INDAWOODS OUTDOORS

New Fishing rules for Minneosta

2011-02-26T09:22:00.001-08:00

New special fishing regulations for certain Minnesota lakes and other general rule changes for the 2011 fishing season become effective Tuesday.
The Minnesota Fishing Regulations 2011 booklet summarizes the changes on page 4. It will be available Tuesday at Minnesota license agents and on the Department of Natural Resources web site.
Many of the new special regulations affect Big Sandy Lake in Aitkin County and several connected rivers and lakes, including a sunfish possession limit of five and size restrictions on walleyes.
The 2011 booklet does not list the special regulations for walleye on Red Lake and Mille Lacs Lake because they have not been established yet. These regulations will be announced later.

Moose Permits to be cut in half

2011-02-23T16:05:00.001-08:00

BEMIDJI, Minn. - Officials of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources say they likely will cut the number of moose hunting permits in half for this fall's moose season.
That follows the latest moose population survey, which shows moose numbers continuing to decline in northeast Minnesota.
Last year, 212 permits were issued for the bulls-only moose season. Minnesota Public Radio News reports the DNR is expected to reduce that to a little more than 100 permits for the season that starts in October.
DNR area wildlife manager Tom Rusch in Tower says there is no clear answer why the moose population is declining.
Rusch tells MPR he also doesn't expect reducing the number of hunting permits will have much impact on the decline.
The DNR says final moose permit numbers are not confirmed yet.

Word of a hot bite travels fast

2011-02-20T17:31:00.000-08:00

NISSWA, MINN. — Lakes sprawl in all directions from this central Minnesota town. A view from the air reveals more water than land, or so it appears.
Now, of course, those waters are covered by ice, and on a balmy day last week fishing traffic in the area was particularly heavy. Anglers traveled by foot, ATV and snowmobile, and in cars and trucks, across the frozen waters, each with a particular fishing destination in mind
That's what Lindy Frasl of Fort Ripley and I found as we, too, ventured onto a lake not far from Nisswa.
We were headed to a spot where a year ago Lindy caught nice crappies, the kind you can't wait to throw in a bucket, fillet and fry to golden brown. At the time, just he and a few other fisherman were there.
But last Saturday, as we pulled onto the ice towing Lindy's fish house, the same bay was crowded with anglers. Some enjoyed the nice weather by simply sitting on a bucket, intently watching their bobbers. Others were in portable shelters. The bay was also home to a number of large, elaborate fish houses, obviously having spent the better part of winter in that one spot.
"The word got out," said Lindy, referring to the number of anglers we observed.
Lindy and I picked a spot 100 yards or so from a large group of anglers. We lowered his fish house to the ice, drilled four holes and soon each lowered lively minnows on plain hooks into the cold lake, and also tiny jigs tipped with wax worms.
Almost immediately, a fish showed up on my locator, a green blip about 3 feet off the bottom. When the blip turned red and aligned with an orange blip that indicated my jig, I felt a slight tug. I set the hook and soon reeled in our initial catch of the day, a small sunfish.
Minutes later a similar scenario produced an equally small crappie.
"Most crappies I caught last year were nice ones," Lindy said. "I heard people have been catching crappies here all winter."
Those words got me thinking. Seldom does a "hot bite" last long nowadays. The instant the fish start to bite, text messages go out, even while the fish are still flopping in the bucket. Cell phone calls bounce from tower to tower beginning with the words "don't tell anybody but" and end with "here are the GPS coordinates." An image of the day's catch appears on Facebook before the anglers leave the lake. Bait shop owners, anxious to make a buck -- and rightfully so -- spread the word, too.
In this age of fish houses on wheels and portable pop-up shelters, anglers appear at the site of a hot bite even before day's end. Up-to-date ice fishing technology, modern fishing equipment and the knowledge of how to use the latest gear puts proficient anglers on fish quickly. Soon, the hot bite turns cold, and again it is up to the ardent ice angler to branch out and find a new location.
As the sun reached the southwestern horizon, Lindy and I continued to catch the occasional small crappie. At dusk, Lindy spotted five or six deer crossing the ice at a narrows, headed, we assumed, to a lakeshore owner's backyard bird feeder, or perhaps even to a pile of corn placed specifically for the animals. Is this another sign of the times?
Lindy and I are not so arrogant to believe that because we caught only small crappies on that warm February day that "all of the keepers" in the lake had been reduced to fillets by other anglers. But, the view out the window of the fish house revealed dozens of other shelters containing people who, like us, had a crappie dinner on their minds. They had every right to be there.
What's the answer to "hot bite" syndrome?
The solution is complex. Perhaps it is too multifaceted to even address. Ice fishing technology has become so advanced, and today's anglers so mobile and knowledgeable, that a gathering of anglers at a local hotspot is inevitable.
Lowering the possession limit might help a bit, but ultimately anglers will fish day after day as long as the fishing is good. And a limit set too low could discourage anglers from participating, and that's not good, either.
The short answer is probably to branch out and seek out-of-the-way fishing locations. When you find that school of keeper crappies, keep your cell phone off and your Facebook page fishless. Mum's the word.
Bill Marchel, an outdoors columnist and photographer, lives near Brainerd.

2011-02-20T16:20:00.000-08:00

FORT RIPLEY - Since the 1998 introduction of wild turkeys into this part of Minnesota via trap-and-transplant from the southern part of the state, the turkey population has grown beyond most people's expectations. It's now common to see the big birds in just about any suitable habitat.

In those flocks a person might glimpse the occasional turkey bearing mostly white or gray feathers.

What? Did a few of Minnesota's wild turkeys have intimate encounters with Thanksgiving Butterballs? Is there too much bleach in the wild turkey gene pool?

Not so, according to most turkey experts.

"The partially white or smoke-phase turkeys occur naturally," said Tom Glines, Minnesota's senior regional director for the National Wild Turkey Federation. "The white or gray feathers are black-tipped and the birds are beautiful."

There has been some concern that landowners have released pen-raised turkeys into the wild -- a practice that is illegal without a permit -- and that some of those captive turkeys have bred with the wild turkeys, resulting in the smoke-phase turkeys.

There is no hard science to back up those concerns.

What is known is that the wild turkey has four distinct color variations from what is considered the usual plumage. They are the smoke phase, the erythritic or red phase, the melanistic or black phase, and the true albinos, which are pure white with pink eyes. Although these color variations are uncommon, the smoke phase is the most frequently seen. Recessive genes or mutations account for the color abnormalities.

Glines estimates roughly one in 100 wild turkeys is smoke colored. In my experience hunting and photographing wild turkeys in central Minnesota, I would guess about one in 70 wild turkeys are smoke colored. I've seen as many as three smoke-phase birds in a flock that numbered about 20 "normally colored" turkeys.

As Glines noted, smoke-phase wild turkeys are a visual delight. Their heads are light blue or gray and their caruncles a faint red or pink similar to a normally colored turkey. The body feathers, splendid as they are, feature a varying amount of white or light gray feathers tipped with black as if dipped in ink. The tails on most of the smoke-phase turkeys I've encountered were not white; rather the tails were a shade or two lighter than a standard turkey's tail.

Smoke-phase wild turkeys can produce offspring that are partially white or normal-colored. Some broods can have some of each. Oddly, about 95 percent of smoke-phase turkeys are hens.

I have never positively identified a smoke-phase tom turkey. If I have seen a male smoke-phase wild turkey, it was before the bird had aged enough to grow a beard, or it had presented me with just a glimpse from behind. I find that odd because I know I've seen more than 100 smoke-phase birds over the years. You'd think I would have encountered at least one male. It's on my yet-to-see list.

I have never known anyone in this area to kill a smoke-phase gobbler, but I would assume a few smoke-phase hens have been bagged during the fall hunting season when females are legal to shoot.

A quick Web search confirmed my experience and the rarity of male smoke-phase wild turkeys. I found only one posting of a splendid smoke-phase gobbler shot by a fortunate archer.

Until genetic research proves otherwise I'd like to believe the attractive smoke-phase turkeys meandering the bluffs of central Minnesota are not the results of roaming, romantic Jennie-Os.

Brett and

2010-10-12T15:35:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the great weekend Brett and Jared.

Took the boys hunting in central minnesota and had a blast Two of the best guys on the planet as far as i am concerned. Very down to earth and acted like every other guy. If you did not know these two were sports hero celebs you would never know. Jared is one funny man. If he ever want to take on stand up comedy when his football career is over he could be a sensation.

Take care guys and thanks for the laughs autographs and memory.

Come on guys. Why kill a collared bear

2010-09-09T14:15:00.000-07:00

Just saw that a collared bear was shot in the Ely, Mn area. Come on. Give nature a break once in a while will ya. I love to hunt also but this Bear was collared for a reason. Research is a good thing and will only make things better for our future hunters and outdoor enthusiast alike. Not to mention this does give the hunting society a bad look.

Fishing heating up on lake vermilion

2010-09-06T08:31:00.000-07:00

The east end legend has reported great walleye fishing on the east end of lake vermilion. due too the early ice out this year the fishing has been tough. with the cold weather moving in the walleye have started to bite again and size has been a postive factor. indawoods will be visiting vermilion durning the last weekend of september. will give a personal report on the walleye fishing.