Where we live in the western suburbs of Des Moines there is building activity in all directions. The beautiful cornfield behind our house when we moved here nearly five years ago is now a new townhouse development. Some of the units show “sold” signs before they are completed. It has ...

Avid ice angler John Crane and I talked on the phone recently. He has been doing a lot of ice fishing in his home area of north central Minnesota and on this particular day he had been after walleyes. After my usual questions of “wadja’ catch” and “wadja catch’em on”, the ...

It’s a brand-new year and we’re all hoping that 2021 will be a better year than 2020. The past year was rough and especially cruel. Nearly all of us have lost someone dear to the coronavirus. In coming decades people will recount tales of the pandemic to grandchildren many times over. ...

It’s a new year and a new fishing season. Let’s think a bit about fishing and why we like to go fishing, through the ice or on open water. Let’s think just a bit. Not too much. Fishing is different things to different people. Some folks go fishing to catch a meal of fish. Others ...

For a number of years now I have not stayed up to see the New Year in. I’d rather sleep and I am led to wonder, “What’s so special about New Year’s Eve?” Oh, I didn’t start out that way. As a kid I thought it was wonderful the few times my parents let me stay up late enough to ...

Whether we’re ice fishing or open water fishing, it’s important to try to match our bait presentation to the attitude of the fish. Sometimes it takes a while to figure out the attitude of the fish on a particular day on the body of water that you’re on. Open water or ice, many anglers ...