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Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Trout Fishing Part 2

After lunch we headed up the road a way to our next fishing destination. It was at the Ludsen Ski resort on the poplar river. I didn’t know what I was in for when they said that this river was a bit harder to fish than the cross River.

After we parked the truck we grabbed all of our gear and headed to the river. Once we got to a bridge we stopped and looked over the edge. I was thinking to myself “this can’t be the river we are fishing. How can we even get to it without killing ourselves on the rocks?”


This picture and the next give you an idea of the size of the rocks we were climbing

To my surprise Gary and George said lets go fishing and we were off the trail and through the trees to the first giant rock we had to climb down. I didn’t even see any places to fish on this river with the water moving so fast there was no way any fish would be here.

Once we got down the rocks to the fist pool the humidity seemed to jump up 100% on this already 80+ degree day. It was what I would imagine a rain forest to feel like. Already sweating like crazy I casted my spinner into the fast moving current thinking again to myself “no way I’ll ever catch any fish in this river.”

Rock climbing and fishing our way down the river it was about twenty minutes before anyone caught a fish. I was so surprised when George held up a trout he had caught I didn’t know weather to jump for joy or throw my line in. Not much after that Gary caught a nice keeper size trout. It was the fist keeper of the trip and it looked pretty tasty to me.
George right before he caught the first Trout

Gary fishing in one of the pools on the river

It was a while before I caught my fist trout on this crazy rock climbing adventure, but once I caught one I had it figured out. I never caught a keeper on this river, but it was still a blast. Gary ended up catching two keepers. George did have one, but after I pulled it off his line it flopped out of my hands and back into the river.

Looking down stream

After what seemed like only about an hour of fishing (actually almost four) we decided it was time to get back to the truck and eat some supper. I was beat and ready to get to the cabin, shower, eat and relax.
I forgot the walk back to the truck was going to be up hill the whole way. I remembered fairly quickly when we got out of the woods and on to the ski hill. I looked up the hill it looks a lot bigger from the bottom then when we drove past on the top. What a long and never ending walk it was. Soon enough we were back to the truck and on our way to the cabin.

We checked into the cabin showered, ate some chili, and watched a movie before we went to bed. The first day was a blast and I couldn’t wait for day two.

We only had two fish from day one of fishing. That just meant we were that much closer to a trout supper.
Gary's fish day one


Ben G.

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Friday, September 18, 2009

Advertising with Ben G. Outdoors

If you would like to advertise with us here at Ben G. Outdoors Please feel free to contact me @ benjogustafson@gmail.com and we can discuss the options I have for ad placement and my prices.

Thanks

Ben G.

Trout fishing Part 1

As you probably already know last weekend I went on a trout fishing trip. This trip was way more fun than I imagined it would be, so here is a bit about the first part of our trip. Hope you enjoy.

We started out early Saturday morning. I was up at four and George picked me up around 4:30AM. Then we headed over to Gary’s. When we arrived we put all of our stuff in the suburban and were off on our six hour drive to the north shore. It was a pretty uneventful drive Gary brought along some magazines for us to read, we talked a bunch, and I think George took a snooze.
Our first stop was the cross river. My guess was that Gary and George had fished this river before, because they knew right where to go. After we parked I packed up my backpack with all my new fishing stuff, changed my shoes, and grabbed the camera. We were off on my fist Minnesota trout fishing trip.

We walked down a short trail, over a bridge and then down to the river bank. We started fishing almost right away. Fallowing Gary and George I watched them as the hopped from rock to rock. We stopped not far up the river when Gary said, “Ben cast in the small eddies and you will catch fish because that is where they are hiding.” So the next eddy I saw that looked promising I casted my spinner out into, and wouldn’t you know I caught a little brook trout. At that moment I knew this was going to be a good trip.

The three of us kept leapfrogging each other up the river catching small rainbow trout all the way. Just as we arrived at the fist big pool I realized I was missing the top portion of my new fishing rod (which was in my backpack). I did a bit of backtracking and couldn’t find it any where. Being the fishing was so good I decided I would look for it on our way back down the river so I could keep fishing.

Right when I got back to the pond Gary and George were fishing George caught a very nice rainbow. It was too bad he couldn’t keep it. In Minnesota you can only keep the stocked rainbow trout (you can tell because they have a clipped fin).

George's Rainbow Trout
We kept on going up the river catching a trout here and their mostly rainbows. We finally ended up at a spot where we couldn’t get any further up river. Instead of turning around we decided to see if we could get around the clifs blocking our way, but after walking for about 20 min. we decided it was best to just go back and eat lunch.

We did a little fishing on the way back down the river but didn’t catch too much. I never did find the top half of my new pole, but that is ok I sill had my ultra light.

We went back up the trail and to the truck. By this time we were all pretty warm, and decided it would be a good idea to hop in the truck and find a shady spot to eat lunch. We found one and ate our sandwiches in the shade. After lunch we were off to the next river.
PS I have more pictures of the next river.
Ben G.

Related Posts
Trout Fishing Part 2
Trout Fishing Part 3
Trout Fishing Part 4
Trout Fishing Part 5 (Final)

Good Reading
Valley Creek Tenkara
Thursday, September 10, 2009

Trout fishing trip on the horizon

image credit MarvinSiefke
As I mentioned in an earlier post I am going on a trout fishing trip on the 12th (this weekend:)). I finally got a chance to go shopping over Labor Day weekend.

I was in dire need of a few new fishing supplies. I was in the market for a new fishing rod, one that split in half. This way it would be easy to carry it on a four wheeler. Me being the bargain shopper I am, headed straight for the sale section and quickly found a couple of rods that would fit my needs. I decided on a six foot Daiwa Crossfire rod and as luck would have it the rod came with a reel. Although I wasn’t really shopping for a reel, but I am sure I can find a use for another one. The whole set up only cost $30. I also had to purchase some light mono line, small trout fishing net, and a little tackle box.

Then I thought it would be a good idea to pick up a few fishing lures. I started out by grabbing a couple of Blue Fox spinner’s one silver, and pink and the other gold. I grabbed a few hooks and some power bait too.

As always I spent more than I wanted too, but it was needed.

A couple of nights ago the three of us got together, so we could discuss what was going on with the trip (time we were leaving, what to bring and so on). Gary showed me the tackle box he brings for the trout fishing trip.
Now even more excited then ever I went home with some good ideas of what to bring with me. When I got home form our meeting I went straight to my tackle box and grabbed a bunch of stuff to put in my trout fishing tackle box. I found my trusty speedy sharp (this is one of the best tools I have) and placed that in my new tackle box along with some small hooks, some more sinkers, a couple of plastic minnows and a few jigs.
I think I’m set the only things left for me to do is get my trout stamp, pack, and switch reels on my new rod.
Thanks
Ben G.

Related Posts
Trout Fishing Part 1
Trout Fishing Part 2
Trout Fishing Part 3
Trout Fishing Part 4
Trout Fishing Part 5 (final)
Friday, September 4, 2009

Why I write this Outdoor blog!

Image credit tnarik

I hate to say it, but the reason I originally became interested in blogging was the potential to make money. What I ended up finding out was I thoroughly enjoyed sharing my stories and opinions with others. I decided to focus on writing about the outdoors because I love being outside, and I love to hunt and fish.


Here is an excerpt from a prior post called How it all Started and Brought Me here! this explains a bit more as to why I blog.
 “Over the last five years or so I have wanted to start my own business I've looked in to so many different things I can even count them any more. Then shortly after deer hunting this season my wife said to me Ben you get so excited about hunting what’s with you you’re just like a little kid. Then it hit me like a brick wall “hey dumbo why didn't you think of this sooner. You love to hunt why don't you try something in the outdoors industry.” Here I am pursuing my dream, and it's something that I am very passionate about. This is just the first part of my journey in the outdoor industry and plan to keep moving forward from here.”
As previously stated I want to get more involved in the outdoor industry and I believe blogging is a good way to open up new doors and meet new people.


Over the course of writing my blog I have come to find out I enjoy writing. (I wish I knew this back in high school and college.) It‘s fun to get my ideas on paper, polished or not. Sometimes writing posts for my blog helps to relax me, or get frustrations out.


Another reason I keep blogging is the community of outdoor bloggers. It is just great to hear all of the feedback everyone leaves. I also enjoy all of the support around the outdoor blogging community. If you ever have a question or a thought you can ask anyone, and most of the time they will gladly help you out.


Ben G.
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