Opinion

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Vol. XL ❖ No. 3 facebook.com/TheLandOnline 24 pages, 1 section twitter.com/TheLandOnline plus supplements

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The bags were packed and sitting by to wait long though. The perch and crapthe door, the rods and spears were rest- pies were just as hungry as those Kveno ing against the wall ready to be placed men and started biting. gently in the pickup for the drive north. The beef jerky, cheese balls and other essential snacks were in the arms of my eager boy, who was ready to get on the road. The allure of the frozen lake was calling his name. The fun and merriment continued for hours as they reeled in fish after fish. Taking a break from sitting in the icehouse, they went outside to enjoy the snowy winter views and saw that everyone was out on the lake — including

August had caught the fishing bug and LAND MINDS those that gallop. The Amish brought the only cure was to spend time on the By Kristin Kveno their horse and buggy out on the ice to ice. He definitely didn’t get his love of catch some fish. The horse must’ve fishing from me. No, this hobby/obsession of his came directly from my hus- OPINION brought a little good luck as the fish continued to bite all afternoon. band, Seth, who has been a fervent angler since he was incredibly young. Looking at photo albums from his youth, they are filled to the brim with pictures of Seth smiling ear to ear along with his dad, Harry — both proudly showing their catches of the day. Seth grew up spearing and one time took me along. It’s quite the experience. Sitting in a dark house with a large rectangular hole watching the world below the ice is pretty cool. I made Seth promise not to spear anything when I was with him. I just

Harry, Seth and August are not wanted to take in the amazing alone in their passion for all underwater scenery. I can underthings fishing in the state. stand the appeal of spending a According to the Minnesota day in a dark house. Department of Natural Resources, there are approximately 1.4 million anglers in the state. With 5,400 fishable lakes and 18,000 miles of fishable rivers and streams, there’s ample opportunity to catch the big one. August was thrilled with the opportunity to sit in the dark house with his dad, as Seth regaled him with stories of fishing trips of years past. August had never speared before, but Seth had given some pointers along with teaching him the

This year it appears the art of patience. Just as a lakes have been the place northern swam in the hole to be. It seems that people August dropped the spear are yearning for the oppor- and got ‘em. — a 27 incher! tunity to get out on the ice, to spend some time enjoying a break from the news of the day, and find a little solitude in the peace and tranquility of a good fishing hole. Both father and son were thrilled with the big catch. Photos were taken, with smiles so big, just as they were taken decades before with Seth and his father. Finding joy today

Seth and August decided to head north last can be a challenge; but someweekend to try their hand at both ice fishing times it can simply be found on a and spearing. Once the perfect spot was found frozen lake with a boy, his dad on a lake in northwestern Minnesota, August and one mighty spear. and Seth got settled in to do a little angling. (A plethora of snacks are imperative at this stage of ice fishing as a person can get quite ravenous waiting on the fish.) The fishermen didn’t have Kristin Kveno is the staff writer of The Land. She may be reached at kkveno@TheLandOnline.com. ❖

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9 — Supplying swine data to USDA helps future research projects 12 — Seed corn in Kazakhstan

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