What do you guys think of

[Steve Foss]

Doug Stange is one of my favs.

+1 on that. Darn if he isn't an encyclopedia of fishing knowledge, and by far the best In-Fisherman writer to boot.

[reinhard1]

i would add the guy has the best personality on that program. almost would like him and that guy from canada with the furry hat to do the whole show. good luck.

[caseymcq]

Butch is just plain good people. ...

You gotta love some of Butch's commentary:

"Ooooooooooooooooooooooooh"

"She's a dandy"

"Ya, real good"

He's a total NE MN boy.

[Steve Foss]

You gotta love some of Butch's commentary:

"Ooooooooooooooooooooooooh"

"She's a dandy"

"Ya, real good"

He's a total NE MN boy.

Not to burst your bubble, Irishman, but I've heard exactly the same types of stuff from Nodaks, Sodaks, Cheeseheads and Iowegians. Nobody's more special than they need to be.

[Surface Tension]

Butch started as a guest host with Joe Shillinger on Sportsman's Notebook, the rest you know.

I always liked watching Butch. He might have a lake guest in his boat once in a while but there are a heck of a lot of MN lakes he knows how to fish without anyone's help that is for sure. I remember his shows on lake Superior fishing out a 16' Lund. We we're and still are lucky to have a show on area lakes.

Yeah hes a little dry but does a better job then I could do and who needs the high voltage host to get excited about fishing anyway. "Onbelievable" is a new word.

I lived close to Jim's and was 5 years old the first time my Dad took me there. In the 70's when I started venturing out on my own as a teen Jim's is where I got my stuff. The backroom was famous and at that young age I just shut-up and listened. I got a lot from Jim and Butch's show, I should mention Benny too.

Oh back to the subject, John who?

[Raider4ever]

Jim's Bait!!! That was only about 8 blocks straight up the hill from my house. LOVED the place. Got nearly my first everything there (rod, Zebco 404, tackle box, etc.). I only wish that it would of still been open when I started driving (bike + Bag of Minnows+ Rice Lake=Not good). Great store.

[Raider4ever]

Oh yeah, The Kueten's (sp?) also got the vast majority of my Christmas/Birthday money. Best investments I ever made.

[Raider4ever]

Yeah, I heard from some guys he fishes with that the Mighty Minne was one of his "Go To" lakes if he had to put a show together in a hurry whether it was for bass, 'eyes, pike, or panfish. I will tell you, it's a tougher walleye bite now than it back in the '90's. Heck, even I could catch those darn things back then.

[Raider4ever]

I thought so!! ST, do you have a sister named Theresa (sp?)?

[caseymcq]

Not to burst your bubble, Irishman, but I've heard exactly the same types of stuff from Nodaks, Sodaks, Cheeseheads and Iowegians. Nobody's more special than they need to be.

Wannabee's

[Surface Tension]

I thought so!! ST, do you have a sister named Theresa (sp?)?

Yes I do.

[Raider4ever]

Then you're an Ulysses S. Grant Elementary Alum also. I went through at least grade school with her. I thought that was the family when I saw your e-mail address and you said you lived by Jim's Bait. Wow, Small world. Sorry about the momentary hijack. Now back to John Gillispie, or was it Butch? Maybe it was Virgil Ward? Or Wally Pease (You have to love a show called "Wally Pease Outdoors" as a 6th grader, I roared every time it came on).

[Mike Sertich]

Benny was the Master of steelheads on the knife. Jerry Tessier was the master of steelheads. My first snell, my first spawn bag, my first Sage, me first corkie rig, my first trip to Boulder, all in the fall of 1965, courtesy of Jim's Bait. If I am not mistaken, they introduced leeches to the general public for walleye fishing. Awesome memories of coffee in the back room.

[reinhard1]

thanks to goody for the thread and thank you mike for bringing up jim's bait. good luck.

[Poacher's pariah]

seems like a disproportionate number of recovering "hill-siders" posting on this thread. All we need now is for BD110 to add his 2cents worth....but he's probably too busy with work.

[gooty]

Dahlberg is my favorite, the man is amazing...travels the world catching ridiculously large fish, and makes his own lures from scratch. has anyone ever seen his episodes devoted to lure making??? Unreal...the mans basement is one i dream of

[reinhard1]

have seen his shows.and the one you mentioned. i used to make my own worm gangs and rigs for trolling live minnows but nothing like that. this guy is geared for large fish only. i haven't noticed any new shows lately. i did disagree one time when he was fishing minnesota for muskie. he said he does't fish for walleys because they dont fight much. i dont think the guy owns any light gear. good luck.

[Northlander]

seems like a disproportionate number of recovering "hill-siders" posting on this thread. All we need now is for BD110 to add his 2cents worth....but he's probably too busy with work.

Yup I grew up 1st on 10th ave. and 5th St. and then 10th and 9th. A few other small stints in the "hood" as well. Man them were some "interesting" times. Central Hillside Rapist, Hells Angels and BPM's goin at it, racial tension that makes todays look like a musical. Those were the days.

[Poacher's pariah]

BD110 and I grew up a block apart. There must have been 5 or 6 shootings with deaths on my block alone when I was growing up and I slept through every one of them. Chalk outlines and blood stained sidewalks didn't seem to bother us as kids. Now half the buildings have been burned or torn down, and those that remain all seem to have had a shooting take place in them. I can't imagine trying to raise kids in that neighborhood now a days. So how is it that we found our way out onto the water instead of into jail? (with the exception of Steve, but at least he's on the right side of the bars) Maybe we need to mentor more kids and encourage them to start angling.

[Jarrid Houston]

Gooty, you are right on with LD. He is a living legend when it comes to musky mayhem. His home made lr system is awesome. The coolest thing about him for me is he lives in Taylor Falls, MN, aka the st croix river valley. Same grounds I grew up in. Dahlberg on walleyes is something different. I seen an episode once where he was fishing the mighty miss down in the cities with local legend "the grizz". Good episode catching huge fish under wood debri stacked up.

[Northlander]

BD110 and I grew up a block apart. There must have been 5 or 6 shootings with deaths on my block alone when I was growing up and I slept through every one of them. Chalk outlines and blood stained sidewalks didn't seem to bother us as kids. Now half the buildings have been burned or torn down, and those that remain all seem to have had a shooting take place in them. I can't imagine trying to raise kids in that neighborhood now a days. So how is it that we found our way out onto the water instead of into jail? (with the exception of Steve, but at least he's on the right side of the bars) Maybe we need to mentor more kids and encourage them to start angling.

Best thing was we moved to West Duluth and I found Sports. Kids in sports or other activities arent as likely to get in trouble. You just dont have as much free time and your hangin woth good kids most of the time. Ya I did my share of dumb stuff in the hood but once I found sports in 7th grade I turned it around. Also had several coaches, teachers and people at the Boys and Girls club who really helped me out.

[BD110]

This is turning into the Central hillside who's who... Sorry to say I'm not busy at work today. I was at the cabin for the weekend heat wave. Heading back to start a tour of work tomorrow morning. Only good thing I can say about that is the air conditioning was working when I went on my break.

(P.P.) I was out on a small lake north of Independence tonight trying to hone my Crappie jigging skills for the next time we get out together.

Sorry to say I was not able to spend to much time at Jim's in my youth but it has been interesting to read some of the comments about the place.

[gooty]

Has anyone seen the dahlberg episode where he is trying to come up with a safe live bait rig for muskie fishing, so the fish remain unhurt!?!?!?!? THe man, after trying a bunch of stuff, ended up not using hooks at all!!!! and he landed fish that way...insane

[Sherpa]

I saw that. Pretty awesome!

[Raider4ever]

8th East and 8th Baby!!! Ballin' at Sport Court, Jewish Center, and Central Field with the occasional foray over to the Ob thrown in. Fishing for trout and chubs in Chester Creek and Twin Ponds (you had to fish the golf course because that's the spring fed creek that the trout moved up as soon as they were dumped. Bike rides up the shore and to Rice Lake to fish. My kids look at me like I am nuts when I tell them we used to play tackle football in the street. I'm thinking everybody there did. It was good to live in the 'hood.

[reinhard1]

i lived as a kid on 11th av. west and 4th st. very close to twin ponds. there was a pond on the edge of the golf course there we called coffee pond. the trout creek that flows through the golf course runs through there. it was so small you could cast accross it. we used to see this northern in there and tried to catch it for some time. finaly my brother got it on a cheap spoon and made the paper "boy and his dog catch big pike". then he appeard on the rocky teller show that was on at the time. yea, twin ponds-what memories. just a side note i graduated from duluth central in 1967. i believe it was the last year it was used as a high school. good luck.

[Poacher's pariah]

OK all you Emerson, Grant, and Franklin alums, Mentalton Ruled! There are two kids of people in the world, those from the CENTRAL hillside, and those who wished they wuz from the central

[Northlander]

Oh ya who remembers going to school at Jefferson Elementary?

Poachers from the way you write you must have went to Mentalton.

[Surface Tension]

End of Fern Ave. on Kelly street. Best place to be a kid. Big Woods at the back door with forts in the woods, chipmunk, squirrel, rabbit, and grouse hunting , city life out the front door.

Grant School rulz! Pretty strict back then. You didn't make a peep without raising your hand and sat in class with your hands on the deck and fingers crossed. It was OK for a teacher to whip a chalk board eraser at you if you screwed around. I kissed a girl on the check in Kindergarten. I think Mrs Sullivan saw me do it but didn't say anything only because I think she was in shock.

Her name was Phillis and I think she was in shock too, I don't know.

I did sit by the teachers desk once for climbing up the slide before the kid in front of me slid down.

Back then every kid had a red and green mat that you took your nap on.

Then onto 1st- 6th grade.

I'd bury my graded papers in the woods on the way home. I didn't need the getting hassled everyday because of bad grades from Mom and Dad and figured I'd get enough punishment come time to hand them my report card. God I hate those big red Fs.

I always got an A in gym though. Kids were in shape back then, even the fat kids but there weren't many of them. We walked or rode bikes EVERYWHERE. My bike was a piece of crapploa, it would shake like a out of balance washing machine when I got it over 20 mph and didn't have any brakes.

Up hill it did OK though.

I ski jumped at Chester Bowl and fished there in the summer. Bobber and a Daredevil was my go to pattern, didn't catch Jack Squat though.

Since you guys already let the cat out of the bag Twin Ponds and the Golf coarse I'll fess up too. Honed my skills there and brought more then a few meals of Brookies home from there.

Used to carry them on a stick thought the gills. Once in a while some crabby golfer would yell at us and tell us to leave. That was angler harassment but I didn't know that then.

Culture shock when I got into Washington Jr High. Wasn't long till I fit right in though.

Then on to new Central High and graduated in 77 but had to got to summer school.

[Raider4ever]

I caught a HUGE sucker out of Coffee Pond during the summer between 7th and 8th grade. Thing had to go close to 5lbs. Looked like a nice walleye in that brown water until I put it on the shore.

One day I watched two kids on the golf course over the cart culvert by 10th hole. One kid waded through the culvert and the other kid was poised over the downstream opening with a big-arsed-rock. They tagged about an 18 inch brown with that rock. I know, you could be p.o.'d at those kids but anyone who fished the golf course knows you would of never hook and lined that fish.