Fishing in MN.

Fishing is a great past time. A fine hobby. Fishing is fun. It's addictive. Catching fish, not so much. There is a big difference between 'fishing' and 'catching fish'.' Namely the later. A lot of fisherman/sportsman go fishing. Few actually catch fish. Few want too.

This writer likes fish for dinner once in a while. This writer does not like to prepare the fish for the said dinner. Namely the cleaning, gutting and slicing part. Too much work. This writer prefers to 'catch fish' in the supermarket. Less work. Less cost. Less preparing. You get the picture.

In my younger day's, I did catch fish. Loved to catch fish. Lots of fish. All types of fish. This awful hobby was a lot of work. Cost a lot of money. Involved a lot of trips to a lake. Different lake almost every trip. Long trips. Over night stays in the wilderness. On the ground. In all types of weather. Rain or shine. But when one adds up the cost of the trip(s) and divide by number of fish caught...well you understand. The fish cost a lot. Cheaper to dip a hand in the supermarket and catch a couple of great fillets, frozen of course. Breaded and prepared for the grill or frying pan. Yum.

This writer started out catching fish from shore. But fishing from the shoreline was limited. Back in the day, public docks did not exist. As the habit of fishing increased its hold, I rented a boat. New freedom. Was able to get to areas further from shore. Caught more fish but the rowing was hard work. Bought an old, small, used, outboard motor. Less rowing but had to work at keeping motor in shape for the fishing season. Then a friend bought a boat. Invited me to fish with him. This just added to the growing habit. But having a friend with a boat meant you went fishing when he was ready to go. I needed a boat of my own. I was addicted. I was hooked. On fishing.

Fishing is not limited to the summer months. Oh no. We in in the state of MN can fish in the winter! Amazing! Its called 'ice fishing' of course. How, you ask? Well, all you need to do is wait until the water freezes to a depth of about 4 inches. (Don't worry, later in the season it will be two feet thick.) Then you walk, slide, drive or whatever, to a likely spot away from shore. For some reason, it helps if you go a long distance from where you got on the ice. Don't know why. Maybe the fish are trying to hide. You take along some means of cutting a hole in the ice. Ice auger, chisel or ax will do just fine. Stomping a hole in the ice is not recommended. But it makes a good campfire story later in the summer. By that time, you will be thawed out.

You need a special rod and reel, special lures and a means of keeping the hole free of ice and do not forget the license required. Oh yes, the state charges you to fish through the ice. Next it would be very nice if you had an 'ice house'. No, it is not made from ice. It can be made from anything including canvass (or if you insist, ice). Don't forget the ice house license. Yes, the state will charge you for a shack you built yourself. Cut the hole in the ice, put up the house over the hole, go in, light fire. Did I mention the heater? No? Well, you will certainly want one of those to keep you warm. Outside it may be 20 degrees below zero. Prepare your fishing rig, wait for hours until a fish incidentally wanders by and decides to take your bait. If you are lucky, you will catch a fish or two. Fun, ain't it?

Fishing is a great pastime. IF YOU ARE TOTALLY INSANE.