If you want to strike up a conversation with a kindergartener, just ask, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Most 5- and 6-year-olds will slip their imaginations into overdrive and lead on you a fascinating journey in the future. Kindergarten is that wonderful time before we have ...
It was one of those humid 97-degree days in August and I was sitting at a drive-in restaurant patio table sipping an ice tea when I heard a familiar voice behind me. “So this is how the retired city boy spends his afternoons… sipping on ice tea? Can’t handle a cold beer like a real ...
Some things kind of slip up on you. I got to thinking the other day that I have been a married man for more than two-thirds of my life. I was blessed to have more than 43 years with Cindy, my first wife, before she passed away. Julie and I have been married for more than six years. I’m not ...
Many anglers across the Midwest declare late September and October to be their favorite times to fish and I would mostly agree. In the fall, the fish catching can be so good, for quality and quantity. In addition, the surroundings are pretty spectacular as well. The trees are in full color ...
To catch fish, you’ve gotta’ find them. That’s true at any time of the year. However, in the fall season, they can be in a lot of places, especially early in the fall. In the spring, the fish will usually be shallow. It’s spawning time, and the shallows are where they spawn. In ...
Many men my age are grandfathers; even great-grandfathers. I have no biological grandchildren and I’m okay with that. There are always little ones who can use some grandfatherly love and indulging. Cindy and I had two little grandnieces who we loved like grandchildren. Before Cindy passed ...
Boy oh boy oh boy, summer of 2020 is already starting to exit. There are lots more butterflies on the bushes, birds are gathering, and football practice has started. And many anglers are spooling up with fresh line to prepare for fall fishing. I’ve often said that June and October are my ...
During a quick stop at a local auto parts store last week I heard singing from one of the aisles. I peeked around a corner and saw a store employee singing away while stocking shelves. Always an unapologetic smart aleck I told the young man, “You know, there are America’s Got Talent ...
Crappies are an interesting fish. In mid and late summer they can seemingly disappear from a body of water that was infested with them just a few weeks earlier. They have a unique appearance: It’s hard to mistake a crappie for a different type of fish. Walleyes look much like sauger, ...
Medicine has come a long way since I was a kid and they used hypodermic needles over and over. If you were the poor soul who got a shot with a blunt needle it felt like the doctor or nurse was driving a 40-penny nail into your arm (or other even more tender portion of the anatomy.) Back in the ...
It started way back at least fifty years ago. That’s when I developed an interest in fishing. In that era, fishing was a summer thing. Not many people fished through the ice in the winter, and we went to school in the spring and fall, so all of the fishing that we did was in the summer. ...
While I was never a “mama’s boy” I had a good relationship with my mother and miss her daily. Mom passed away in November 2018 at the age of 91. Some of my favorite memories of Mom are the words and phrases she used and in my mind I still hear them often. Mom grew up one of 12 ...
In my over fifty years of fishing, I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to fish from a variety of boats and boat styles. Some were outstanding fishing rigs, others not so much. Fishing partners and I have shared space in flat-bottom jonboats, high end bass boats, deep-vee multi-specie boats, ...
As we plan for the start of what is sure to be an unusual beginning to the school year in theWebster City Community Schools, we are hard at work preparing for a variety of scenarios. Specifically, there are four main options for how teaching and learning might look starting Aug. 24. The ...
When a person decides to go fishing, a primary goal is to catch some fish. And, while we certainly enjoy the time spent with our boat partner or just being on the water, catching a few or a bunch of fish is the main reason that we go fishing. We know that we’re not always going to catch ...
When I was a youngster in the early 1950s many families did not yet have a television set in their homes. For some families ̶ including my own ̶ it was an economic issue as TV sets were still quite expensive. For some families ̶ including my own ̶ it was a religious issue. There ...
The summer of 2020 is here. For most anglers, spring fishing success has ranged from “pretty darn good” to “outstanding” to quote many. Summer fishing is different than spring fishing. Some people who fish refer to fishing in July and August as the “Dog Days”, and they’re not ...
I met this group of old guys in Akron, Iowa. They have coffee every morning between 6 am and 9 am. The mayor thought I would like their story. The coffee wasn't bad either. They call themselves the Old Geezers Club. Several of the fellows brought their woodworking tools to outfit a shared ...
A new fishing season is under way. Now is a good time to remember what fishing techniques have worked in the past, but we should also remind ourselves to revise those techniques when the fish aren’t responding to them. Here’s what I mean. Trolling with crankbaits has become a popular ...
The United States Postal Service and I go back a longways. My first memories of U.S. Mail are from 1951. I was three-years-old and we lived on a farm on the south side of the gravel road that was the Iowa-Minnesota state line. Though we lived in Iowa our mailing address was Frost, Minnesota, ...