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.

My MN Also

There are two subjects never discussed in polite company with a Minnesotan. Not even with the better half. Those subjects are Politics and Religion.

Being a residence of the state of Minnesota, just naturally makes you a very buttoned-up person. We are just too polite to discuss these two subjects simply because we do not want to seem unneighborly by pointing out; 1) You are on the wrong side of the subject. 2) You are wrong. 3) You have the mind and intelligence of a flea. Ducks have more sense.

After all, the two or more of those in the conversation may be very close friends if not relatives. And no one wants to insult someone even if they are family. If you bring up either subject, you will be amazed at how fast the subject gets changed. Almost before the speaker is finished suggesting the topic. “Well, I declare, good old Billy will win this election” said the stranger. “How about them twins, then” you reply, quickly. You do not want the person to embarrass themselves. That's not MN nice!

No, the safest subject to start a conversation when in doubt is the weather. This writer has been at a campfire in the middle of the night at a lakeside campground when complete strangers walk up and inquire about the weather. That night's and tomorrow's. Someone will throw in next weeks just to be friendly. The next thing you know, everyone is friends for life and can discuss anything EXCEPT politics and religion. Even that day's fishing. Al-tho that's a very touchy subject also.

If they had started the conversation with the weather, you know without doubt they be from MN. Or at least have close family here. If they had started with the fishing subject you know they are from a nearby state. If they had started with politics or religion you know right away they will remain strangers and be shunned for the remainder of your trip. No matter where they be from. They will never be true Minnesotans. They belong to the state of oblivious. The topic of your opening conversation tells a lot about you.

Not to say we do not take our politics or religion seriously. We do. But there is a time and place for both. Want to talk politics? Go to a political setting such as you town meetings. Want to discuss religion? Go to the church of your choice. Join the congregation. Do not be the first to bring up a subject. Wait for it. Then jump in. Start by asking a question to feel out the opposition. You do not want to be the only fool in the room. Same rules apply to the political discussions. Never open you mouth and remove all doubt you're a fool. More politicians should follow this excellent advice. If they did, we would have less talks about politics, more about fishing and possibly religion.

To sum up, a conversation with someone from MN is very easy. You just need to stoop to our level and start with the weather. Feel us out. Seeing where we stand on the weather will tell you a lot about us. Sometimes we hate the day's weather, other times we can’t say enough good things about it. No matter the condition of the weather, you will always get a response. Conversely, if you be a Minnesotan traveling in another state, if a complete stranger starts a conversation with you by asking about the weather, you know they be from home!

What to you think about tomorrows weather? Going to be warm enough for you, then?

My MN Too.

Minnesota, the home of the Hamm's Bear. Land of sky blue waters. Diversified, reserved, founded mostly by emigrants from Europe. Full of hard working farmers, teachers, firemen, policemen and Indian chiefs. Innovators, business people & politicians fill the void. Tourist flock to this state to take in the sights, some possibly created by Paul Bunyon, some divinely created and some created by and for mankind. Some came here as tourist and stayed to become residents. We are all proud to be Minnesotans.

So, just who or what is a Minnesotan? He/she is the one telling a fishing story that is based on a true adventure but the details have long been lost. Not to say the adventure never happened. No, just the details are a little abstract to say the least. He or she is the one laughing at an incident that happened to her or him, that at the time, was far from funny. We are a lot who enjoys laughing at ourselves while cautioning the listener never ever do that. It hurts.

When you meet another person that’s carrying a small hairless dog from south of the border and you say “What a cute tiny critter.” That person replies “Yep, but I wanted a Great Dane. Didn't have the money at the time so decided to grow my own.” You give that person a quizzical look and say “Grow your own? What do you mean? How can you grow a Great Dane?” The person replies “I feed it steroids.” That's a Minnesotan! Second generation at least.

We are a peculiar lot. From a variety of cultural backgrounds. What, depends upon just where in the state you are originally from. Most of us admit to having a little redneck in our background. A “redneck” is a state of mind. Not an ethnic family trait. And it is not a full time trait. No one will hang old hubcaps on the living room wall of the family residence. But you will find many a weekend cabin decorated with such items as well as deer, bear, fox, old car parts and lets not forget the odd farm implement and skunk fur. Don't forget the skunk fur. The cabin on or near a lake is the place to let your hair down, so to speak. Unless your full time residence is a lake cabin. Then it is decorated about as normal as anyone’s. Similar to yours. Letting your hair down not optional.

If you can’t talk about the weather, you will be a lonely person forever doomed to talk to yourself. The weather is the universal ice breaker in MN. No matter the social setting. It can be midnight and you are at the local adult watering hole and you want to strike up a conversation with the hotty on the next stool. What do you say? Why “what do you think of the weather the last few day's, then?” of course! The universal ice breaker in MN. It works every place and at any time. Doesn't matter if the one to speak first is male or female. It is immediately understood you want to talk. Of coarse, if it is a very tall person, not so much. If the other person responds in kind, your free to go on to other topics. If you do not have other topics, the new relationship will sputter out. Sputtering out happens a lot. We can be a singular society.

If you decide to take up residence here, it certainly does not hurt to have Ole and Lena as your next door neighbor!

My Minnesota, Chapter one

During my life time I have been asked many times “Where you from? “Why do you live there?” “Don't you want to live anywhere else?” The words are easy. “Minnesota.” “Because.” “No.”

But in truth, the reasons are not easy. I was born to a family of farmers in west central MN. However, my mother was not from MN. In those days, wives followed the husband in his pursuit/choice of a living. So MN was where I was to be born. As were two brothers over the next eight years.

I have, for short periods in my life, lived elsewhere. Those places I found to be a very nice place's to visit but not somewhere I wanted to live for any extended period of time.

There are worst places to live based on location. Minnesota has a temperate climate in that we have a changing of the seasons. Summer, fall, winter and spring come to mind. Our summers for the most part are moderate, however it can get over a hundred degrees for short periods. Fall is the time of harvest, hunting and getting ready for winter. Winter can be mild all season (barely getting down to zero) or it can be extremely cold ( 20 below zero is not uncommon) most of the season. Which, depends on the weather in other parts of the world. We get a lot of our weather systems from our northern neighbor, Canada. Yes, we have high speed circulating winds we refer to as tornadoes (in other parts of the world they are referred to as cyclones). It is not fun to be in the path of one. If you ever have the pleasure of experimenting a MN spring, well, lets just say you will enjoy the time.

A few reasons NOT to life elsewhere:

No or very few snakes. There are rattler snakes in the south east corner of the state along the river bluffs. Most state residents go their entire lives without seeing a snake in MN. Those same residents (namely this writer) go their entire lives avoiding the river  bluffs.

Green grass. In the summer. Winter, not so much.

Flooding happens mostly along the flood plains bordering two or three major rivers. No one will force you to live along a flooding river. I have seen large, flat areas flood from huge amounts of rain fall, but again its rare. The last one I saw was forty years ago.

There are few wild bugs/insects that will do you harm. Most residents never see the harmful ones in their lifetime. Contrary to rumors, mosquito's do not get as big as pigs. As big as dragon flies, maybe.

We have great fishing lakes. Many bodies of water are actually swamps/slews unfit for the modern discriminating fish.

We have great fishing rivers. They wander wherever they please. So finding a good spot could be a challenge.

It is the headwaters of the Mississippi River. Tracing the origins of said river will give you a headache. But you can walk across the great river. Without getting wet.

Spring & summer sports. 'People watching' heads this list.

Winter & fall sports. Snowshoeing, ice fishing comes to the top of the list. Contrary to rumors we do NOT fish for ice.

All the above is just a few reasons to live here. We are located just right within the USA borders. Not too far south nor in Canada. Canada is a great neighbor but I, for one, would not want to live there. Too cold. Too much snow. Short summer. Long winter. If we were further south we would be in Iowa. Everyone knows how Iowa is. They may get a little irritated if we were to be located there. Miffed even. Annoyed for sure. Being located a tad east or west is not even an option. Too close to the oceans. We Minnesotans love our lakes. Oceans not so much.

Most visitors or new residents can find us a little on the conservative side. We are more reserved than conservative. Except when we are talking about politics. We also have “Minnesota Nice,” A state all it's own. No one else in the world has this. You have not lived until you have experienced MN nice. If you, a visitor, are lost and stop to ask directions, you may get quit a surprise. First you will get the directions you wanted, if the person you asked knows them. If not he/she will direct you to someone who does. The person will have a regional accent so bear with them. Listen closely. “Just park it over there” you are told. This person will give you the exact distance in miles, the time it will take to the very minute, accounting for driving faster than the law allows of course. Then you get advice on how to drive. The MN way. Next you may get a long version of the history of the place you are looking for. Along with some history made up on the spot. The more colorful history, the longer this takes. So a half minute you expected to be delayed has now turned into a half hour/forty five minutes. At this time you need to make excuses so you can get on your way. But wait! The person is asking “Where you from, then?” You do not want to be impolite. After all, you are representing your home town. So you say “I'm from-----------.” Big mistake. The person you are talking too has been there! Knows people there! Has a cousin, four times removed, lives there. Asks you if you know them. Describes them. One at a time. In detail or as much as they remember. Along with their own history! Another half hour is wasted. You are now invited to coffee. No matter this person is not in front of his/her own home. The coffee shop around the corner will do! Needless to say the person will not take NO NO NO for an answer. An hour later you fake an incoming emergency phone call just to get away, wishing you had thought of it some time ago. However he/she paid for the coffee, pie and donuts. The parking fee as well. That’s a plus. Made a friend for life. Agreed to meet same place next year. Bring the entire family. Pets, cousins and all. No, no need to get a hotel/motel. Wouldn't hear of it! Stay at our place! By now the place you wanted to visit has slipped your mind. Time to return to the hotel. Try again tomorrow. Now just where were we staying? Lets ask someone.

Minnesota nice. Nothing like it. And it is all our own.