Even if Koskiniemi isn’t hunting, if it’s legal baiting time he is luring bears in with load after load of sweets and protein. He buys his goods from candy supply chains, by the ton. He said some hunters go with molasses and grain bait, which can work, but he uses foods that will pull bears away from those stations. While they can find berries in the northern woods, they can’t get dried fruit like bananas or apricots. He can provide them with peanut butter and bacon scent blocks. He even adds in fresh meats, saying bears crave the protein but are not looking for rotten meat.
4) BE SELECTIVE
“You can’t shoot the first bear that comes into the bait,” Koskiniemi said. “Little bears get shot first, but those are the FLANNEL SHIRTS 2020
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Wolf Song A Living Legacy
Nevis couple preserves 420 acres of forest, meadows, fields and ponds with conservation easement BY LORIE SKARPNESS For Flannel Shirts 36
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(At Wolf Song, a wolf once) sat up on his haunches and began to bark and howl, as if inviting me to join in. I tried my best to howl back. To my surprise, the wolf answered me and we had quite a conversation for about 10 minutes. That was by far one of the most amazing days of my life! -Kathy Olander
Submitted Photos
Alan and Kathy Olander share a love of nature and enjoy long walks on their property north of Nevis, observing the changes in nature during each season.
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reservation of a diverse, 420-acre habitat north of Nevis named Wolf Song, home to many animals, birds and butterflies, is assured thanks to Alan and Kathy Olander’s decision to make the property part of the Minnesota Land Trust.
The Olanders purchased 380 acres adjacent to the Paul Bunyan State Forest in 1993, adding 40 more acres a few years later. In addition to living on the property, the Olanders operate their Country Cat Clinic in a 100-year-old barn. One evening, shortly after they moved to the property, they first heard the long, mournful song of the wolves. “It was the first time either of us had heard wolves, and we were thrilled,”
Kathy says. “The next day, we found their tracks in a muddy spot on our main trail not far from the house. The name Wolf Song came to me as we were walking back.” “Having wolves in our lives has given us much joy over the years,” she adds. “One winter day, as I began walking down our driveway to the mailbox, I heard wolves nearby. Five wolves were playing at the edge of our front field, chasing
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each other in the deep snow. When they saw me walking away, all but one took off over the hill. “The one remaining wolf sat up on his haunches and began to bark and howl, as if inviting me to join in. I tried my best to howl back. To my surprise, the wolf answered me and we had quite a conversation for about 10 minutes. That was by far one of the most amazing days of my life!”
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SHARING A LOVE OF NATURE
Alan grew up in Nevis and Kathy grew up in Colorado, but both had very similar childhoods. “We both had our little collections of frogs, salamanders, snakes, turtles and crayfish,” Kathy says. “I gathered mine from the ponds and rivers near my house. Alan was constantly down by the lake or out in the woods, catching frogs, turtles, snakes and insects.” They met when Kathy began working for Alan’s veterinary practice in 1981. “We were married in 1987 and worked together at our office near Lake Belle Taine until moving to Wolf Song in
1994,” she says. “We now enjoy walking, canoeing, berry picking, snowshoeing and mostly just being here together in this magical place.” In addition to providing habitat for many species, the land has an interesting history. “The property was homesteaded around the time of largescale logging in the area in the early 1900s,” Alan says. “There are still remnants of a log home and outbuildings, complete with a windmill. After that, it continued primarily as a dairy farm. Luckily, most of the property remained forested with areas of open fields, meadows and ponds.” The main trail running through the property was part of a township or county road many years ago, later to become the Akeley Cutoff Trail, a snowmobile and recreational trail in the Paul Bunyan Forest. This trail was abandoned a number of years after the Olanders moved to the property and is now part of their four-mile system of walking trails.
Two monarch butterflies prepare for their fall migration to Mexico by nectaring on a northern prairie blazing star flower. One of the most magical moments the Olanders have experienced on their property is seeing over 100 monarchs on blazing stars at one viewing.
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MAGICAL MOMENTS Being immersed in nature has given the couple many special memories. “One spring a couple of years ago, we found two turtle eggs near the house,” Kathy says. “We scooped them up and made a cozy incubator by placing moist peat moss in a plastic container. We kept it on top of our hot water heater, where it was around 80 degrees, for about two months. One day, those two baby turtles used their egg tooth to hatch out of their shells! We took them to one of our ponds and released them, hoping they would survive and enjoy their little lives around that lovely pond.” Another cherished memory was walking into a summer meadow where blazing star thrives and counting over 100 monarch butterflies nectaring there. “It truly was a spectacular sight,” Kathy says. Many times, they have seen wolf, coyote and fox tracks on While inspecting their pollinator habit, the Olanders have found many insects thriving. snowshoe trails.
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This pair of Canada geese were spotted on one of the six ponds on the Olander property during the spring breeding season.
PRESERVING A LEGACY “We had been interested in protecting our property with a conservation easement for a number of years, but nothing came to fruition,” Alan says. “Then, in 2017, we were contacted by the Leech Lake Watershed Foundation (now the Northern Waters Land Trust) about applying for a chance at placing our property into a conservation easement.” “We applied and were successful,” he adds. “The easement process was carried out by the Minnesota Land Trust and was finalized in 2019. The Minnesota Land Trust holds the conservation easement, which will protect the property from
development in perpetuity.” The Olanders made the decision because of their love of nature. “Our forested lands in Minnesota are becoming more and more fragmented by development or are being converted to agriculture,” Alan says. “These things affect wildlife and the environment in many negative ways. We wanted to preserve our property so that it could never be developed to protect the wildlife, forests, wetlands and water quality of our area.” The property includes diverse forested areas of red pine, white pine, jack pine, aspen, oak and ash, as well as six
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ponds. Many mammals and birds, a few species of reptiles and amphibians, butterflies, dragonflies and bees make their homes on the property. “A few of the uncommon bird species identified here include a great egret, a varied thrush, and great gray owl,” Alan says. “Less common butterflies observed here are the Melissa blue, purplish copper and common buckeye. A rare dragonfly to this area, the subarctic darner, was discovered a few years ago.”
The couple monitors bluebird and tree swallow nest boxes. “An American kestrel nest box has had young kestrels successfully fledge the past two years, which has been very exciting,” Alan says. A pollinator habitat and wetland restoration was completed as part of the Natural Resources Conservation Service Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). Another CSP enhancement was to identify and preserve dead snags and downed trees. The Olanders maintain the property by keeping walking trails mowed and trying to keep invasive weeds under control. They have also had small-scale logging done over the years, primarily of mature aspen, to encourage aspen regeneration. The Olanders enjoy bird watching, trail walking, snowshoeing, skiing, skating, photography and riding their electric ATV. “We are both grateful that we have placed Wolf Song into a conservation easement, knowing that the wildlife and their habitat will be protected from development forever,” Kathy says. OPENING IN SEPT 2020! CHECK FOR UPDATES: @REVELBREWINGPR (218) 366-2229 WWW.REVELINGBREW.COM
Getting out on the trails in all seasons, the Olanders have seen fox, bear, wolves and, of course, white-tailed deer.
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Our forested lands in Minnesota are becoming more and more fragmented by development or are being converted to agriculture ‌ We wanted to preserve our property so that it could never be developed to protect the wildlife, forests, wetlands and water quality of our area. -Alan Olander
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FISH FACT FINDER University researcher and Detroit Lakes resident, Alec Lackmann, has made a career out of studying fish — and in the process, he discovered the oldest known freshwater fish in the world. BY VICKI GERDES For Flannel Shirts
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Alec Lackmann with an old female Bigmouth Buffalo that is about to be released back into the water. 44
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We do have an enormous resource (aquatic ecosystems in Minnesota), but with that comes a responsibility to understand it and keep it going for future generations to enjoy. -Alec Lackmann, U of M researcher
This Bigmouth Buffalo, which was determined to have hatched in the 1920s, has accrued some unique pigmention over the past century.
A
s a young boy, Alec Lackmann became intrigued by the fish that swam in the waters of the lakes near Pelican Rapids, where he and his family spent their summers (they spent the rest of their time in Moorhead, where he received his early education). “I got involved with fish from a young age, and always found them fascinating,” Lackmann says. After moving to Detroit Lakes during his teenage years, he became even more interested in ichthyology — i.e., the study of fish — as a recreational hobby. “I just think all fish are cool, basically,” says Lackmann. But it wasn’t until he was a graduate student at North Dakota State University that he found himself turning this lifelong fascination with fish into a potential career. “My dissertation research was up in northern Alaska, studying invertebrate responses to climate change and its effects on shorebirds and wetlands,” he said. Lackmann was still living in Detroit Lakes, in the process of completing his doctorate, when he started aging Bigmouth Buffalo and other fish academically. “I became interested in researching this species out of curiosity,” says Lackmann. “I was naturally interested in Bigmouth Buffalo because they are such a mysterious species, with so little study regarding their general biology.” So he embarked on a study that FLANNEL SHIRTS 2020
included detailed research into the age of the fish. To determine their age, Lackmann and his fellow researchers took samples from the fishes’ otoliths — ringed growths behind their brains, each with a different shape, that help the fish with hearing and balance. “Otoliths are the only structures found in fish that never stop growing,” Lackmann says. Similar to the way tree rings grow, a new ring layer forms on the otolith each year, reflecting the slow-growth period of winter, which means they can be counted to determine the age of the fish. “The most accurate way to age otolith-bearing fish species is by thin sectioning their otoliths,” he says. Lackmann and his research team found that the first 16 fish they collected from northwestern Minnesota waters were all over 80 years old. This was incredibly surprising, as this species was previously only thought to live 10-20 years, at most. After collecting more than 200 fish from the Pelican River watershed from anglers, netting, and bowfishers, the
statistics were astounding: 85% of the fish they collected were more than 80 years old, with five being more than 100 years of age. The other 15% of fish in the study were about 35-45 years old — all very old fish. Overall, Lackmann says, these findings suggested that in some areas Bigmouth Buffalo do not reproduce themselves so often, but instead live long enough for more favorable environmental conditions to arise, allowing boom periods of reproduction to take place. Prior to Lackmann’s study, the most thorough report on this species that had been done was a paper published in 1963. “A lot has changed in fisheries since that time,” he says. “Even so, I did not understand why this species continued to be neglected as a ‘rough fish,’ and erroneously called ‘carp’ (or alternatively, ‘buffalo carp’) in so much of the U.S. “They are not carp,” he says emphatically. “They may superficially resemble each other, but they are not part of the carp family and have many differences.” Bighead and Silver Carp, which both come from Asia, and the Common Carp, 45
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This 100-year-old male Bigmouth Buffalo had particularly vivid age spots.
which is native to both Europe and Asia, are all invasive species in this region; the Bigmouth Buffalo, on the other hand, are native to North America, have ties to Native American culture, have been a valued food-fish for centuries, and have been a protected species in Canada since the 1980s, Lackmann says. In addition, he adds, these buffalo fish compete directly against some of the worst invasive species found in Minnesota lakes and rivers, and their populations have been documented as declining in the northern extent of their native range — specifically, in Canada, North Dakota and Minnesota — since in the 1970s. Lackmann thinks more could be done to preserve and protect this increasingly rare and underappreciated native species, especially in regions of their range where old-growth populations are evident. “Since Bigmouth Buffalo are a native species of our region, they are essential to its ecological function, by definition,” he says. “Bigmouth Buffalo are also economically valuable as a food-fish, being commercially harvested since the 1800s in parts of their range. They are also now a valued sport/game fish, being targeted by sport bow hunters in increasing numbers over the past decade. There are even anglers who fish specifically for Bigmouth Buffalo (as illustrated in the book, ‘Fishing for Buffalo’ by Rob Buffler and Tom Dickson, published in 1990).” “In addition,” he continues, “Bigmouth Buffalo are well-documented as one of the best natural counterparts in the fight against invasive Asian carp (specifically, the Bighead and Silver Carp varieties), as well as the Common Carp. We also recently found that Bigmouth Buffalo eat invasive zebra mussel larvae (also known as veligers).”
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As he and his fellow researchers delved more deeply into their project, they found by using otolith dating that over 80 percent of the fish taken for their study had been alive for 80 years or more. Even though Bigmouth Buffalo age had been very little investigated prior to the study by Lackmann and his team, the reaction to seeing such old ages in so many fish was initially laced 46
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with skepticism, since preconceived notions were that this species can only live 10-20 years, maximum. As a result, they decided to pursue the extra step of testing whether the thin-sectioned otolith ages were accurate, even though thin-sectioned otoliths have for decades been well-accepted as the gold standard of accurate fish aging. They decided to use one of the best methods of age validation for long-lived fishes: Bomb radiocarbon dating. In collaboration with the University of Hawaii, they tested the amount of radioactive carbon (also known as carbon 14) in their samples to determine if the fish lived prior to, and through, the widespread nuclear bomb testing that took place during the mid- to late-1950s. The results conclusively validated their initial findings. “These fish were validated to be 90-plus years old,” Lackmann says — and one of them, a 112-year-old female taken from Crystal Lake near Pelican Rapids in Otter Tail County, turned out to be the oldest age-validated freshwater fish ever known, anywhere. So his team took their findings and put together a research paper that was published in the nature research journal, “Communications Biology,” in May of 2019. That research paper caught the attention of news media ranging from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune to National Geographic and beyond. Lackmann hopes all this attention will aid efforts to raise awareness of
the value of Bigmouth Buffalo to the region, both ecologically and economically. Anyone who would like to find out more about this fish, or provide funds for further research, may contact either Lackmann at alackman@umn.edu or any of the co-authors on the research paper referenced above. “People can also contact the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, or their representatives in the State Legislature, as well as conservation groups like the Nature Conservancy,” Lackmann adds.
A NEW CAREER FOCUS Since Lackmann’s paper was published last year, he has completed his Ph.D. at North Dakota State University and moved on to do post-doctoral research at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. He has also been working on multiple collaborative projects related to fish aging, with universities and natural resource agencies from Canada and the Midwest down to the southern U.S. “Some of the main fish involved are Bigmouth Buffalo, Smallmouth Buffalo, Blue Sucker, Shovelnose Sturgeon, several species of gar, Cisco, and the endangered Pahrump Poolfish,” he says. Lackmann has also been doing other fish aging projects that have come up locally, like aging dead muskies that people have noticed washing up on shore in the Detroit Lakes area, including the 57-inch fish that washed up on Lake Melissa in late June of this year.
This painting of a Bigmouth Buffalo fish was created by Ewelina Bielak-Lackmann — Alec Lackmann's wife and fellow researcher — in 2018.
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Alec Lackmann, then a North Dakota State University researcher, and some of his colleagues published a paper last year in an international nature research journal about this native Minnesota freshwater fish, the Bigmouth Buffalo. One of the fish that Lackmann's team took from Crystal Lake in Otter Tail County was verified to be 112 years old, making it the oldest age-validated freshwater fish ever discovered.
“I have also been studying several other species of fish out of my own curiosity, including freshwater drum, several redhorse species, bowfin, northern pike, sunfish, walleye, largemouth bass, burbot, catfish, crappie, etcetera — basically most of the well-known species of fish in Minnesota,” Lackmann says. In short, the study of fish has become the main focus of his career. “I’d like to continue with it,” he says. “Part of the reason why we’re finding a lot of interesting discoveries is that a lot of these species have been historically neglected, in terms of the amount of study and attention paid to them. Just because some of these species are not the ones people typically go out to fish for ... doesn’t mean they’re not valuable. All native species are valuable to the ecosystems they reside in; it’s an interconnected web. There are many things we still don’t know about how they interact with their environment; it’s really complex.”
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Lackmann is particularly concerned that some of these rare species will disappear before their true value — and more specifically, what their loss might mean to their respective ecosystems — can be determined. “If we start losing these native species, it’s like removing the pieces of a puzzle,” he says, adding that if enough of those puzzle pieces are lost, the ecosystem will fall apart. “One of the truly amazing things we have in Minnesota is a vast array of aquatic ecosystems,” Lackmann says. “We do have an enormous resource, but with that comes a responsibility to understand it and keep it going for future generations to enjoy.” “That’s where data and scientific research really come in,” he continues. “You can use that data to inform (conservation) management decisions, and understand harvest rates, and so on. There are ways to do it so these things can be maintained sustainably.”
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AND WATER WOODS Fall’s a prime time for hunting and fishing BY ROSALIN ALCOSER For Flannel Shirts
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or a lot of hunters and anglers in the western Minnesota region, fall is the best time to get outdoors and enjoy their sport.
“You have a lot of things happening in the fall,” says Todd Cameron, a walleye fishing guide with PTS Fishing Guide Service. “Bear season opens on September 1, and early fall goose season follows up right behind it that Saturday. Two weeks after that, you’ve got the archery deer season taking place. Mourning dove season is going to be opening shortly, grouse season, duck season, pheasant season... A lot of people like to hunt, lots of people like to fish.” “As people start focusing on hunting, thinking about white-tailed deer, I’m looking at white-tipped-tailed fish,” Cameron says. “The fall can be a very good time to fish,” says Doug Harthan, Front 20 Outfitters’ fly fishing guide. “Not as many people do it because everybody hits the woods and the fields, so it tends to not be as crowded on the lakes.” Fall fishing is the last opportunity to get out on open water before winter. “Fall fishing is weather dependent and it’s temperature-dependent,” Harthan says. “Fall’s a good time because fish are eating. You just have to work with the weather because you get cold fronts moving through and the weather gets bad. But on the nice days, it’s very good fishing.” According to Cameron, as a lake cools, the warm water on the surface changes places with cooler water at the bottom. When FLANNEL SHIRTS 2020
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Front 20 Outfitters’ fly fishing guide, Doug Harthan, dons a face covering while he works with new flies in the back of the shop.
the water circulates around like this, more oxygen is available in the deeper water, allowing fish to swim more freely. The same applies to river fishing. “Fish in the river, as the weather cools, tend to swim a little deeper, to the first break or deeper weed lines,” Harthan says. “They tend to school up, and when you find them, you tend to catch quite a few.” According to Harthan, larger fish will follow smaller bait fish into the deeper water as they continue to feed, making the key to catching fish in the fall, “mostly just following the bait fish.” Bait fish are mainly small fish such as minnows and young 51
(L to R) Smaller fly fishing flies are meant to imitate bugs on the water to lure in fish schooling around groups of bait fish. Eighth of an ounce fishing jigs are used with live bait to lure fish in. Cameron's preferred method is the lift drop to help catch fish such as walleye. This yellow streamer, made from bucktail, is meant to imitate a bait fish in the water.
perch, Cameron explains. Larger predatory fish do not care what kind of fish the bait fish are when they feed, they care more about whether they’re the right size, he says. “I use three words all the time when I’m fishing, especially in the fall of the year: it’s location, location, and location,” Cameron says. It’s typically a good rule of thumb to switch locations if the fish are not biting at the spot you’re at within five to 10 minutes. “All fish have fins and tails,” he says. “Just because they were here today doesn’t mean that they’re going to be here again tomorrow. They do relocate.” Apart from the weather, fall fishing is not that much different from fishing at any other time of the year, according to Harthan. Especially fly fishing. “Fly fishing is just like any other fishing, only we use
different equipment,” he says. The rods used for fly fishing are longer, the line is weighted instead of the lure, and flies, made out of natural and synthetic materials, are used over bait. When it comes to fishing the lakes for walleye, Cameron likes to use the lift and drop method, which produces a poof of sediment in the water, and a baited fishing jig. “A walleye sees that kind of presentation, that lift and drop and that poof of sediment on the bottom of the lake, and they’re going to smack that jig. So hang onto the rod because you’re going to have old marble eyes coming to the surface,” he says. “The fish are where they are, no matter what kind of equipment you’re using,” sums up Harthan. “You have to get the lure to them, and they have to bite it.”
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Fall and Winter Hunting Seasons
09/01/20 - 10/18/20: Bear; permit areas and no-quota area 09/01/20 - 10/29/20: Mourning dove; statewide 09/01/20 - 10/31/20: Crow, first season; statewide 09/05/20 - 09/20/20: Canada geese, early season; statewide 09/12/20 - 09/13/20: Youth Waterfowl Hunt; statewide 09/19/20 - 01/03/21: Ruffed and spruce grouse; statewide 09/19/20 - 12/31/20: Deer, archery; statewide 09/19/20 - 10/25/20: Sandhill crane; northwest goose zone 09/19/20 - 11/02/20: Woodcock; statewide 09/19/20 - 11/30/20: Sharp-tailed grouse; northwest zone 09/19/20 - 02/28/21: Squirrel; statewide 09/26/20 - 11/24/20: Ducks, season 1; north duck zone 10/03/20 - 11/01/20: Turkey; statewide 10/10/20 - 01/03/21: Pheasant; statewide 10/17/20 - 03/15/21: Raccoon, red fox, gray fox, badger, opossum hunting and trapping; north furbearer zone
10/24/20 - 05/15/21: Beaver; north furbearer zone 10/24/20 - 01/24/21: Otter; north furbearer zone 10/24/20 - 02/28/21: Mink; north furbearer zone 11/07/20: Deer season opener; statewide 11/07/20 - 11/22/20: Deer, firearm season A; 200 and 300 series permit areas 11/21/20 - 11/29/20: Deer, firearm season B; 300 series permit areas 11/28/20 - 12/13/20: Deer, muzzleloader; statewide 12/15/20 - 01/15/21: Crow, second season; statewide 12/19/20 - 12/27/20: Fisher and pine marten; north of I-94 and U.S. Highway 10 12/19/20 - 01/24/21: Bobcat; north of I-94 and U.S. Highway 10
Fall and Winter Fishing Seasons
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04/01/20 - 11/30/20: Flathead catfish; statewide 05/09/20 - 10/31/20: Stream trout in lakes; statewide 05/23/20 - 02/28/21: Largemouth bass; statewide 06/06/20 - 11/30/20: Muskellunge; statewide 06/16/20 - 04/14/21: Lake sturgeon and shovelnose sturgeon; statewide 09/14/20 - 02/28/21: Smallmouth bass catch-and-release; statewide
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St. Mary’s-Detroit St. Mary’s-Detroit St. Mary’s-Detroit Lakes Lakes Lakes 10271027 Washington 1027 Washington Washington Ave Ave | Lakes Detroit | Ave Detroit |Lakes Detroit Lakes Lakes St. Mary’s-Detroit 218-847-5611 218-847-5611 1027218-847-5611 Washington Ave | Detroit Lakes FLANNEL SHIRTS 2020 218-847-5611