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"Patent Pending"
by Greg Clusiau with Kay Keller

The old saying "necessity is the mother of invention" must of had Matt Tuomala in mind.

Kind of a Dreamer

Matt Tuomala, who describes himself as "kind of a dreamer", has come up with many an outdoor invention. Most of these were because he knew there had to be a better way.

Like the time he lost a couple crappies in the hole while ice fishing. Thinking about this problem on the way home, he returned a few days later with his "Fish Saver".

It’s a mechanical device that is fitted into the hole. If a fish should fall off and try to make it’s way down, all that is required is a flip of a lever and the hole is quickly sealed off, preventing the fish from escaping. It is then lifted out of the hole, with the fish rising to the surface.

Outdoorsman
Tuomala, at 85 years of age, has been an avid outdoorsman since he was a child. The 1998 whitetail season was only the second time in 65 years that he didn’t get a deer. He saw plenty of whitetails but they either didn’t have antlers or it was too chancy of a shot. That’s the type of sportsman Tuomala is.

A triple by-pass twelve years ago taught him the value of exercising along with a daily walk. Matt does a light workout every morning, before going on his three-mile journey about town. Sometimes his daily trek is done in the woods and along mine pits, where he hunts and has trapped minnows.

Often, while on his daily routine, Matt will find something that has been discarded. With the wheels of invention always turning in his mind, whether it is a stainless steel light fixture or a special piece of wood, he normally has a good plan for using it by the time he returns home.

Outdoor Inventions
Matt has put all of his inventions into practical use. Being an avid deer hunter, it is only natural that he has his own brand of portable tree stands. Constructed mostly out of aluminum, it is very light and folds down for easy carrying. It also comes with your choice of "concealment cloth", to shelter yourself from any movement. I’ve carried mine all over the backwoods of northern Minnesota.

His "Air Stream" minnow bucket, which attaches to a car window or the front of a vehicle, is guaranteed to deliver live minnows to practically anywhere in the state. To test it, he hauled a load of minnows 180 miles, from Nashwauk to Minneapolis. Air is forced into the pail and provides an endless supply of oxygen as long as the vehicle is moving. This one was designed out of necessity, back in his minnow trapping days.

His portable fish houses came onto the scene well in advance of all the fancy stuff you see on the market nowadays. Totally self-contained, two styles of fish houses are built with metal runners that allow it to be used like a sled. I’ve seen Matt’s shelters on various lakes across the Northland, as well as on Lake of the Woods in Manitoba. Another proven product.

Matt’s special "fish scent" is one of those things that happened by accident. Someone had placed a large order of minnows and didn’t pick them up, so they died. When Matt let them out of the trap, he noticed how the current took them. When they reached a drop-off he knew was there, the big fish were waiting to gobble them up. Aha, another idea was born. Matt figured it was the smell that attracted them.

He mixed up a batch of stinky, dead minnows, and other secret potions, cooked it to the right temperature, and there you have it - another Tuomala invention.

He has a handy-dandy all-purpose fillet board, self-contained of course, and spearing decoys of every color under the sun, size, and shape. Matt still does a fair amount of dark-house spearing each winter and really has those big northerns figured out.

The Shop
Inside his shop, a 28 pound northern pike is mounted inside a glass case. Matt said it isn’t the biggest one he’s ever got but it was one of the nicest looking. Spearing decoys lie on the work-table in assembly-line formation.

Several are in the early stages, being only traced out on pieces of wood. Others are waiting for the right amount of lead to be added. Some are in line to be fitted with "rattle chambers". There are finished ones, as well. Colorful and resembling the major swimmers in Minnesota waters, the decoys are made to look like bass, crappie, sunfish, cisco, perch and northern.

Matt has sold many decoys to avid darkhouse fishermen but a surprising amount have been sold to folks who wanted them for decoration only. They look mighty nice setting on top the mantle or hanging from the corner of a den.

Tuomala, who built his shop three years before retirement, said "it’s the best thing I ever did. I never get bored."

Tuomala, still making decoys to this day, can be reached at his home in northern Minnesota at (218) 885-2333.

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GoodFishin : )
Rick Paquin

Red Pine Resort
Ice Fishing on Kabetogama.