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Fishing and Hunting


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What a great place to live druing this time of year, with the great fishing and hunting...now to just be able to be here to do it! Fall fishing is kicking in. For those looking for panfish they continue to do very well at the various lakes in the area (and there are several lakes the area and also in the Chippewa Forest), reeling in some nice jumbo sunnies/gills and some crappies and perch in the mix. Those who are going for the walleye are finding that switching over to minnows tipped on a spinner like a Lil Joe (chartruese still being the color that produces the best) and trolling slow, or jigging, the weedbeds and the bars in 6-14' of water being the best spots on Blackduck Lake; Upper Red the better reports for the walleyes have been in Tamarak, with some eyes also being reeled in from the main lake in 6-7' depths jigging with a minnow. Also a good time of year to try some of the other lakes in the area for eyes, with some decent reports starting to come in again from lakes such as Gull and Island. For those going for the big fish, pike are still active on several of the lakes in the area with good size eaters coming in from Blackduck and area lakes, on Upper Red a few large pike have been reeled in while trolling in the 5-7' depths, and hearing good reports out of Lake Bemidji for some monster muskie casting into the shorelines.

Hunting is going pretty well, with bear and grouse hunters in the area. Bear hunters are averaging 200 pounders, a few have been a little smaller (160-180) and a few have shot the big guys (400 lbs). Grouse hunters hit the woods this weekend and fared pretty well for this time of year...not much for the falling leaves yet, although coming home through the forest the yesterday we noticed some changing of the colors starting. Drum reports are up and was talking to a couple of sets of of my hunters this morning and after spending a couple of days in the woods they agreed that the numbers were up between hearing, seeing and shooting.

So who's been on the lake or in the woods enjoying the great outdoors lately?

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I am going to be heading up to Bemidji for work later this week. I only have a couple hours of meetings a day for three days, and the rest I have to myself. I've fished Red, Winnie, Blackduck, Bemidji, etc. in the past but I won't have a very large boat this time. I have a small duckboat I can load myself into the back of my truck I plan on bringing. Are there any smaller lakes that I can hit? I am planning on C&R, and am open to catching anything. I might also throw in the .410 or 12 gauge to do a little hunting. Any suggestions? Email me at [email protected] if you don't want the world to know.

Hope everyone is having a good season thus far - it's the beginning of the best season of the year!

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  • 1 month later...

I'll be heading up your way for opener. I am just curious if you have been getting all of this rain that we have been getting the in Brainerd area. We were up the first weekend of October, and things were pretty dry where we hunt, but lots of rain could make it a muddy trip in. I just want to mentally prepare myself if mud is in the near future for us.

Thanks,

CA

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CA,

Your always prepared (thats a good thing) but its funny to see how much you pack to make sure you have everything coverd "just in case" After spending a week in ND with ya I have to point out one of your compulsions.

He, he. I'm sure some day it might save my life but for now I have to laugh.

mr

tongue.giftongue.gif

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Made it up to the deer stands in Northome this weekend and finalized for opener. Signs looked promising again this year with some rubs. We didn't find any scrapes yet, but with the cold weather this week it should kick that into gear. Bow hunted on Sat evening and saw 2 does in the brush and had a fawn run around my blind trying to figure out what it was and what was in it. I was laughing at it, due to it peaking around trees at me and running around and around. Scared up a grouse next to Tiffany's stand (Her deer hunting pet) and had a great time in the woods with the kids. If only they watched where they were walking so they didn't fall over logs and trip over sticks. They were laughing every time they took a digger. Found no ticks this weekend thank god, but did have mosquitos bugging me in the blind along with 2 squirrels that were yelling at me also! We managed to see a bob cat on Sunday walking down the old railroad which was cool for the kids to see!

Great time in the woods and to educate the kids on hunting and just being in the woods! grin.gif

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Woodman: Your report sounds like the rut could be starting and that you are seeing alot of sign again. Could you arrange for a few inches of snow on the opener like you did last year? It sure makes it easier to see the deer in the woods and to track also. We will be coming up and hunting by Wagner again, staying in Squaw lake. Let me know what the weather is supposed to do about Wed. or so, loking forward to another great hunt with friends and family. Good luck and as always be safe in the woods.

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Will do, I will post the weather update on Wednesday night. Can't wait, I have 5 deer in the back yard right now and 4 of them are bucks! grin.gif

I am expecting them to start to chase more and get the smaller bucks away from the does. Once we see this we know the rut is very near.

Good luck to you also,

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

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